Recs Near Berklee College

[lamb]

Other than Vivre's post in December, I didn't see any other recs for this area. My hubby, I and my 16 year old musically gifted son are going to tour Berklee College of Music. We will arrive on a Friday and have the evening to ourselves before the tour on Saturday. Can anyone recommend a casual place for us to dine within walking distance of the Sheraton Back Bay Hotel located in the mall? I know there are restaurants located in the mall, but they are probably chains. Would appreciate any feedback.

Edited to say that the College is located in the Back Bay Area - not the Bay Bay area. Duh!

Edited February 4, 2004 by lamb (log)

[bigwino]

Any other defining characteristics you're looking for in a restaurant? There are tons of places to eat around there.

[lamb]

Any other defining characteristics you're looking for in a restaurant?  There are tons of places to eat around there.

My husband and I are pretty adventurous, but we will have our 16 year old son with us. No sushi - Italian and seafood are ok. He's not a big fan of Thai. I'm also thinking that he would like to see where some of the younger crowds hang, although we'll probably cramp his style.

[bigwino]

I don't know the student hangouts around there, but there are plenty of college-type restaurants right around the campus. I'm sure you could just walk around the area and jump into a few of them. Newbury Street is a block away and is full of students much of the time. It's morphed over the years to being rather a rather expensive area, but student hangouts for non-rich kids are still to be found there.

One nice place to consider for dinner would be Brasserie Jo. It's just a couple of blocks away and is a nice, classic French brasserie. Nothing too daring on the menu for the 16 year old, but some nice food for you to enjoy. It's not dressy, so casual is fine there. Abe & Louie's is a very good steakhouse. Casual is OK there, but it's not cheap.

Check the Boston.com Dining section for lots of recommendations by neighborhood, too. You can access it here. Click on the name of a restaurant and you can see reviews added by users.

I hope that helps.

[lamb]

Bigwino - you've been very helpful - I appreciate your response.

I also love your screen name

We're going next month, I'll be sure to post and let you know what we chose. We'll do dinner Friday evening, and lunch Saturday after the tour before we drive back home to NJ.

[joshlh]

I don't feel like there are many good options right in that area. My two picks are both cheaper and more casual than Brasserie Jo: Woody's and El Pelon. Woody's serves pretty good thin crust pizzas. I think their crust is better than most of the similar places I've tried, like Figs, Cambridge 1, or Emma's (all in different areas). Their fish and chips are also very tasty, and they serve some other non-pizza items, like meatloaf. I think it's probably frequented by a lot of Berklee and Northeastern students. It's not a place I'd pine over if I left Boston, but the food is good and inexpensive, a rare combination in this city.

El Pelon is a bit more of a walk, as it's in the Fenway, but it's very doable. It's a taqueria, and might not be suitable for you if you're looking for a longer, sit-down meal, but the food is excellent. The fish tacos and the tortas are both great -- most of the stuff there is. Probably my favorite cheap eats in Boston. Also a student staple.

If you're looking for something a little more upscale, you could walk over to the South End without too much trouble. I'm not too up on the scene there, but I know there are a lot of choices, and I had a great experience recently at The Butcher Shop.

[VivreManger]

In addition to what I posted recently, you should know that there are a lot of cheap Indian restaurants in the immediate Berklee neighborhood. Their lunch buffets are nothing fantastic, but the food is edible and the price is low.

[ballast_regime]

My brother, a Berklee alum and aspiring foodie (albeit the irrational "vegan" type), loved many restaurants in the area. L'Espalier is quite nice, if that's your thing.

Edited February 21, 2004 by ballast_regime (log)

[agbaber]

Down on Arlington St, near the common, is Parish Cafe a great spot for lunch, that turns into a 21 and up bar at night.

They specalize in sandwiches that were designed by the top chefs in the area, and for the most part are excellent. They are all under $15 as well (most of them are 10-12).

[lamb]

Thanks for all the recs guys - wanted to update on our choice. Don't yell, but...

we ended up in Legal Seafood. We were set to go to Abe & Louie's, then realized it was a Friday during Lent. Oh well. We stopped by Legal while we were in the Prudential Center earlier in the day and made a 7:30 reservation. Good thing we did, because the place was packed when we arrived. We were seated immediately. One of the specials was filet of Dover Sole, fileted tableside. Our waiter did a great job of fileting for my husband. He really enjoyed the dish. I had a mahi dish, and 16 year old son and a pecan crusted salmon. Hubby and I topped it off with a Cakebread SB. Not cheap, but a good meal.

BTW - my son LOVED Berklee. Guess my husband and I will be making a lot more trips to Boston over the next four years.

[bigwino]

I guess we need to keep the recommendations coming then, huh?

[lamb]

I guess we need to keep the recommendations coming then, huh? 

By the end of 2009, I may be making recs to you!