This (Last) Week's Destination: CANESTARO

Last week, Jack and I continued our "restaurant adventure" and went to a small place called Canestaro near Fenway. Though we had planned on trying this place sometime during the summer, we had not expect to go this early in the season. Quite coincidentally, our friend's birthday dinner that was supposed to be held at Sunset Cantina got re-located to Canestaro because Sunset does not take reservations. So why not, we took the chance and made this week's destination this small, hidden Italian restaurant.

Located on Petersborough Street - a very small street, rather residential, behind Fenway, Canestaro's menu features various types of Italian food. Jack and I ended up sharing a three-by-three appetizer and a large supreme pizza. I am thoroughly impressed with what Canestaro has to offer. Pizza was quite satisfying, and the appetizer entree was perfectly portioned.

I would definitely recommend this restaurant for any type of casual dining - first dates, family night out or just for fun.

YJ

Tweet Tweet

http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0906/a_pb_0615.jpg

The most recent issue of TIME features Twitter on its cover. Twitter, a social networking website rapidly gaining popularity. About a month ago, I gave in and got a Twitter account. About two weeks ago, I gave in even more and downloaded a Twitter app for my BlackBerry.

This fast spread of Twitter proves technology is indeed taking over our lives. Having started with Myspace (at least for people my age), it moved on to Facebook, and now it's Twitter. As my co-worker pointed out today, since when did we use the term "mutual friend" to describe the friends two people have in common? Not quite until Facebook completely hypnotized us. Before the world of Facebook, our terms mainly included "we both know Jane," "we are all good friends" "oh, we know the same people!" Ever since Facebook came up with a handy dandy feature of Mutual Friends, we now say, "we have 56 mutual friends! how did we not know each other before?"

Keeping that in mind, reading this TIME article on Twitter made me finally realize how much change we have witnessed in our lifestyles due to all these social networking websites. Constantly updating our status updates and Tweets, when used wisely, these features actually help us keep up-to-date on everyone's businesses. So if you were to check Facebook or Twitter frequently and receive your friends' news that way, is that considered stalking? Not quite. You are just simply using those website to your advantage, so next time you run into that person, you'll know exactly what to say. Congratulations! Or, I'm sorry... Or, How was the restaurant you went to the other day?

YJ

Fried Chicken... Mac & Cheese... Ribs... Sweet Potato...

http://coastsoulcafe.com/



NEW DISCOVERY: SOUL FOOD CAFE IN CAMBRIDGE

Yup, that's right. I found a great place to go in Cambridge for soul food. It is quite literally a hole-in-the-wall place - no seating, mostly to-go or phone orders and in the middle of a residential area. Coast Cafe specializes in soul food, and it's right across from the Lower Allston area in Cambridge (on River Street, near Cambridge St.)

Each week, Jack and I plan to try a new restaurant in the greater Boston area since that's something we can't do during the school year when we are swamped with classes, reading and work. Jack actually knew about this place, so we had been planning to go check it out for a while. Last Friday after work, we crossed the BU Bridge over to Cambridge and started walking west on Memorial Drive.

After about 20 minutes of a walk (surprisingly short and tolerable), we finally reached our destination. Inside was completely different than what I expected: a very small area, a counter for ordering, homemade cookies on top of the counter and a tiny kitchen area behind the counter top.

We ordered fried chicken with 2 sides (sweet potato and mac & cheese) with cornbread and beef ribs. YUM. SO GOOD. Within about 5 minutes, all the food was gone. Oopsy!

My conclusion after our little picnic at a nearby playground: EXCELLENT FOOD. I am now in love with this place. Very affordable price and good quality soul food. What more can you ask for?

And this is the Globe article about this place:
http://www.boston.com/dining/globe_review/1431

Oops, It's Been a While... Nevertheless, THE HANGOVER!

http://www.vegaschatter.com/story/2009/6/9/115241/0132/vegas-travel/Ten_Things_You_Should_NOT_Do_In_Las_Vegas

Ten Things You Should NOT Do in Vegas. I came across this article today on Digg.com, and since I recently watched the movie, The Hangover, it instantly caught my eye. As I read through the list, I nodded in agreement and chuckled here and there.

I thought "do not dress slutty" and "do not wear 6-inch heels" are the greatest advice ever. It seems like a very simple common knowledge; however, some people don't seem to get it. How hard is it to NOT wear super short mini skirts that barely cover your butt? How hard is it to NOT wear killer heels that would make you crash and burn within 10 minutes of walking?

Don't get me wrong though. I love dressing up. I love shopping. I love little black dresses. But I think I know how to dress without exposing too much skin. For example, if you have a revealing top, why not grab a white cardigan as well? When you are walking around, you can simply put the cardigan on and still look fabulous.

All the other items on the list are basically common sense, but definitely useful and worthy of constant reminders. I personally haven't been to Vegas since 6th grade. I'm pretty darn sure my experience in 6th grade wouldn't even compare to what I would experience if I were to go to Vegas now. One day in the near future, I will make my way over there.

PS. EVERYONE SHOULD GO WATCH THE HANGOVER!
I was bored one Saturday afternoon so decided to go see it without any expectations. Turns out, it's a wonderful movie. Funny lines. Comical. Sometime absolutely ridiculous, yet entertaining. Surpasses Accepted or Superbad. At the same level with Pineapple Express.