Globe Corner Blogs

101 Baseball Places by Josh Pahigian

In less than two weeks the Boys of Summer will have reached the halfway point of the season. That’s right — you have only about 5,000 more games til the season is over. Or so it may seem to a (seriously un-American) non-enthusiast. But for the rest of us, especially those of us who grew up with and continue to root for one of the worst baseball clubs in the league, it is a time of renewed hope and enthusiasm: hope that we will not continue to mire in last place; enthusiasm at the outside chance of wearing our jerseys and hats well into September or even in the snow.

By now you may have guessed that, although living in Boston, I am actually a fan of the beleaguered Cleveland Indians, my hometown team. When I was young, before they took a wild whiff at greatness in the early 90s, my family and I often took a quick trip up to “The Big City” and bought tickets minutes before the game started.
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Okay, so some people blog about things of greater consequence — vacations or…beer — but unfortunately I lead a relatively boring life, so here are some of the places in Boston to get that ultimate cheap street food: the humble burrito. This is more for the newcomer or visitor to Boston than a resident, so I will not be listing any of the national chains (eat local folks). A further note, if you’re from the West Coast or elsewhere you may have the idea that Mexican food on the East Coast is terrible, which might or might not be true, you’re just going to have to deal either way. Also be warned, these are my picks, no one else’s.

1) El Pelon: El Pelon Taqueria, 92 Peterborough St. (between Jersey and Kilmarnock Sts.), in the Fenway is one of my all-time favorite burrito places outside of the West Coast or Southwest. Nothing is better on a summer afternoon than hitting up El Pelon before heading over to Fenway Park to watch the Sox. Lines can be long, especially on game days, but they move fast, and if you move faster you can snag a seat. Very good salsa and fresh ingredients. I’ve been told the fish tacos are very good, and they’re on my list for next time. Pelon has the added benefit of being significantly cheaper (and more filling) than anything comparable you’ll find inside the Park or on the nearby Yawkey Way, so you have more cash for beer and peanuts.

2) Anna’s Taqueria: Anna’s, at various locations throughout the city, is right behind Fenway Park on the list of places I consider my church.

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Myrtle Beach, SC--photo by Nicole Jones

Most people who grow up in tourist hot spots will tell you that along with insider tips on the best seafood buffet (the Calabash joint on Kings Highway South), comes a general sense of superiority over the outsiders who flock to vacation in your hometown. You roll your eyes at all their pale, northern skin; you laugh at the Canadians from places with strange sounding names like Ontario and Quebec, who come down to sunbathe in February; you immediately look at a car’s license plate if it commits a traffic offense, knowing-even before you visually confirm- that the driver is one of them. A tourist. A rubbernecker. Often a Yankee.

So it is a little strange when I return to Myrtle Beach every year to visit my family. I have been away for about ten years, and I am no longer a local. The license tag on my car is not from South Carolina. I have lost my perennial tan. I own snow boots…

Myrtle Beach is a much bigger place now than when I grew up there, not the sleepy small town I remember. The New York Times recently named it one of their “31 Places to Go This Summer.” The city has torn down the oceanfront Pavillion where my grandparents would go on dates and have replaced it with Hard Rock Park, a rock ‘n roll theme park complete with a Led Zeppelin rollercoaster. Admission is fifty dollars, and it overlooks a strip mall and the highway. “How in the world (pronounced “whirled”) are families goan afford that?” asks my grandmother, a lifelong resident.

A lot has changed, but the actual beach, the original tourist attraction, has not. It is still just as beautiful- the sand still as soft and the ocean still as gray and vast. And that still feels like home.