"The last time my wife and I hung out with a big group of friends before the pandemic struck was when she was not yet my wife and I was not yet her husband. It was our engagement party, which our friends threw for us at Lily P’s in Kendall Square. We ate tons of fried chicken and slurped dozens of oysters (and drank lots of Fiddlehead IPA and champagne). By then, Lily P’s had become a pretty consistent hang for us, a place we’d pop by for oyster happy hour, a few beers, french fries (the best in Greater Boston, fwiw), and a fried chicken sandwich a couple times a month. This was in early February 2020. The vibes were good because we were celebrating, but there was a sense of unease surrounding the group about what might happen in the next weeks and months. This week, we returned for the first time in more than a year and a half. We ordered oysters, fried chicken (in sandwich and tender form), Fiddlehead, and rosé (champagne seemed like a bit much), and we watched a replay of that classic 2008 Olympic gold medal basketball game between team USA’s “Redeem Team” and Spain. Nothing is normal and nothing will ever be normal again, but it felt good to be in that space, home to one of our happiest moments of community and friendship." - Rachel Leah Blumenthal
