Restaurant-Hopping in Harvard Square

Z and I spent the day on Saturday hanging out in Harvard Square. After a few hours of shopping and walking in the freezing cold, we decided to stop in to the warmest and coziest place I could think of: Upstairs on the Square. With two roaring fireplaces, and after two glasses of red wine , we warmed up fast.

With it being our anniversary and all, we couldn't help but choose the appropriately named "hot dates" to start-- Marcona almond stuffed date wrapped with bacon ($2 each). We also went with a light salad, the Boston Bibb with grapefruit and pistachios ($11).
While the dates look small, they taste large. I loved the contrast of the sweet and salt, and the way they positively melted in your mouth. The salad was a bit of a disappointment. For $11, it was a little sad and not all that tasty.

However, how can you argue with sitting at a great bar in this incredibly cozy room?

After Upstairs on the Square, we headed over to one of my favorite bars, Noir. Since it was fairly early, we got to snag one of those awesome round booth tables, made of plush leather that you just sink into. Here we decided to go with the incredibly rich and amazingly delicious spinach, bacon, and gruyere cheese dip with toasted pita chips ($7).
We also shared the toasted mixed nuts with wasabi peas ($3). What a huge bowl of nuts! And that's my crazy drink, the Chartreuse Basil ($12) with green chartreuse, basil, fresh lime and simple syrup. That packed an unexpected punch!

Finally, a trip to Harvard Square wouldn't be complete with a stop at Casablanca. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, I'm sure over the years this place has given a lot of memories for many people. It was our first official "date." I love grabbing a glass of wine in their bar and putting money in their eclectic jukebox, filled with everyone from Frank Sinatra to the Red Hot Chili Peppers (we chose both). Here's its famous mural:

This time, we weren't planning on eating, since we were so stuffed already. But we bumped into someone we know who works there, who sent over a complimentary Turkish meze plate, with toasted pita, Muhammara, carrot salad, and fava bean puree. YUMMY. We wrapped this bad boy up to go, and I enjoyed it for lunch the next day.

All in all, a terrific day in Harvard Square.