Talk about girlie girl! Joie de Vivre seems to be making the quintessential little girls dresses with playful details and a color palette made for Spring. Pom poms?! Bloomers?! Too cute! I'll be looking for the new spring line at Georgia Blu Children's Boutique in Seattle, where the line is made.

-Raven

There are just some days on which if I don’t eat pizza, I’m not happy.  For every other day, there’s Mastercard.  Just kidding.  But really, pizza is one of the few foods that I crave very seldom but, when I do, the craving is seriously strong.  One such day of yearning came this past weekend, while in Boston, and now makes for the story behind this third exhibit.  I wanted pizza, and not just any.  I was in the mood for fantastically delicious pizza, and was prepared to accept nothing less.  Lucky for me, The Upper Crust Pizzeria is located just down the street from my friend’s apartment.
Upper Crust is a Boston-based chain of fourteen locations, spread out across the city.  Founder Jordan Tobins brought his version of Neapolitan pizza—think large pieces of tomato in sauce atop a super-thin crust—to the area eight years ago and appears to have been thriving with his business since.  Late on a frigid Sunday night, the Harvard Square store had a whole slew of people eating in or waiting to take their pies away.  
For those who step in to eat just one slice (one was enough for me), there are usually three options: a simple cheese, a pepperoni, and a slice of the day.  Being a lover of the more unusual toppings (and also somewhat of a vegetarian), I was instantaneously pleased with the red pepper-portobello pezzo del giorno.  And, once I actually began eating, it was pretty darn good.
The added value of the experience was that Upper Crust’s produce supplier attempts to source its goods locally.  During the summer, this middleman draws from the Pioneer Valley Association, a cooperative of 35 growers and vendors that is based in the area.  In the autumn and winter months, the company selects from other regional farmers who can supply it with pizzerias’ standard basil, broccoli, greens, spinach, and tomatoes.
Once you’ve tried Upper Crust, head over to Stone Hearth Pizza Co.; they’re Cambridge’s competing Neapolitan pizzerias.  With both looking to go local, you can’t go wrong.

-Serena

It doesn’t get any more typical than Boston Cream Pie.  After all, it is the state of Massachusetts’ official dessert.  Of course, I hadn’t heard much about the dish until I was actually there, in the midst of things, but that’s another story.  Perhaps that makes its local flair even more enticing?  The point is: as soon as I found out that the city I was visiting had a dessert named after it, I absolutely had to try it.  And not just from anywhere, from Boston’s most touristy eating location: Faneuil Hall Marketplace.   
For those of you who don’t know what I’m referring to, Faneuil Hall is a sort of cafeteria— a Disneyland-ified Boston cafeteria.  For what feels like a few blocks, this enclosed space for shopping and consuming is lined with stalls that sell your typical Bostonian fare.  Lobster pieces from the nearby ports?  You got it.  Clam chowder in hefty bread bowls?  Of course.  And, somewhere nestled in between them all, are billions of bakeries.  No doubt, I bee-lined for one called North End Bakery, where, to my instant satisfaction, there was a whole tray of beautiful slices of Boston Cream Pies awaiting me.
My first question—and that of the supposed “Bostonian” that was acting as my tour guide that day—was, “Why does it look like cake?  Are we sure this is the real thing?”  The answer to both was, “Yes, you unknowledgeable outsider.”  (Well, not really, but upon further reading that’s how I felt that my question should have been responded to.)  Boston Cream Pies are called pies and not cakes for the simple reason that our much-revered colonial ancestors did not have cake pans, they had pie tins.   (Well, of course they didn’t.  Should we have expected them to bring their whole kitchens with them on the Mayflower?)  
Once the nice lady behind the counter assured us that yes, in fact, we were ordering what we thought we were supposed to be ordering, we walked away with our respective slices, found the last table in the place, and sat down to enjoy our hard-earned desserts.  To me, it was a vanilla cake with cream filling and chocolate icing.  How many places in the United States incorrectly sell you a birthday cake instead of a Boston Cream Pie?  Too many.
There’s also a whole history to how the dessert got its name, but I’ll save you that for now.  All you need to know is that in the city of Boston, there is a wonderfully local dessert known as the Boston Cream Pie, and that if you visit, you should try it.  The cake, or the donut, which apparently (according to Wikipedia, at least) is the state of Massachusetts’ official type of Berliner.  I would have never guessed.

-Serena

Poco Wine Room is one of my favorite Capitol Hill spots because it feels just like your old favorite neighborhood bar but with a better outfit and wine. The staff is so friendly and inviting you'll never feel out of your element even if you just discovered there is more than one kind of red wine. Poco's wine list focuses on Pacific Northwest wines, especially small production and artisan wines. They offer wines by the glass or bottle from some of the most respected Northwest winemakers. They also offer some amazing small plates of food and cheese. My favorite is the charcuterie plate, which features locally cured free-range meats by Da Pino meats in North Seattle and bread that comes from Columbia City bakery.

Tomorrow at the Poco Wine Room there will be Patterson Cellars tasting held from 6 p.m. - 8:30pm. If you go, you won't be disappointed! Tasting fee for the event is $5, and as usual, tasted wines are available at a special event discount. See you there?
 
-Raven