It sounds like every MBA’s dream.

After a boozy summer tour through Europe, spend the second year of business school not sitting with recruiters but writing a business plan to launch a brewery. Obtain a liquor license, hire a couple of friends and start what will become the single largest craft brewery in New England.

Dream? Make that a reality for the founders of Harpoon. Twenty years later, their brewery continues to operate full-tilt at the same waterfront location in downtown Boston. A big fan of their beers, including the flagship IPA, we stopped by today for a tour and $5 tasting.

An energetic guide — your typical bearded, kind of hippie beer enthusiast — explained the brewing process which wasn’t nearly as complicated as one would think. In fact, there are only four ingredients in beer: water, barley, hops and yeast. But it’s the recipe (that is, how the ingredients are mixed) that gives beer its unique flavor.

Harpoon doesn’t typically brew on the weekends but a flood earlier in the week had set back production. So, we were able to watch beer go through the whole process, from boiling water in huge aluminum vats to the final step of bottling into kegs.

At the tour’s conclusion, we got to the matter at hand: the tasting.

A bell rang and the taps opened as we sampled the IPA, seasonal, ciders, UFOs and premium 100 Barrel and Leviathan brands. The UFO White was one of my favorites — it’s brewed with orange peels and had this crisp spiced wheat beer flavor.

After thirty minutes, the bell rang again and the taps closed off.

Walking back to the parking lot, it was hard not to start thinking of a business plan.

When most people think of Bean Town rivalries, they think Yankees-Red Sox. But, believe it or not, there’s a far greater struggle in Boston, one that has polarized residents, stirred hatred and spawned a seemingly interminable debate. I’m talking, of course, about cannolis.

On Hanover Street in Boston’s North End, two historic Italian bakeries — Modern and Mike’s — have battled for decades, claiming that their custard filled puff-pastries are simply The Best. And while just about every newspaper, foodie Web site and blogger has gotten in on the debate, on my trip up here this weekend, it seemed only fair to give them both a try.

First up: Modern, named Best Neighborhood Sweets last year by Boston. This small shop was bustling with activity as locals and tourists alike salivated over the refrigerated cases brimming with delectable pastries. The smell of freshly baked sweets filed the air while the whir of a coffee grinder signaled a fresh batch was brewing.

Because all of the cannolis are made to order at Modern, the shell was fresh, crunchy and a little flaky. The overflowing filling had a sweet — but not too sweet — taste and a wonderful pudding-like consistency. Consensus: it would be hard to get much better.

Or would it?

Not more than a hundred yards down the street sat Mike’s. Packed with throngs of tourists wearing bright yellow Cheers ponchos, the welcome was a bit overwhelming. Where did the line end? Was there even a line?

We got distracted and wandered over to the display cases — which showcased the countless cannoli flavors. There was mousse. And honey nut. Choosing could be difficult.

But to keep it simple (and fair) we got a chocolate chip with a dash of powdered sugar (why not, right?). It wasn’t made to order but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. The shell was thicker and the filling tasted sweeter than Modern. But still, absolutely delicious.

So, Modern or Mike’s? For me, a perfect cannoli would have the freshness and personalization of Modern but the shell and filling of Mike’s.

But I’m a native New Yorker. Which means Bostonians could care less about my opinion.

On his Food Network show, Throwdown!, Bobby Flay has hunted down and challenged the country’s best pad thai, chocolate chip cookies and hot dogs — and I’ve tried my best to loyally follow in his footsteps. The noodles at Thai Basil were delicious. Ditto for Levain Bakery’s cookies. A couple years back, we sampled the masterpiece hot dogs at Pink’s, which were overflowing with toppings and caused near immediate heart burn.

After Bobby challenged Joanne Chang’s “sticky sticky buns,” we knew a visit to Flour was necessary on our next visit to Boston. Charlotte had her chance a couple of months back, offering mixed feelings (“Mine are better,” she said bluntly). Still, it couldn’t deter me this morning as we were met with a line snaking out the door of this bakery’s South End location.

Approaching the register, we scanned the counter for the prized buns — which were nowhere to be found. Throughout the day, Flour varies its delectable, freshly-baked pastries for sale.

We soon realized that Joanne had clearly not been preparing for our visit; indeed, the next round of buns wouldn’t be ready until 12:30 p.m. Glancing at the clock which had just struck 10 a.m., we cut our loses and pulled an audible.

The sandwich board announced the bakery’s daily special: a toasted brioche sandwich with sliced banana and homemade Nutella. It would prove a worthy substitute.

Freshly baked bread overflowing with crunchy hazlenuts, gooey Nutella and chewy bananas. Washed down with an iced coffee, it was hard to ask for much more.

Plus, Charlotte’s sticky buns are better.

Watch out, Bobby.

A last minute cancellation brought us to Cape Cod this weekend. We were able to find a home in the heart of Wellfleet whose owner was desperate to fill it — and after negotiating down the price, we hopped in the car for the 4-hour drive from New York.

We’ve visited this quiet town — located between the tip and elbow of the outer Cape and famous for its oysters — for several summers. This time, we sunned at Cahoon Hollow Beach on the National Seashore, went for freshwater swims at Great Pond, jogged along the active harbor and hiked through the salt marshes and sand dunes of Great Island.

It wasn’t all about outdoor activities though. On our second day, we window shopped in quiet Chatham and grabbed lunch in bustling Provincetown.

Driving home, we realized that a weekend on the Cape wasn’t nearly long enough.

But we enjoyed it no less.