Fun With Carbs

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?