5 days in Boston

[highchef]

Suggestions please. Hubby and I are heading to Boston this weekend until St. Patricks day. He's working during the day, so Ill be on my own, which is ok since we're staying at the Westin Copley place and there's plenty of things to keep me occupied. I'm a little worried about getting around outside of the area ( I want to go into Dorchester and visit my grandparents graves) because 1) I don't know how to get there from there via the L, and 2) it's supposed to be a nice snowy weekend and I'm a Louisiana girl, so mile long hikes in the snow arn't gonna happen. I read some old threads about resturants and I'd like to try Sage, Grill 23 and the East Coast Grill with my husband, and check out China town on my own for lunch one day, and go to the JFK museum and have lunch there. any ideas from there for the other couple of days I'll be winging it?? I confess, I thought I'd be walking and exploring in nice spring weather. I don't want to spend a fortune in cabs so help me plan my lonely excursions with places of interest to a foodie and shopaholic and history bluff, with ancestrial ties to Boston. (Daddy was a double eagle). Any exhibits going on? is the haymarket open this time of year? Have they ironed out the kinks at Smith and Wollensky's? Tell me about the museums and the galleries and any new resturant that I must try. Money is no object, this is my vacation. Good eating near Felines? you get the picture...shop, eat..sightsee, eat...browse, find a bakery...

[katbalou]

the concierge should be able to tell you which line to ride on the T to get to dorchester. also check out the north end, plenty of italian restaurants and bakeries to make you happy. the aquarium and science museum are also close to there and of course Fanieul hall. plenty of other museums and theatres, your hotel should be able to give you lots of info on how to get to them.

[slbunge]

If the weather is snotty, the Westin is actually part of a large, enclosed urban mall with a slant toward 'high end' retail. In addition, Osushi, which is in the area above the Westin lobby is decent sushi for the area, particularly for lunch.

Your hotel is sort of smack between Back Bay and the South End and that is probably a good thing. You are a handful of blocks from shopping on Newbury Street. The food options are not great, however.

The South End has lots of trendy restaurants but most are sort of overpriced. South End Formaggio (little sister store to Formaggio Kitchen) is a pretty easy walk down to Shawmut Avenue. Great shop to pick up the makings for a fantastic lunch. Also, next door is a decent Syrian grocery that pre-dates the yuppy influx to the neighborhood.

I am reasonably new to Boston so I am not the best tour guide for Chinatown (as the weather warms I will need to explore). I do know that Mix Bakery (actually, I believe it now has a Chinese name...36 Beach Street) has terrific Bahn Mi for $2. That and a sweet cream bun is one of my favorite lunches.

North End is a great suggestion. You can make your way around and if you get cold there are some great cafes where you can drop in for shot of espresso.

I'll try to think of more things as the day progresses.

[johnnyd]

We toured the JFK museum the day after Thanksgiving which took the better part of an afternoon. There is little to look forward to at their eatery - mostly prepared sandwichs and soda. Work up your appetite then head back into town.

[galleygirl]

Many parts of Dorchester are actually very well served by the T (our "L", if you will, short for MBTA) The JFK Library (which is wonderful) is served by its own stop on the redline, JFK/UMass. Afterward, get back on the redline, and go another stop or two to Fields Corner, which stop is about a block or so from Pho 2000, the best Vietnamese restaurant in Boston, IMHO...Also in that block are two other good Vietnams places, Pho So 1, and Pho Hoa, and Ba le cafe, good for banh Mi and snacks...But since you're already there, I'd hit Pho 2000.

Before or after Filene's basement, you'll hit Chinatown for lunch...Taiwan Cafe offers amazing choices for its lunches, at $6.95. These aren't geneeric stir-fried specials, but true Taiwanese offerings, from their dinner menu, but cheaper...my favorite Chinatown Restaurant, tho, is Peach Farm seafood...gottah have those steamed oysters and black bean sauce.Or splurge and have a hacked and stir-fried lobster in ginger and scallions...if you want, dim sum at Chau Chow City would also being a great shopping day lunch.

Edited March 7, 2005 by galleygirl (log)

[highchef]

Gallygirl wrote..Many parts of Dorchester are actually very well served by the T (our "L", if you will, short for MBTA) The JFK Library (which is wonderful) is served by its own stop on the redline, JFK/UMass. Afterward, get back on the redline, and go another stop or two to Fields Corner, which stop is about a block or so from Pho 2000, the best Vietnamese restaurant in Boston,

Thank you, I knew it was the T...habit. Pho 2000 it is. I'll check it out after the museum since apparently there's no good lunch to be had there.

I'll give the north end and the italian area a day of it's own, I was curious about the science musuem and did want to see the aquarium.That may be where the SAGE resturant is that I read about, I'll have to double check.

Filenes and China town..if I spend too much it'll be lunch at 36Beach st. and do dinner with hubby and check out Peach Farm seafood. Are you guys sure these are Chinese resturants???!!!

Thanks for the info, I'm happy happy to hear the Westin anchors a mall, but I don't want to shop ALL the time so I'm praying it clears up for next week. Any pre-St. Patricks day stuff in the works? Have to leave on the 17th so will miss the day itself, but wouldn't mind lifting a pint in a good Irish pub (or two..did I tell you I was Irish?)

[galleygirl]

Sage is indeed in the North End,and it's very good..haymarket takes place on Friday and saturday, all winter long...Make sure you get some cherrystones from the clam guy; the only seafood I get down there.

Peach Farm is most definitely a Chinese Resto, albeit specializing in Hong Kong style seafood...While I'm a big proponent of Mix Bakery for banh mi, i think you should pick one up as a snack, but maybe go for a sit-down meal elsewhere in Chinatown; it's pretty much just a bakery with a couple of tables...Not that there's anything wrong with that, but you could do better...Maybe gorging on your own order of soup dumplings at Taiwan Cafe?

For a great Irish bar, you should take the D-Branch of the green line out to Brookline Village and get a pint at matt Murphy's, which also serves the best fish and chips in the area, and wonderfully updated versions of Irish pub food...

[Busboy]

It's been a long time since I lived there, but a stroll through the North End -- Boston's Italian neighborhood -- is still a good idea. Just a couple of minutes, on foot, from the tourist drek at Faneuil Hall, it used to have the highest number of real butchers and bakeries per capita of any city in North America (or so it seemed). Pizzeria Regina is legendary, and excellent. Also, innumerable spots to stop for an espresso and an Italian pastry befor checking out the Old North Church or Cotton Mather's grave.

The Union Street Oyster House -- in between the North End and Faneuil -- is worth popping by for a pint and a half-dozen oysters just for the history of the place and its famous, 200-year-old horse-shoe shaped bar. John Adam (or one of those guys) used to hang out there.

I believe the Dorchester Men's Bar (now coed) is where Ronald Reagan famously hoisted a mug with the proles, if you're in the neighborhood, it's about a block from the T stop.

[torakris]

I did a similar trip last summer, my sister lives in Boston and I spent a week with her. I spent the days by myself wandering around and we would get together at night for dinner. Boston is a great place and so easy to move around even for a first timer. One day I spent the whole morning in Filene's basement and then walked over to Chinatown and picked up a $2 banh mi (mix bakery), wonderful by the way, then walked a bit around China town, actually I kept walking out of it....

I also spent a great day at the Fine Arts Museum, the price was a bit steep but it was definitely worth it, I then walked down the street the Bon au pain and had a nice lunch on the terrace watching the crowds and traffic go by.

Boston was great and I am sure you will find lots to do, I am looking forward to my second trip there this summer.

[slbunge]

For a great Irish bar, you should take the D-Branch of the green line out to Brookline Village and get a pint at matt Murphy's, which also serves the best fish and chips in the area, and wonderfully updated versions of Irish pub food...

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Amen.

I constantly sing the praises of Matt Murphy's fish and chips with a cup each of homemade ketchup and homemade tartar sauce. I even hold my own against the snarkiest of souls who say that fish and chips should never cost more than $8 or whatever. I scoff and say that these people don't understand that it is a full service restaurant with some of the consistently best house bread and a heaping helping of both fish and chips. Then it all goes downhill as we order another pint.

By the way, out in the same area as Matt Murphy is the JFK birthplace historic site (I've never been) in Brookline. Dok Bua is a great Thai restaurant also in the same general vicinity (actually closer to the JFK site than Matt Murphy) that might be worth a try if you are craving something spicy.

[Timh]

For a Sunday Brunch, I really like The Blue Room in Cambridge, interesting take on it. And Summershack is a good alternative.

Tim

Edited March 8, 2005 by Timh (log)

[mizducky]

It's been fifteen years since I moved away from Boston, so I don't know about new developments. But I'd like to suggest that you venture across the Charles into Cambridge for some of your exploration. I used to love to hang out in Harvard Square--a straight shot on the T's Red Line to Harvard Square Station. I understand that, sadly, a lot of the bookstores that used to make this a bookworm's mecca have closed or merged or something. But there should still be a lot of interesting shops, plus the lovely Harvard campus (fascinating array of architecture both old and new, plus a couple of different museums). The slew of restaurants mainly aim at students' tastes and budgets, with a few fancier joints mixed in. I'd recommend Bartley's Burger Cottage or Grendel's Den (assuming they're still up to what they were when I used to hang there).

As to other restaurants not already mentioned--I have an abiding love for Durgin Park. It's an experience out of a different era--nothing fancy, just huge portions of classic Yankee cooking served by curmudgeonly waitresses. And it puts you right near Haymarket and the North End (probably best visited before Durgin Park, because after eating at D-P you'll want to just waddle back to your hotel and hibernate

Bob the Chef (soul food in the South End) used to be fabulous. But since I left Boston, the original Bob has passed on and the restaurant was sold to someone who apparently gussied it up a lot, so I have no idea if it's any good anymore. Current Bostonians: did they ruin it? Break it to me gently, now...

[kitwilliams]

Anyone tried the "blunch" at Perdix? Looks fun.

Perdix

[LindaK]

Many parts of Dorchester are actually very well served by the T (our "L", if you will, short for MBTA) The JFK Library (which is wonderful) is served by its own stop on the redline, JFK/UMass. Afterward, get back on the redline, and go another stop or two to Fields Corner, which stop is about a block or so from Pho 2000, the best Vietnamese restaurant in Boston, IMHO...Also in that block are two other good Vietnams places, Pho So 1, and Pho Hoa, and Ba le cafe, good for banh Mi and snacks...But since you're already there, I'd hit Pho 2000.

Before or after Filene's basement, you'll hit Chinatown for lunch...Taiwan Cafe offers amazing choices for its lunches, at $6.95. These aren't geneeric  stir-fried specials, but true Taiwanese offerings, from their dinner menu, but cheaper...my favorite Chinatown Restaurant, tho, is Peach Farm seafood...gottah have those steamed oysters and black bean sauce.Or splurge and have a hacked and stir-fried lobster in ginger and scallions...if you want, dim sum at Chau Chow City would also being a great shopping day lunch.

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Galleygirl and I share the same faves. I'd add to her Chinatown list Penang, a Malaysian restaurant that is a cut above in atmosphere to most in Chinatown (for example, Peach Farm has the most sublime scallops--in shell with garlic and sometimes vermicelli--and softshell crabs, but the basement location, harsh lighting and formica tables can scare off folks who don't know better).

Sage in the NE is great but pricey. Don't bother with Smith and Wollensky or Grill 23, nothing "Boston" about them. If you're staying in Copley you are a short walk to the South End, a neighborhood that was not long ago (so I hear) pretty scary but now is the home of some of the best restaurants in Boston. I like Metropolis and Franklin Cafe as bar-restaurant-hangouts but if you want fine dining, then Hammersley's Bistro (only eaten there once, it was great), Perdix (haven't been there since it moved from Jamaica Plain, it was wonderful), and Union, a newcomer. Or just walk around and read menus, there are too many good places in that neighborhood to name...Aquitaine, Nightingale, others.

I must admit, many of my favorite restaurants are in Cambridge. Someone mentioned the Blue Room, always great. I also like Salts, Oleana, and the Helmund (Afghan cuisine, delicious, affordable but classy, and unusual). These are all in the Kendall/Central Square area. If you're looking for restaurant icons, there are Harvest and Rialto in Harvard Square.

As for being in town for St. Patrick's Day, best to stay clear of the tourist pubs. Though Matt Murphy's (with the excellent fish and chips) is safely away from the mayhem.

[highchef]

I am making notes left and right.. please pm me if you know anything about Dorchester itself. what is the haymarket? Can I buy flowers there? thanks everyone, I'm making notes and will try as many places as I can.

As an aside.............

There has never been a place like this before, where someone can get what info they want and need asap....this is better than cool...........this is E-GULLET!!!!

[slbunge]

Haymarket is an 'area' that is essentially an open air market. Not really a farmers' market, mostly just routine perishable foods bought at wholesale and sold outdoors at numerous stands. Mostly, buyer beware because the times I have been through there during sales the produce does not look that fantastic and isn't selling for terribly cheap either.

Haymarket is just south of the T stop that bears the name. The market is on a few streets that are essentially on a line between Government Center and the North End. It was likely in the shadows of the old elevated central artery that is now becoming the Rose Kennedy greenway.

When you say flowers, do you mean cut flowers? If so, you will probably find better selections in Chinatown. PM me if you want a specific recommendation.

I agree with LindaK mostly except for Hammersley's. Our meal there was not terribly exciting. Felt that the high-end price was not justified.

But, to continue her riff on choices in the South End, if you are the mood for warm stews that are nicely spiced there is Addis Red Sea Ethiopian restaurant on Tremont. In the same area is B&G Oysters which is pricey but there food and service are quite good. Across from B&G is the Butcher Shop which, again, quite pricey but they have charcuterie that you just can't find very many places in Boston, and good wines by the glass. There is a smallish pizza/ice cream place on the corner of Tremont and Berkley that has amazing concord grape sorbet (I'll think of the name, I promise).

Speaking of ice cream, if you make it to Cambridge, be sure to stop in for a scoop at either one of the Toscannini places (there is one close to Harvard Square) or at Christina's in/near Inman Square and very near East Coast Grill. If you choose Christina's be sure to check out their spice shop next door.

So much, so much.

[slbunge]

Just to clarify, since I was there yesterday, Mix Bakery has changed it's awning and it now says 'MEI SUM BAKERY'.

Grabbed a box of their 'almond crisp cookies' which are on a rack on the left as you face the women at the counter. Fabulous. Flaky pastry under a thin sheet of sweet almond glaze and sliced almonds. Yum.

[Boo]

I read your earlier post re: museums and unless you have children, I would skip the science museum and the aquarium. Instead, I would suggest the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (in a lovely old mansion) or the Museum of Fine Arts located nearby.

[bobmac]

Dorchester is tricky. There's some high crime parts, so check before you go. The JFK Library neighborhood is perfectly safe, but if the weather is nasty it's quite a walk from the T stop.

[highchef]

I read your earlier post re: museums and unless you have children, I would skip the science museum and the aquarium.  Instead, I would suggest the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (in a lovely old mansion) or the Museum of Fine Arts located nearby.

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I have children, but are not bringing them and they are heartbroken until I walk back into their lives with presents. They'll live. I'll check out the museums, thank you !

[highchef]

Dorchester is tricky. There's some high crime parts, so check before you go. The JFK Library neighborhood is perfectly safe, but if the weather is nasty it's quite a walk from the T stop.

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I have come to the conclusion that Dorchester is a cab ride straight to the cemetery. I've seen the web site and the cemeteries themselves are being maintained and in fact are still taking customers so they should be ok, I'll have the cabbie stay. How long is the weather supposed to be snowy? The cold is ok but snow is only a novelty for a brief time! (she says from the relative warmth of the deep south)

[Boo]

Well, another snow storm has just started this afternoon. Heavy snow and winds tonite; the forecast is for another 5 - 8 inches north and west of Boston, a bit less in Boston iteself. Bring boots.

[highchef]

Well, another snow storm has just started this afternoon.  Heavy snow and winds tonite; the forecast is for another 5 - 8 inches north and west of Boston, a bit less in Boston iteself.  Bring boots.

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got ya. Thanks, boots jeans heavy socks, heavy sweaters (I have a couple)and moms mink!! I'm ready!! Bring it on!

I thank you all and look forward to visiting. I will post late next week when I get back and let you know where we/I ate and how many fingers and toes I have left. This is our chance to try some new stuff.. Ethiopian and Afghan resturants are not found here. The choices are amazing, I just need to sit down with a map and plan the days out. Besides the Spice shop in Cambridge, are there any other must do kitchen places? Local products I must bring home? Thanks again..

[LindaK]

Haymarket is an 'area' that is essentially an open air market.  Not really a farmers' market, mostly just routine perishable foods bought at wholesale and sold outdoors at numerous stands.  Mostly, buyer beware because the times I have been through there during sales  the produce does not look that fantastic and isn't selling for terribly cheap either.

True. Sadly, the Haymarket is a shadow of it's former self. Boston has some great farmers markets May-November where one can get amazing produce, cheese, honey, herbs, etc. but March feels like the depth of deprivation.

in the South End, if you are the mood for warm stews that are nicely spiced there is Addis Red Sea Ethiopian restaurant on Tremont. In the same area is B&G Oysters which is pricey but there food and service are quite good. Across from B&G is the Butcher Shop which, again, quite pricey but they have charcuterie that you just can't find very many places in Boston, and good wines by the glass.

I enjoy Addis a lot, there are few Ethiopian places in Boston and this one is good. And though I like B&G Oysters, I find the Butcher Shop high on atmosphere but also pretension. If you are in the mood for a decadent picnic back in your hotel room (come back in the summer for a picnic on the river or harbor!), a short walk to Formaggio Kitchen on Shawmut Ave. will have you in heaven. It's a small outpost of the well-known Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge. They have their own cheese aging cellars and the selection is fabulous. They also carry a small but excellent selection of breads, charcuterie, prepared foods, wines, and chocolates. Can you tell that I love this place?

Speaking of ice cream, if you make it to Cambridge, be sure to stop in for a scoop at either one of the Toscannini places (there is one close to Harvard Square) or at Christina's in/near Inman Square and very near East Coast Grill. If you choose Christina's be sure to check out their spice shop next door.

There is a Tosci's in Central Square (maybe Harvard too, could have missed it), almost directly across the street from Salts. Also in Central Square is another of my favorites, Central Kitchen, right on Mass Ave., close to the T. I almost hesitate to post it. It's very small with a limited menu to boot, no reservations. But the food and atmosphere are great, it serves dinner until late, and has a very reasonably priced wine list. The wait at the bar for a table can be a while but once seated, no rush at all.

[slbunge]

<snip> a short walk to Formaggio Kitchen on Shawmut Ave. will have you in heaven. It's a small outpost of the well-known Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge. They have their own cheese aging cellars and the selection is fabulous. They also carry a small but excellent selection of breads, charcuterie, prepared foods, wines, and chocolates.  Can you tell that I love this place?

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I love it also. It is slightly too close to home for comfort. I'm there a bit too often. It is even worth going out in weather like this to get to.