What a day, what a day…
I met a college friend from out of town for brunch today. After telling him about a sneaker shop in Boston that looks like a working grocery from the street (that I discovered via tumblr, of course), I got inspired.
We were going shoe shopping, I decided. Or as he later called it, “the gayest day ever.”
We went to the following clothing/sneaker shops in a few hours:
- Alife - my favorite of the bunch, they had the most helpful staff and the best looking shoe display; Alife gets new shipments about every week, so it pays to make repeat visits
- The Reed Space - they’ve got a lot more than just kicks; also a great layout for their shoes, books, mags and gun-shaped vases
- Dave’s Quality Meat - sneaks were good, staff was a bit cold
- John Varvatos - the store that used to be where CBGB’s was; say what you will, this place could be a bank! Very helpful staff and lots of overpriced clothes to admire from afar
- Classic Kicks - nice shop, but I didn’t really find much I liked… as opposed to my friend, who had the opposite problem
Thanks to Cho, who recommended the last three places! The man has a brain like a steel trap of sneaker-related information.
To continue the theme of “hidden” shops (like Alife, where it doesn’t look like a shoe shop at all from the street and you have to be buzzed in)… me, my friend and his girlfriend went to Death and Company for drinks tonight.
Death and Company has a wide variety of homemade cocktails, a delectable beer selection (the chocolate stout is highly recommended!), and mouthwatering small plates. Unlike other bars in the neighborhood, it’s not overcrowded or too loud because they restrict the amount of people inside. I will be making a trip back.
Somehow I also made time for eating homemade chocolate pancakes for dinner and being made fun of for prouncing the beer Smithwicks improperly (who knew it was “Smitticks”?).
I have a feeling today will stick out in my memory for at least a little while.
