Tonight I finally hit on a restaurant that can make what I want. Turner Fisheries is right in the hotel (well, not really in the hotel… but the hotel connects to a large plaza and it’s right in that) where I stay, and for dinner I was able to order 6 oz swordfish grilled dry, with a seafood stock “sauce” (no butter!), some roasted fingerling potatoes that just have a bit of olive oil on them, and two pieces of delicious warm French bread. Would have been nice if it were some kind of nutritious veggie instead of a starchy potato, but it was delicious, and it didn’t break my new cholesterol-lowering diet. Didn’t really break the low-calorie diet either. (I think it may have broken all the rules about sodium though… will need to specify “no salt” next time).
The only downside? It was $35 for a little meal that comes in a to-go container that’s about the size of one of those small to-go containers that they normally put sides in. You would think that since I’m not getting anything fancy – just grilled fish and some baked potatoes – and I’m getting it as takeout, it wouldn’t be that expensive. Sadly, you’d be wrong.
I think I’m going to buy a second George Foreman that I can keep at the hotel and use to grill my own fish/meats. The hotel staff already thinks I’m crazy for keeping my stair stepper machine here… might as well go the whole hog. At least I wouldn’t be doing what I suggested to my friend Brian the other night: building a fire in the sink, putting a metal rack on top, and using it as a “campfire” to cook my food. However, I do plan to use the coffee pot to cook some veggies.
One question – do they sell single serving raw meats/fish at the grocery? The lack of a fridge prevents me from keeping stuff.
Hi Laura,
Not sure if I’ve left you a comment before. I’ve been reading your blog for a few months now (since I started running) and I live in Boston just a few blocks away from where you stay (in the South End). If I ran faster I’d love to meet you and run with you, but, I’m pretty slow right now. Maybe one of these days!
Anyway, you should be able to get single servings of fish or meat over at the Shaw’s near your hotel. I believe they have a pretty good seafood counter there. There is also a Whole Foods over near Symphony at 15 Westland Avenue – probably a 10-15 minute walk from your hotel.
Hope that helps! Have a great day!
I concur that any decent grocery store should have a stand-alone meat and seafood counter where you can purchase individual pieces of whatever.
And Whole Foods does a standout job with preprepared stuff, though a lot of it requires oven baking. I know they must have something that can be grilled, though.
Hi Laura,
Good luck with the anti-cholesterol diet – a challenge if I ever heard one. Like the other posters mentioned – any grocery store will sell individual portions, if not pre-packaged, certainly direct from the counter.
And you have a stair stepper in your room, but not a mini fridge? Even the cheaper hotels I stay at have mini fridges in most rooms! Worth asking about?
The problem is, the meat/fish counter is usually long closed by the time I’m done with work, and I never know until I’m done with work whether I’ll be on my own for dinner or if I have to go out, so I can’t really plan in advance. The Shaw’s near my hotel is 24 hours, so hopefully they’ll have pre-packaged single servings!
Andrea, we should definitely run together sometime – maybe around the river? That’s my only… ahem… FAVORITE Boston route so far.
Beth, I brought the stair stepper myself 🙂 There is a mini-fridge in my room, but it seems to do a mediocre job with the beverages so I don’t really trust it with meats. We’ll see – maybe next week I’ll get the hotel staff to empty it before I get there so it doesn’t charge me for moving stuff around (the Westin fridges have sensors in them so if you even take a bottle out to look at it, it charges you… so annoying).
Andrea and Beth – I added your blogs to my reader now… thanks for visiting! (Sarah, you know I’ve had you for a while :))
Laura,
So I guess that means I should actually put a post into my blog?! I started it a few months ago with all sorts of good intentions but well, obviously haven’t had anything important to say. If you’re really bored at work (which I know you’re not) you can check out my weight loss blog -http://www.extrapounds.com/blog/andrean/.
Seriously, if you feel like running really slowly one of these days I would be more than happy to join you! I like running along the river too – trying to run around the Back Bay or South End is just too frustrating.
Thanks Andrea – I’ve got both added now! Two blogs is certainly ambitious; I can barely keep up with just one.
Let me know if you’re ever up for an early morning run (I need to be home by 7) and I’ll keep you posted next time I stay in town for the weekend and can do something other than an early morning. Possibly Memorial Day, but I have my first marathon the day before so I may not feel like running!