I love food. My food philosophy is that if I am traveling for work, away from family and friends, I want to at least eat well. So whenever I go somewhere new, scoping out the local tasty options is one of my first steps. A few weeks ago I had a two great food experiences near Boston.

L’Andana. This restaurant is owned by a group that has eight different places across Boston, each with a different cuisine. L’Andana is definitely Tuscan influenced, and I enjoyed every bite. They have pasta options, a wood-fired grill, and a prix fix menu. My dinner companion was not a big seafood fan (the horrors!) so we had the Four-Cheese Fonduta as a starter. Um, wow. If you like fondue, or cheese, or garlic, or bread, you will love this. It was way too much for just two people, but we did our best to finish it. The cheese was gooey in the best way, the toast was perfectly crisp, and the roast garlic an unexpected but tasty addition. For my main course I had the Conchiglioni (Maine lobster, handmade pasta, butter sauce). Again, wow. A dish designed for pasta purists, this was beautifully simple and incredibly delicious. My companion had the filet and said she really enjoyed it. We shared the truffle fries, because, hey why not. As everything else was, they were fabulously flavorful. For dessert we couldn’t say no to the Cioccolato, which was basically the best molten lava cake I’ve ever had. L’Andana is pricey, indeed, but completely worth it. Highly recommend.

Legal Sea Foods. Anyone who has been to Boston has heard of Legal Seafood. During my last trip to the area, I had planned to go for lunch but ended up leaving town early due to the blizzard headed that way. So I really, really wanted to visit this time. I’ll be honest though–my expectations were not super high. After the fabulous dinner I had enjoyed the night before, I didn’t want to assume I had another fantastic meal headed my way. I figured my lunch would be perfectly fine and that was all. I was wrong. I mean, way wrong. The clam chowder, my starter, was the best soup I have had ever in my life. Even though I knew I had an actual meal coming, I seriously considered ordering another cup. Once my lobster roll arrived, I was glad that I didn’t. The bread was sweet, buttered, and toasted, and the filling was tender, flavorful, and tasted like you imagine lobster is supposed to taste like. In spite of being very full, I finished every bite and was happy I did. Seriously, I cannot wait to go back to Boston just so I can eat here again.

Aaaaaand now I’m hungry.