Mark Stuart: Living in and loving Boston

Mark Stuart has a goal and a plus-3 rating in 12 games for the Bruins this season. (Photo by: Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

BY MARK STUART

Hey everyone, back for round two of my blog. I wanted to tell you a little bit about the city of Boston and my experience here so far.

My first couple of years here, I was living on and off in a hotel in Boston so I didn’t have a whole lot of time to see the city. With me splitting time between the Bruins and our American League team in Providence, it didn’t make sense to buy or rent a place, so when I was in Boston I was confined to my hotel room.

Last year was my first full year with the Bruins and I shared a place over in Charlestown (which is part of Boston) with my teammate Milan Lucic (Looch). Some of the other guys - such as Marc Savard, Shawn Thornton and Jeremy Reich - lived over there too so it was great being near each other. We all hung out quite a bit, went to dinner together and drove to practice together. They’re a great group of guys.

This year Milan and I moved into the city to an apartment in the North End. For those of you who don’t know Boston very well, the North End is a small section in the north (obviously) part of Boston right on the water. Known as a predominantly Italian neighborhood, it has some of the best restaurants in the city all within a few blocks of each other. If you do visit Boston you definitely have to check it out. It has narrow streets, old architecture and just an overall unique vibe.

I enjoy walking around the area and seeing the different restaurants and cafes. I’ve found a couple of cool barbershops I’ve been going to as well. Some of the newer, modern barbershops in the city are like lounges, with leather chairs and big screen TVs everywhere. That’s not really my style. But in the North End there’s still a few of the small, old-school, no-frills barbershops that offer a great haircut and straight-edge shave with the warm shaving cream. I prefer those places and there’s one right by my place that’s great.

Looch and I get along really well and are obviously familiar with one another having lived together last year. He wasn’t – and still isn’t - much of a cook so I usually handle that, but he’s good about cleaning up and taking care of the dishes. Now, I wouldn’t say I’m a great cook by any means, but I can hold my own and have a few “go-to” meals. Some of my favorites include salmon with couscous, lemon pepper chicken and garden herb chicken. 

And if we don’t feel like cooking, we know a great meal is just a short walk away.

That’s about it for now. Thanks for reading and check back soon for another entry.

Mark Stuart is a defenseman in his fourth season with the Boston Bruins. A native of Rochester, Minn., Stuart was drafted out of Colorado College by the Bruins in 2003 (21st overall) and joined the club for the 2005-06 campaign.