I just got back from a work trip to Boston, and let me tell you: it was a wild ride.

My friend Carly and I were going to a marketing conference in the city, but we decided to pack as many food-related activities into the breaks as we could. Sometimes, we even packed food-related activities into the actual conference.

We got to Boston early on Tuesday morning and decided to go on a food crawl before the conference started. We started at Forge Baking Company, a new bakery in Somerville, a neighborhood close to downtown.

There was only one brown butter ginger scone left, so I took that as a sign. It was so moist and fluffy on the inside, and I loved the flaky sugar crust on top. Heaven.

We followed that up with a trip to Anna’s Tacqueria, a popular Mexican food chain in Boston. Carly told me to go last time I visited the city and I didn’t, and so this trip was a long time coming.

I set a high bar for burritos, especially after San Francisco. This one did not disappoint. I got my usual combo, chicken, avocado, salsa and rice. Carly also recommended the refried beans, so I threw those in for good measure.

My only regret from the trip is not taking pictures of our Tuesday night dinner. We went to a place in Boston’s South End called Toro, and it was some of the best tapas I’ve ever had in my life. Actually, it was probably the best tapas I’ve ever had. I’m still thinking about the salt cod fritters and the steak.

On Wednesday night, I met my friend from grad school, Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn and I bonded over good food in school. So whenever we get together we try to cook or go to a new restaurant. Last night, there was a wait at the pizza place we wanted to try, Picco. So we decided to pre-game dinner with a doughnut from an artisan shop around the corner.

This wasn’t just any doughnut. Blackbird Doughnuts specializes in unique flavors, and a lot of them were already sold out by the time we got there at 6. But they still had the vanilla glaze, so we went for it.

We finished off the night with two kinds of pizza: spring onion and mushroom and fennel and sausage. The spring onion and mushroom was my favorite. The crust was chewy and lightly charred, and the tomato aioli gave it just the right amount of spice.

This trip taught me a lot of important lessons. One is that with a little planning and dedication, you can visit multiple food destinations in a two-hour window. Another is that you shouldn’t go somewhere with preconceived ideas about the food.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from Boston’s food scene. But it really blew me away. I almost felt bad for thinking so poorly of it ahead of time. If you do your research and leave the rest up to fate (see: artisan vanilla doughnuts), you’ll be able to have exceptional food experiences in most cities you visit.

Here’s a song I heard in Boston that I really enjoyed. I think you’ll like it, too.