The Taj is fit for a Queen (aka Mother's Day)

By Queen, I mean, of course, MOM.

Although our reason for Afternoon Tea at the Taj recently were for a reason other than Mother's Day, I'm recommending this age-old custom to those of you looking for a Mother's Day outing.

Afternoon Tea has never been more elegant than at the French Room at the Taj in Boston. Located at the corner of Newbury St. and Arlington St,  the Taj overlooks the beautiful (and especially lush at this time of the year) Boston Public Garden.

Once seated, service is gracious and attentive with beautiful live music wafting through the elegant high and chandeliered ceiling.

The Taj Royal is $38 and comes with finger sandwiches, canapes, tarts, scones, dipped strawberries, with clotted cream and lemon curd.

The tea selection ranges from white, green, black, oolong, herbal and chai, so there's definitely one for everyone. Reservations are recommended and be sure to wear your most floral clothes. We sure did.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Chicago: Giodarno's Deep Dish Pizza

Location:

730 North Rush Street

Chicago, IL 60611

Pizza is definitely a weakness for me...I could eat it all day, son. All. day.

A deep dish pizza, I've never had though, and it's obviously the thing to do in Chicago.

While asking around for the BEST deep dish pizza joint, we were referred to Giordarno's FAMOUS deep dish.

Kate of Union Jack Creative said that a deep dish 'za is like eating a lasagna...and she was correct.

This was LIGHT cheese, you guys.

LIGHT cheese.

Deep dish pizza is not for me, but I'm glad I tried it....see the left over cheese?

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Celebrate with tacos and margaritas!

Here's a round up of my fave taco places:

5 Napkin Burger (Miami), who knew a burger place could do fish tacos so well?

Linden Square's The Cottage in Wellesley, MA does a mean mahi taco

Border Cafe in Harvard Square, Boston

Dos Cominos in NYC

Atwoods Tavern, Boston, does a good fish taco!

And if you, like me, enjoy taco night at home, try this tilapia recipe for creating delish fish tacos!!

Product: Green Mountain Coffee

There are two smells worth waking up for.

Coffee. and. Bacon.

Not necessarily together (but that would certainly be bliss!)

Green Mountain Coffee is one of those coffee brands that just got it RIGHT. Founded as a small cafe in Waitsfield, Vermont, the brand has since grown to more than 100 high-quality varieties and most recently acquired Keurig, the single cup brewing system (my sister has one and it's brilliant!).

It's easily the best coffee I've had on vacation when Earl Grey just wouldn't do, and the Nantucket blend has such a lovely fragrance perculating throughout the house, like a promise of the weekend to come...

Many thanks to Green Mountain Coffee for refreshing my coffee stash with the Nantucket and Island Coconut blends!

Vermont: Stowe, Black Cap Coffee

Location:

144 Main St
Stowe, VT 05672

On Main Street, is the Black Cap Coffee shop, a quaint, picturesque coffee house, exactly how you would imagine there to be in a ski town.

For coffee, teas, hot chocolates, you can't go wrong. I didn't try any of there delectable delights, although the Easter sugar cookies were calling my name...

 A tea to go and ready to explore a bit, although everything was closed for Easter...except Shaw's General Store...still, it made it easy to go back to our hotel.