Restaurants in the Boston area
Oct. 18th, 2010 08:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
badseed1980Just out of curiosity, and not in connection with any plans, plots, etc.: what are your favorite restaurants in the Boston area? Why? I have Yelp, Zagat, and any number of reviews of all kinds at my disposal when deciding where to eat when I want something special, but I'm curious about the thoughts of my friends. Please, share with me your best and favorite experiences in any kind of restaurant, whether it's cheap or pricey, exotic or homey, highly praised or unknown, atmospheric or hole-in-the-wall.
Some loves of mine:
1. L'Espalier is where I had the best restaurant meal of my life. The atmosphere was beautiful and grand. The service was polite and deferential and by no means snooty. The food was...simply transcendent, and more plentiful than I expected. I've heard they've gone downhill since their move, which is a great pity. I'm glad I caught them before that.
2. Locke-Ober may sound stuffy and hidebound, but the food is sumptuous and enjoyable, and rooted in tradition without being stuck in the mud. The service is extremely good: polite, but very friendly and approachable. The atmosphere is grand-shabby in the way that only old but respectable places can manage. It doesn't promise to be anything other than what it is, and what it is is dependable and lovely.
3. Nud Pob is a hole-in-the-wall (though less than they used to be) Thai joint on the BU campus. I first got to know them in 2001 as a grad student at BU. Atmosphere is boring, it's a short-order place, but the food is as good as ANY Thai food I've ever eaten. Their seafood pad see you is my favorite. Nothing is better than a hot plate of that and a cup of tea on a sleety winter day, unless it's their gorgeous Tom Yum Goong soup. Mmmmmmm.
Some loves of mine:
1. L'Espalier is where I had the best restaurant meal of my life. The atmosphere was beautiful and grand. The service was polite and deferential and by no means snooty. The food was...simply transcendent, and more plentiful than I expected. I've heard they've gone downhill since their move, which is a great pity. I'm glad I caught them before that.
2. Locke-Ober may sound stuffy and hidebound, but the food is sumptuous and enjoyable, and rooted in tradition without being stuck in the mud. The service is extremely good: polite, but very friendly and approachable. The atmosphere is grand-shabby in the way that only old but respectable places can manage. It doesn't promise to be anything other than what it is, and what it is is dependable and lovely.
3. Nud Pob is a hole-in-the-wall (though less than they used to be) Thai joint on the BU campus. I first got to know them in 2001 as a grad student at BU. Atmosphere is boring, it's a short-order place, but the food is as good as ANY Thai food I've ever eaten. Their seafood pad see you is my favorite. Nothing is better than a hot plate of that and a cup of tea on a sleety winter day, unless it's their gorgeous Tom Yum Goong soup. Mmmmmmm.
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Date: 2010-10-19 12:47 am (UTC)Henrietta's Table is solid, with reliably good comfort food made from local ingredients.
T.W. Food is my favorite indulgence/special occasion place, small and intimate, run by a local couple, lots of local foods on the menu, one of my favorite desserts ever.
Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention Trattoria Toscana. It's a tiny joint in the Fenway, run by a couple from Italy via, I think, Albania. Best gnocchi I've ever eaten. Looks like a hole in the wall, but is quite lovely and cozy inside, and the prices are tremendously reasonable for the quality of the food.
Christopher's and Boston Burger Company are my weeknight go-to casual dinner out places. BBC makes hands-down the best burger around, though the wait is often long and the place is small and noisy, and the sides are over-priced. Christopher's is always good, warm and comfortable, good beers on tap, friendly wait staff, totally reliable food, great veg options. Also, my favorite french fries around.
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Date: 2010-10-19 12:51 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2010-10-19 02:15 am (UTC)Stephanie's on Newbury. (goat cheese salad)
Sultan's Kitchen on State. (the veggie meze plate)
Kebab House on Kirby. (the meze bar)
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Date: 2010-10-19 02:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-19 10:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-19 03:57 am (UTC)Oleana in Cambridge -- Mediterranean fusion that's just delightful. I always walk out of there feeling perfectly, contentedly full. I've had lots of amazing things (the deviled egg appetizers are killer), but I don't want another bite of anything. For me that's a rare event and the sign of a great restaurant.
late
rTom
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Date: 2010-10-19 10:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-19 05:54 am (UTC)If you're not looking for just a list of the top tier places, I will say that Mary Chung is one of my favorites. They're basic Chinese but they do it well and they have a variety of unusual dishes that I really like.
Dali hasn't been mentioned yet! Huh. That's definitely one of my favorites, though I liked it a lot more when I lived a block away. If you get there later than about 6:15 on a typical night, there's a long wait for a table. Really excellent food, and tapas means getting to try a wider variety at every meal :) No non-garlic options, though, so don't take anyone who doesn't like garlic.
Machu Picchu in Union Square. Not the Grill right on the corner, but the restaurant a few doors down.
Grill 23 in Back Bay is supposed to be known for their meat dishes, but what stood out for me were their superb desserts.
Rami's in Coolidge Corner comes closest to making the kind of falafel I remember from Israel, though without the plethora of toppings and free refills thereof that I also miss. But they do have good pita, which is extremely rare in the US.
I love The Neighborhood Restaurant in Union Square for brunch. Despite that generic sounding name, it's Portuguese, but brunch-food-oriented.
My favorite Tibetan place in the area is House of Tibet in Teele Square, but Rangzen in Central is quite good too. I prefer both of them to the one in Davis whose name I forget.
I could keep rambling for as long as I keep this window open, so I'll stop now.
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Date: 2010-10-19 02:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-19 02:00 pm (UTC)Well of course if you want meat you have Redbones. L'Espalier may have gone downhill, but Frank still has the best Foie Gras in town. And let's not forget Casa Romero... That is a tucked away hidden jewel in the back bay. Mistral is relatively decent although I don't go in there since there third lawsuit (by customers) over discrimination. If I have to pick the one place I would dance over hot coals to get to, that would have to be Salts. The place I would kill to get to would be Santarpio's (mainly because they could help you get rid of the body).
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Date: 2010-10-19 02:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-20 03:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-20 02:17 am (UTC)Is the 'za that good?
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Date: 2010-10-20 02:26 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2010-10-19 04:04 pm (UTC)Neither are restaurants, but I adore Simon's Coffee Shop in Porter and Burdick's at Harvard.
I'm curious about Technique/Le Cordon Bleu school. Have you tried it?
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Date: 2010-10-19 04:08 pm (UTC)Never been to Technique. Sounds interesting!
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Date: 2010-10-20 01:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-20 02:19 am (UTC)Korean - Suishaya OR Koreana
Sushi - Ginza
I'm still looking for a good fried chicken place.
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Date: 2010-10-20 02:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-20 10:34 pm (UTC)I should try the fried chicken at firefly's, as well as Red Bones.
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Date: 2010-10-21 02:31 am (UTC)Supposedly there is a soul food joint near the Back Bay T stop that has the best fried chicken in MA but I have not been so I cannot vouch for them. I can say that Brother Jimmy's (which was at the old House of Blues) in Cambridge had spot on Eastern Carolina pulled pork, and after setting up several offices in NYC for a former Company, that is the closest place I can find. Their fried chicken was damn tasty too.
None of these compare to the old lady that lived near my parents. She would go to the back yard and grab a chicken and well... without getting to graphic, that bird would end up on the table. Aside from that, Firefly's (and I have not been to quincy) is the best I have had up here...
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Date: 2010-10-20 01:13 pm (UTC)