20 Years of Burritos at Anna's Taqueria in Boston

There aren't that many Mexican restaurants in Boston compared to LA, but Anna's Taqueria has been going strong for 20 years. In fact, they celebrated their 20th anniversary yesterday! Anna's has 6 locations around Boston now including one at the MIT Student Center, right across the street from my office. As you can imagine it gets quite crowded during lunch hours, but the line moves fast.

So Anna's al pastor tacos are actually quite good, as they have a trompo in the stores. They serve it Mexico City style with pineapple. OK, I've been spoiled by having al pastor tacos in Mexico City, but at least I can get some in Boston, right? Anna's is primarily known for their burritos, though.

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A Tour of The Rookery Building (Chicago, IL)

There are a few architectural gems in the city of Chicago, and one of the most important ones is The Rookery Building. The building is in Chicago's downtown financial district, easily visited when you are in Chicago.

The Rookery actually has quite a history and is influenced by multiple architects and designers throughout the decades. The building was originally designed by Daniel Burnham and John Root. Before The Rookery was built, this location housed a water tank, and then the City Hall and Chicago's first public library. There are a number of theories about where the name The Rookery came from. Some say the name is because of the corrupt politicians at the city hall that occupied the space, some say it's because of the birds that used to hang around when it was a water tank.

The building was redesigned in 1905 by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Rookery's main focus and also Frank Lloyd Wright's major contribution is The Light Court on the first floor. The original design filled the building with iron and terracotta. Wright encased the iron columns in gilded marble.

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Progressive Dinner at Bel Ari and Les Zygomates (Boston, MA)

I recently got to explore more of the Boston restaurant scene with a progressive dinner at Bel Ari and Les Zygomates in the Leather District. Bel Ari and Les Zygomates are just a few doors down from each other and they're actually owned by the same people, so they organized this progressive dinner with Blog and Tweet Boston. Bel Ari was named after the owners' children while Les Zygomates refer to "the muscles in the face that make you smile". 

While we were waiting for the rest of our party, I started off the night with a cocktail with Bulleit bourbon, lavender infused honey, and limoncello.

We went back to the private room and kicked off our dinner with a glass of Bellussi prosecco to pair with the first courses.

Whipped ricotta, honey, pistachios, crispy sunflower cranberry bread

A great table starter, the ricotta was smooth and cloud-like, I loved it with the honey and couldn't stop eating it.

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