This post is a participatory one, which means you can’t read it unless you leave me a comment. HINT.
In preparation for another Worcester visit this weekend, I started thinking about how attached people are to their favorite nostalgic foods and restaurants, in their hometown or some other place they hold dear, like where they went to college. These are the kinds of food experiences people daydream about, whether it’s some regional specialty or just that fabulous local pizza joint that would deliver to campus at 5 a.m.
For me, hands down, it’s The Boynton, my favorite little pub in Worcester. The food is pretty good, especially the pizza, but it’s the Boynton Bucket that I miss the most. Served literally in a sand pail (or a pumpkin-shaped trick-or-treating vessel at Halloween), it’s a genius mix of rum, blue curacao, blackberry brandy, other fruity liqueurs and juices meant to be shared. In fact, you’re required to order it with one or two other people. It’s a little like a scorpion bowl, just less exotic.
Mention The Boynton to any young Worcesterite or Worcester college graduate (particularly from Assumption/WPI) and they’ll sigh. “Oh, THE BUCKETS.” I haven’t found anything like it in Connecticut and that makes me sad.
Your turn to share:
- Is there a food or eatery that makes you wildly nostalgic?
- If you’re visiting home/campus, do you drive immediately to a restaurant instead of your final destination?
- Is there a dish that you’d drive well out of your way to experience?
- Or if you’ve never lived anywhere but your hometown, is there a local spot or delicacy that you’d miss terribly should you move?
Leeanne Griffin is a freelance writer and food enthusiast.
Also, I make a point to eat at In-n-Out Burger whenever I visit California…
Yes, you and I had In n’ Out Burger for breakfast in Cali and I’d highly recommend it!
I have a confession to make… while I frequent the Boynton on a fairly regular basis, I’ve never had a Boynton Bucket *hides face in shame* so our sojourn tonight will be extra-special
WE NEED TO REMEDY THIS IMMEDIATELY.
Leanne! Oh how I miss the Boynton Bucket. There is nothing more fun than drinking out of a pail with a huge straw! And it tastes sooo good. It is the fun of feeling like a kid, but drinking like an adult! I LOVE reading your blogs. They also make me so hungry. When are you going to add in your cooking for us
I think the hands down place for me though during Assumption days is Blue Jean’s. They were always there for me when I was having a bad day and needed ice cream, but had no car. Or I was NOT about to go out in blizzard for Ben & Jerry’s! But they would! And then I fell in love with BBQ Chicken pizza there! Still nothing compares to it.
Memories. Actually, my old roommate and I went to Charlie’s for lunch the other day! We were all confused, but felt like home!
I’ll never forget my first Boynton Bucket. Still haven’t found something to compare. When I was in school though I always used to miss Blimpe subs. Although there are literally dozens of sub shops in MA, none used to have the taste of a Blimpe. I remember that literally every time I drove home from college, I made sure to stop in NJ and grab a blimpe for the road.
Also, I agree with Erin. I need to stop reading your blog so close to lunch time! I’m starving….
Chico’s Tacos in El Paso, TX. Just the mere mention of Chico’s to an El Pasoan or someone who frequents El Paso will bring immediate and uncontrollable drooling. When we go to town, we head for Chico’s first, family comes second.
Never had a Boynton bucket either, but I have a gift cert to the Boynton and I think I know what I’m ordering….
I’ve lived a lot of places so I have several nostalgia spots:
Worcester – sad to say I don’t really have a favorite hometown spot.
Ithaca or anywhere in NY – I will go out of my way to find a Wegmans and will definitely stop there before going anywhere in Ithaca. In fact, I will get off a toll road and drive a half hour in the middle of nowhere just to stop at one on the way home. Yes its a grocery store, but they have the best subs and muffins I’ve ever had from a mere grocery store, and the Wegmans in Ithaca is like stepping into heaven, even at 3am.
Ireland – Would have to get a drink at the Kings Head and the Skeffington Arms in Galway no matter how sketchy both still are and get curry fries with a an ice cream cone at Super Mac’s; the porter house in Dublin and Cayenne in Belfast.
Cambridge, MA – I often wake up dreaming of Moody’s Falafel palace and wouldn’t go to the city without stopping at 1369 coffeehouse.
Marshfield, MA – Arthur and Pat’s serves the best breakfast ever and some damn good seafood too. I also cant visit without stopping at Marylou’s coffee and Gerard’s Turkey farm at least once (and we visit often…)
Hartford – someday when I come back to visit Hartford I think I’d make a point to get Angelina’s Pizza and a drink at the the Sisson Tavern.
Western MA – Atkin’s farm, Antonio’s Pizza, Berkshire Mountain Bakery and Great Barrington Brewery – mmm…
Miscellaneous from traveling – Having visited these places on the road, I would go hours out of my way to visit any of them again: Arthur Bryant’s in Kansas City, Mothers and the Bon Ton Cafe in New Orleans, the Georgia Pig in Brunswick, GA, and Mrs. Wilkes in Savannah.
I think I over-answered your question Leeanne
Now I’m really hungry…
Honolulu. Waikiki. Keo’s. (NOT Keoni by Keo’s.) Terrific Thai cuisine, tiki torch atmosphere, huge, screenless windows open to the warm tropical evenings. And it’s not even particularly expensive.
In the grand ol’ Woo my favorite spot is the Sahara on Highland St. On those days when I miss living on Worcester’s West Side, the hubs and I take the hour long drive in. The salad alone is worth it, but add in a plate of grape leaves and their lamb kebabs and I’m thinking a bit about what my grandfather calls “the motherland.” Plus, nothing makes me happier than a huge piece of baklava with my after dinner coffee
There is nothing in Worcester, MA that I long to eat. However, I would run, not walk, to Il Forno in Westboro. Try the eggplant parm or the Veal Francese – oh heck, try anything, it all looks fabulous and it is CHEAP, especially at lunchtime. A great Italian meal complete with yummy garlic bread for $8.99?! Isn’t that what a value meal at McDonald’s, BK, or Wendy’s costs now?
I am still thinking about the Black and Bleu Quesadilla at the now-defunct Canyon Cafe in Westboro ): And the Rico Rita Margarita? Liquid relaxation in a very large glass with a shaker containing enough extra to fill another very large glass. Like a clear, not creamy, pina colada/margarita. I will die thinking about that drink and the relaxation and fuzziness that would spread through my head about halfway through glass #1. OK, OK, maybe I guzzled the first half of glass #1.
Other memorable meals include the cheeseburgers at The Greenhouse in St. Thomas, V.I.(a Fodor’s guide suggestion and a good one!), the Statler chicken dish at The Westin St. John’s V.I. and the Tiramisu at a great Italian place in a strip mall (sorry the name escapes me) in Grand Cayman and anything at Madam Jeanette’s in Aruba. I will plan another trip to Aruba just to eat at Madam Jeanette’s!
I can’t go to Hartford without stopping at Plan B. I will even drag other people with me. In the end, they thank me, though! If I have more time, I also have to stop by Wood-n-Tap, Half Door, and AC Petersen. Oh, and a trip to the UConn Dairy Bar, weather and time-permitting. And maybe some tea at Tisane.
When I’m in NJ, I have to go to Hoboken for pizza (Benny Tudino’s, 6th and Washington) and fresh mozzarella (Fiore’s, 4th and Adams). Not to mention a bagel from somewhere, anywhere. Bonus points if it’s a salt bagel.
[...] written about the Boynton before, here and here, and that’s because I just love it. Good comfortable atmosphere, tasty pub food (we love the [...]