Boston Restaurant Recommendations

[CiriloE]

Hi,

I'll be in Boston this weekend for three days. I'll be arriving late (around 11pm) on Friday and leaving Monday afternoon.

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So, after Saturday night in the Sought End, I'm guessing that "hip" is not the same as "busy."  While the restaurants were pretty packed, the sidewalks appeared to have been rolled up before we arrived -- almost no foot traffic at all by 11PM on a Saturday night.

Loved my meal at Pho Republique.  I had a skirt steak with asian spices served with a bit of Thai Chili Dipping sauce that tasted like mu shi sauce to me.  Well cooked and tasty.  Son had an excellent pho and we split the ribs, which lacked that crackly exoskeleton good Chinese ribs get after a couple of hours of basting in the front window of an old-school joint, but good spicing and perfectly cooked.  Great waitress: dreads, heavily tatooed ("new ink?" asked the regulars at the next table.  "Yeah," she replied, pulling the tank top's strap aside in a particularly delightful way), competent and friendly.

I'm looking forward to a return trip.

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Alex,

How was your weekend? Did you have a similar experience as Busboy? Hope to hear from you.

Cirilo

[9lives]

Depends.  If you want something fast and fantastic with little atmosphere I would go to Mei Sum Bakery (formerly Mix Bakery) for a Bahn Mi.  Order it hot to get some nice slices of bird chilis.  Carot, cuke, and fresh cilantro.  Great french roll (although I've heard they changed their rolls recently).  Their secret sauce is amazing (rumor is that the secret is duck fat).  Around $2 for a sandwich made to order.  [36 Beach Street, Chinatown]

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Second Mix/Mei Sum. Another good sandwich option is Chacarero in Downtown Xing..Chilean..beef or chicken, muenster, guac, string beans..sound starnge but they're great...outdoor seating only..go early or late to avoid a long line..weekdays only.

Tim's Tavern is open; but early reports have not been great.

[liamdc]

So what I want to know is where did alexthecook end up going in Boston?

[BryanZ]

I'm compiling a short list of some of the most unique, popular, and noteworthy restaurants in Boston. I'm looking for a wide variety of places, from casual to upscale, with notable food, decor, or history, located in Boston itself (no suburbs please).

If you could provide me with any info. you might have on some of you favorites it would be greatly appreciated. I'm not from the area and only have a rudimentary knowledge of Boston dining so website links and the like would be greatly appreciated.

[OwnReward]

I'm compiling a short list of some of the most unique, popular, and noteworthy restaurants in Boston.  I'm looking for a wide variety of places, from casual to upscale, with notable food, decor, or history, located in Boston itself (no suburbs please).

If you could provide me with any info. you might have on some of you favorites it would be greatly appreciated.  I'm not from the area and only have a rudimentary knowledge of Boston dining so website links and the like would be greatly appreciated.

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There are some great Boston threads in the forum, from really current comments to older ones...That's probably a good place to start your research...Hmmm, history places hasn't really been discussed...I know Durgin Park and The Parker house are two old, notable places, and the Union Oyster house has been around forever as well...Doyles's is the qunitisential boston pub...

What kinds of detail are you looking for? What's the thrust of your list? personal or commercial?

KV

[BryanZ]

I'm compiling a kind of national restaurant showcase for my college's newspaper for the holiday season. As in, when everyone goes home to their various metropolitan areas, where they should be eating.

So in general, not much detail, I'm just trying to compile a list of short blurbs from the likes of Boston, Chicago, DC, NYC (my area), Miami, maybe a couple ski areas in Utah or Colorado.

[WHS]

My current fave is Petit Robert Bistro, a casual French place on Commonwealth Ave near Kenmore Square. Apps are under $10 (except for the foie gras) and mains are under $20. It has that loud, congenial bistro atmosphere and the food is usually good if not transcendent (if you want transcendent, you pay more and go to Espalier). It's usually full of French people, which I think is a good indication of authenticity. The only thing missing is the blue haze of Gauloise cigarettes.

Website: www.petitrobertbistro.com

Edited November 20, 2005 by WHS (log)

[Lonnie]

Hubby and I will be in Boston and/or Watertown from about December 26 to Jan 3. Mostly we want to eat well, drink great coffee, sit in cafes for hours, and probably do a few historical jaunts. Suggestions as to where we should eat? Fascinated by cuisines we can't find in Syracuse, NY (we have Indian, Thai, Vietnamese and a bazillion Italian and Chinese). And where is THE best coffee?

Thanks!

Lonnie

[Busboy]

Just spent a few days in Boston and wasn't blown away by most of the joints I hit, but did like two: Pho Republique and Number 9 Park. Pho R. in the South end is very hip, with food that is occasionally very good. Go for the pho, the ribs and flank steak, don't get the kung pao (looks great but is bland).

Just had two nibbles at Number 9 Park, not their main menu but their cafe stuff. Best steak tartar I've ever eaten, wonderful truffled gnocchi.

[newguy]

My wife and I were in Boston this summer. We ate at Clio and at No.9 Park. I have eaten my way around NY City, and I am also a professional cook, and I have to say that No.9 Park is absolutely one of the best meals I'd ever had. I had one of the two tasting menus, fantastic. Service was great. If I ever go back to Boston I will definitely go there again.

Clio was good, but not great. Certain dishes were great, but as an overall meal, it was fine. I had a fish dish, and the piece of fish was so uneven, it was cooked on one side, and raw on the other. I as a cook basically will NEVER send anything back (gotta help your own kind) but I was so full, I didn't bother eating it. Then the waiter "kindly" told me that him and the chef agreed with me that the fish was undercooked.

I'm "glad" that they agreed...

[dukeofurl]

Hubby and I will be in Boston and/or Watertown from about December 26 to Jan 3.  Mostly we want to eat well, drink great coffee, sit in cafes for hours, and probably do a few historical jaunts.  Suggestions as to where we should eat?  Fascinated by cuisines we can't find in Syracuse, NY (we have Indian, Thai, Vietnamese and a bazillion Italian and Chinese).  And where is THE best coffee?

Thanks!

Lonnie

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As far as historical jaunts go, here's a few neat places you may want to visit.

I just went up 3 weeks ago to see family and we had a very large table at Durgin Park, over by Faneuil Hall/Qunincy Market. The entire area there is a major shopping/dining area, although a lot of the joints in Quincy Market are fast food of every variety. We saw Dave Attell at Faneuil Hall and he said....

"Have you seen all the restaurants outside? Holy shit - its like the walk to heaven for fat people!"

Durgin Park was nice, established sometime in the 1800's - as the sign says "Established before you were born", I liked the cockyness of it. We all had a nice family meal. Here's a picture of one member of our party with the "Durgin Cut" 18 ounce prime rib, it's 18 with the bone in, so you have to offset the weight of the bone to the actual weight of the meat. I believe the market price was $30.

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/5415/dcp10317vu.jpg

Note: Famous for service with an attitude. I thought it was neat. Ensuing conversation:

What two egetables would you like?

Hmm, I want potatoes and I cant decide between the corn or the green beans.

We'll do green beens. AND corn.

I thought it was funny.

I also made a mental note to visit Jacob Wirth's over on Stuart Street in the theater district, but I never made it over there. According to them, they're the 2nd oldest restaurant in Boston after opening in 1868 - although Union Oyster House claims to have opened in 1826, and Durgin Park in 1827. Why that is, thats beyond me, but they have a really good potato salad that I tried about 5 years ago that I liked. I've seen some mixed reviews on their sauerbraten, but I had a nice reuben sandwich there with some kickass waffle fries.

Thats my .02!

Edited November 20, 2005 by dukeofurl (log)

[bobmac]

The "attitude" at Durgin Park is sometimes downright rudeness. I gave up on the place when they expected me to use a dirty fork.

Jacob Wirth's is worth a visit, although they've cut back on their German food.

Of course No. 9 is on another level.

[Mussina]

I want to add my vote for No. 9 Park as well. I have generally been disappointed by my dining experiences in Boston but No. 9 Park was sensational. They also have a $25 prie fixe lunch which is a great value.

[WHS]

Hubby and I will be in Boston and/or Watertown from about December 26 to Jan 3.  Mostly we want to eat well, drink great coffee, sit in cafes for hours, and probably do a few historical jaunts.  Suggestions as to where we should eat?  Fascinated by cuisines we can't find in Syracuse, NY (we have Indian, Thai, Vietnamese and a bazillion Italian and Chinese).  And where is THE best coffee?

Thanks!

Lonnie

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One of the beauties of Boston is being able to walk around a charming, manageable city with great neighborhoods like the North End, the Back Bay and the South End. Where will you be staying? It might determine some of your choices. If you have a car, you could even try a "destination" place like Blue Ginger in Wellesley.

[Bu Pun Su]

Hmm, I don't really know how to answer the questions since the category seems very broad. I will try some of them:

High End

Sushi: Oishii should be the most authentic one in Boston, the place is quite small. The place is more like Tomoe Sushi in rather than Nobu or Masa in NY and it's expensive, but very good I heard. Followed by Fugakyu. In the porter square area, there is a mall with many japanese restaurants, however, in my humble opinion, the sushi is not as good as the 2 places I mentioned above.

Seafood: Legal Sea Food is very NE authentic, but I don't find anything special about the place. It's very popular here and the line can be very long over the weekend, pretty much in any legal sea food places in Boston. Honestly, I don't yet find my fav. places to eat sea food here.

Fine dining: For French food, I think L'Espalier is the best bet to go, authentic and very expensive. No. 9 Park is also very popular, it has one of the best tasting menu in Boston. I ate at Radius before, it provides modern French cuisines with some fusions, the lounge downstair is quite nice, the food is pretty good as well, nice decoration inside.

Low End

Thai food: Rod Dee or Dok Bua is very good, it's like Sripraphai (not sure about the spelling) in NY.

Ice Cream: JP Licks, Toscanini and Christina's are the most popular ones around Boston area. My fav. is in Richardson's (about 1-1.5 hour driving from Boston area). Toscanini's quite famous for its earl gray flavor, Christina's has the most flavors.

Clam Chowder: There are many good places for this NE's soup. My fav. so far is Legal Sea Foods, followed by NE Soup Factory.

Feel free to ask more specific questions if you have any. Hopefully I, or others, can answer them for you. Good luck!

[gini]

Depending on what you're looking for....

High end: I concur with the No. 9 Park suggestion. Lovely, just lovely. Clio would not be my list, but its sushi bar - Uni - might be. I also really love Craigie Street Bistrot outside of Harvard Square. Top notch in my book.

"Boston-esq": I really, really don't like Durgin Park. But I've come to the conclusion that it has nothing to do with the service - I just don't like that type of food. Union Oyster house is only a go if you sit at the bar - sip some champagne and shoot some oysters. Do not, I repeat do not, sit down and try and have a meal there. There is a lapse in the space/time contium and you cannot get a fresh oyster once you have left the bar area.

Some cuisines found in Boston that you might not have nearby:

O'Cantino for Portugese in Cambridge

Muqueca for Brazillian in Cambridge

Danish Pastry house for what the name indicates in Watertown.

Lala Rohk in Beacon Hill for Persian - pretty romantic too.

I've tried to leave out Italian, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese as you seem to not want to eat at those sorts of places.

[cigalechanta]

favorite restos,

Hamersly's Bistro,

Oleana,

Troquet.

Aquitaine,

Henrietta's Table

Legal Seafood for oysters and chowder,

Christina's for ice cream,

formaggio for cheese

[Lonnie]

One of the beauties of Boston is being able to walk around a charming, manageable city with great neighborhoods like the North End, the Back Bay and the South End.  Where will you be staying?  It might determine some of your choices.  If you have a car, you could even try a "destination" place like Blue Ginger in Wellesley.

We'll be staying four days in Kendall Square and four days in Watertown.

Thanks to everyone for all the great suggestions!!!

Lonnie

[Lonnie]

I've tried to leave out Italian, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese as you seem to not want to eat at those sorts of places.

Well, heck, I sure don't mind trying good ones! No... superior ones. We have moderately good of all of the above in Syracuse but not really great. Got anything in mind?

Lonnie

[WHS]

I've tried to leave out Italian, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese as you seem to not want to eat at those sorts of places.

Well, heck, I sure don't mind trying good ones! No... superior ones. We have moderately good of all of the above in Syracuse but not really great. Got anything in mind?

Lonnie

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Check out Elephant Walk--Cambodian/French fusion. Highly rated. Here's the website: http://www.elephantwalk.com/

[esme]

Last time I was in Boston, I had snacks at The Butcher Shop @ 552 Tremont St., owned by the lady that owns No 9 Park. Fantastic. Also great were drinks around the corner at cafe Umbra. We ate dinner at Via Matta (79 Park Plaza), which is classic Italian and very good (I especially loved the cheese course with mostarda). Another favorite is the bar at Zygomates at 129 South St, which is around the corner from Chinatown where Ginza at 16 Hudson St is our favorite sushi. Penang at 685 Washington St is great Maylasian (there is a salt cod dish on the menu that my bf dreams about).

[cigalechanta]

All the restos mentioned ar good but will add my unusual favorites:

Dali's, Spanish Tapas in Cambridge

Helmond's, Aphganistan, cambridge

Oleana, Fusion at its best ".

[WHS]

All the restos mentioned ar good but will add my unusual favorites:

Dali's, Spanish Tapas in Cambridge

Helmond's, Aphganistan, cambridge

Oleana, Fusion at its best ".

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I've heard good things about Helmand. Any recs for Korean food?

[gini]

I've tried to leave out Italian, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese as you seem to not want to eat at those sorts of places.

Well, heck, I sure don't mind trying good ones! No... superior ones. We have moderately good of all of the above in Syracuse but not really great. Got anything in mind?

Lonnie

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I concur with the Oleana and Via Matta recs. I've also heard good things about Cafe Umbra.

Italian: Mare or Prezza

Thai: Dok Bua or Rod Dee

Elephant Walk (Cambridge location) used to be on my list, but the quality of food has gone down in recent years. I can't speak about the Boston location.

Chinese: Peach Farm for seafood or Hei La Moon for dim sum (neither of these are high end).

Vietnamese: The city is overrun with Pho Pasteurs, but the only decent on is in Chinatown. I'm sure there are others, but I highly recommend their hot Vietnamese coffee for takeout (if you're near the common and cold - it makes Dunks looks like bathwater (no comment )).

[gini]

All the restos mentioned ar good but will add my unusual favorites:

Dali's, Spanish Tapas in Cambridge

Helmond's, Aphganistan, cambridge

Oleana, Fusion at its best ".

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I've heard good things about Helmand. Any recs for Korean food?

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I really like Hometown in Union Square (Somerville), but New Jang Su (Burlington) has great BBQ. You'd need a car to get to New Jang Su however as it is 20 minutes north of the city.