Nearby at LTK, the good times are a bit more chill. LTK is
a modern spot, where your server is as likely to hook you up with
an iPod docking station as a mojito. But if the technology seems
a bit over the top, the seafood is dependably fresh and delicious.
It shows up on the menu under categories like Nosh (fried clams),
Nibble (crab rangoon), Bare (oysters on the half shell) and
Simmer (clam chowder).
Over a plate of oysters and spicy seared tuna, I chat about the
changing waterfront with one of the young men working behind
LTK’s sleek bar. He points out that LTK is not just about testing
new concepts in the kitchen.
“We’re one of the first new restaurants to open down here,”
he explains. “We’re sort of testing the waters.”
Other restaurants are following, mostly connected to hotels,
with an “if you build it, they will come” mentality. The Westin
Waterfront launched Sauciety last summer, offering mains with a
choice of 15 sauces. Just across Fort Point Channel a new, lustrous
blue, glass InterContinental hotel opened in November, with a
signature restaurant, Brasserie Provencal, a fusion sushi salsa spot,
Sushi-Teq, a rum bar called Rumba and a private champagne bar.
OFFSHORE
The changes aren’t just confined to the South Seaport,
though. Boston Harbor is 50 square miles of water, bound by
180 miles of shoreline and encompassing six neighborhoods
and seven outlying municipalities.
During the next two years, dozens of developments are
planned around the harbor, including the addition of 300 acres
of green space. Central to the plan is the Rose Kennedy Greenway, going up where the old elevated Central Artery used to
be. The Greenway eventually will include a new Boston City
Museum, Wharf District Park and Boston Harbor Islands Visitor
Center, slated to open this year.
Did someone say islands? Yep. Just a half-hour ferry ride from
Long Wharf is Harbor Islands National Park, a 3,200-acre natural
area made up of 34 islands lying within the natural C of Boston
Harbor. Put the swank restaurants and modern art behind and
spend an afternoon meandering one of the islands for the best way
to get a sense of Boston Harbor’s scope. From downtown, ferries
serve Georges and Spectacle islands from April through October.
Georges is dominated by historic Fort Warren, with a vantage point
to Little Brewster Island, the home of Boston Light lighthouse.
Spectacle Island boasts a marina, café, two beaches and five miles of
walking trials cresting to a hill with panoramic views of the city.
Amid the sound of lapping water and rustling trees, the brisk
ocean breeze and seagulls basking in the sun, young couples
hold hands and walk along trails, and families are splayed out on
blankets, feasting on picnic lunches. It’s hard to believe the rush
of the city is just a few miles away. Here, it feels as though nothing
has changed in at least a hundred years. And that’s when another
thought will hit you: Change is good, but sometimes no change
is just as nice.
Remember, our roads run two ways.
The same roads that scattered families can bring them right back home. To Pennsylvania. To help you celebrate, we’ve
put together over 60 homecoming packages across the state. Just log onto visitPA.com/reunions to find helpful and money-saving suggestions on locations, restaurants and lodging. So get together again. In the STATE OF INDEPENDENCE.
