Harvard Square Afternoon
Oh, boy. Lots to catch up on…
My Sunday started with an early-morning workout in our building’s gym, followed by a 2-hour study session at Starbucks, where I grabbed breakfast: a grande soy misto with a pumpkin cream cheese muffin and an apple from home. Before my workout, I ate a leftover warm Pumpkin Spice Pancake with a small smear of Barney Butter on top (not pictured).
After studying at Starbucks, I popped home quickly before meeting friends in Harvard Square for their annual Octoberfest.
At home, I ate a small bowl of Annie’s Mac & Cheese, a handful of snap peas, and a couple of Cocoa Oatmeal Cookies for lunch. (Sorry no photos. I was on my way out the door.)
The Octoberfest event in Harvard Square was cra-zy! The streets were completely packed with people! I had no idea it was such a huge event!
The event was very lively and had plenty to do and see, including live entertainment, food, street performers, sidewalk sales, local vendors, and more.
Also at the event: The World’s Longest Sofa! I’m such a nerd, but I love stuff like this! 
The couch extended 213 feet down Church Street in Harvard Square. It was cool to see so many people sitting on it at once! It was a never-ending sea of people sitting and relaxing.
Mal also gets excited by things like the World’s Longest Couch!
Of course, we needed a photo of all of us sitting on the super long couch!
After strolling around and seeing the sights of Octoberfest for a couple of hours, we decided to break for a couple of beers at the Cambridge. I. (I think that’s what it was called).
The beer list was surprisingly impressive! You never know what to expect when you try a new bar for the first time, but there were lots of beers that sparked my interest.
My first beer was a Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale, which was spicy and pumpkin-y… my favorite type of fall beer!
My second beer was a Saranac Pomegranate Wheat beer, which was light, refreshing, and a little tangy. The pomegranate was subtle, and not at all overpowering like some other fruit-flavored beers.
After our beer break, we did a little more walking around Harvard Square before realizing that we were all hungry for dinner. With the flip of a coin, we decided on the Border Cafe, which is a fantastic Cajun/Creole/Tex-Mex restaurant in Harvard Square. It’s an all-around great place with delicious food and drink, impeccable service, and affordable prices. Love it!
The decor at Border is definitely over-the-top, but, at the same time, it’s pretty awesome too! It’s loud and colorful, and the paintings that cover practically every inch of the walls are authentic and one-of-a-kind. (I actually got in trouble for snapping this photo! Oops!)
The tortilla chips at Border are my fav! They’re always warm and crispy… and bottomless. Our waiter refilled our chip basket within seconds of finishing the first! The salsa that is served with the tortillas chips is just so-so. It was a little too watery for my liking… although, it didn’t stop me from eating about a gazillion chips!
Border also has yummy margaritas! Obviously, I had to order one– on the rocks with salt. My margarita was huge, but I swear, this photo/angle makes it look ever bigger!
For my entree, I ordered the Vegetarian Jambalaya with cornbread. The jambalaya included all sorts of fresh veggies (peppers, broccoli, zucchini, squash, and onions) and rice, lightly tossed with spicy Ranchero sauce. I ate most of the veggies from the dish, but I wasn’t a fan of the greasy rice.
After dinner at Border, we passed by the World’s Longest Couch again, but, this time, it was in shambles! We were sad to discover that the World’ Longest Couch was actually just a bunch of couches pushed together! The World’s Longest Couch was, in fact, a sectional!
What a scam! It was still pretty neat to see!
Our night concluded with beer and darts at a little dive bar in Harvard Square: Whitney’s.
I’ve walked by Whitney’s hundreds of times, but never thought to stop in. It’s a typical dive bar with it’s laid-back vibe, dark lighting, pitcher specials, and bar games, but it’s location is smack in the middle of Harvard Square. It actually seems sort of out of place.
At Whitney’s, the 5 of us shared a pitch of PBR, played darts, and watched the Pat’s game on TV.
Here is Jon being fancy with his beer pour…
By 9:00 pm, all of us were pooped from a long day, so we headed home to our respective apartments. All in all, a great day in Harvard Square!!!
Posted by: Tina 19 comments
Posted in: Uncategorized
on Oct 13th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
WOWZA, what a fast-paced, fun-filled weekend. Haha, I love the World’s Longest Couch photos especially
I haven’t been to Harvard Square since… yes, as I always say, since I resided in Boston two years ago. I miss it!!
on Oct 13th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
What an awesome day! I love cornbread
This post makes me miss the east coast a ‘lil – I do love Boston.
Happy Monday!
on Oct 13th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
What a wonderful fun filled day! Love all the pics!
That jambalaya looks amazing!
on Oct 13th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Aw, that looks so fun! And oh man…IM SO JEALOUS of your pumpkin cream cheese muffin from starbucks. everytime I go in there, I see that little baby and want it so badly!
on Oct 13th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Wow that looks so fun! I have been dying to eat the pumpkin cream cheese muffin at starbucks but have been scared of the amount of calories in it. Is it worth it? I’m also obsessed with mistos – you should try yours with Americano instead of drip coffee – soooo much better!
on Oct 13th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Studying in Starbucks AND indulging in breakfast there… heaven! i’m a nerd
Harvard Square looks fun!! I would have been all over that couch too, I love extremes/record things.
mmm… tortilla chips. I love how you can see the salt on the close up pic of one!
~Chandra
on Oct 13th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Haha that couch is hilarious…can’t believe I missed all that, I live like 5min awawy! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Border Cafe, I’m obsessed with their fajitas SO GOOD!! Tried going there last friday I think and the wait was over an hour…so that didn’t happen. Looks like a fun day!
on Oct 13th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
There is no reason to be scared of the calories in that muffin, assuming you fit it in your daily meals. It is not more calorically dense than a typical breakfast on this blog (actually it is slightly less). Everything in moderation!
Tina–how did it TASTE? Some of the Sbucks baked goods are super dry and I’ve been curious about this one.
on Oct 13th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
I agreed with runninghigh. Everything in moderation is fine. And if you adjust your other two meals, you’ll be okay with daily intake of calories and at the same, enjoy your favorite food.
on Oct 13th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Wow that handsome guy with the beard sure can pour. I bet he’s good at darts too.
on Oct 13th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Looks like you guys had a blast! I love pumpkin beer too, so yummy!
on Oct 13th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Lol – called it! looks like you guys had a blast! I was there for all of about 30 minutes.. I was on my bike and I don’t have a lock yet, and trying to get through those crowds with my bike was clearly not going to happen.
Border looks delish!
on Oct 13th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
The Border Cafe is great! You are “painting” such a fabulous picture of Boston in the fall – soooooo excited to move back
on Oct 13th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
mmm BORDER CAFE!! Im so happy I finally saw a blogger go here..I looveee it. I’m seriously addicted to those chips as well..and have you tried the chicken soft tacos yet? (yum!)
on Oct 13th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
I LOVE Border Cafe. I always get the tostado salad with extra avocado…and a glass of wine, which comes in a very large CUP. It’s so much fun! Tina, you’ve been to some of my favorite places this weekend (Sonsie!) and it reminded me that I need to get out a little more. Glad you all enjoyed the beautiful long weekend.
on Oct 14th, 2008 at 1:13 am
Ahh Whitney’s…I remember attending the Head of the Charles a few years back and that place was the root of one of my most severe and brutal hangovers.
on Oct 14th, 2008 at 7:21 am
BeeElle and runninghigh,
The muffin was pretty good. Although, it was more like a pumpkin cupcake than a muffin– very moist and the frosting was divine! However, the flavoring was sort of weird– not bad, just more “citrus-y” than a pumpkin spice flavor like I had expected.
Meghan,
Mal ordered the chicken soft tacos and LOVED them!
on Oct 20th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Wow, that brings me back. I haven’t been to the Square in years. Of course, the last time I spent any time there a dive bar wouldn’t have been out of place…
I used to hang there as a teenager, before it got all gentrified.
on Nov 3rd, 2008 at 12:51 am
I would have totally been lounging on that couch! I absolutely love communal dorkiness, especially when it involves things that are “the biggest,” “the longest,” “the tallest,” or anything that has an “est” at the end of it:)