Boston Restaurants

Going to take a trip to my former hometown! Aww, life is tough!

As far as dining goes,I have the NY portion of it down...... but we are going to make a side trip to Boston!

I have not been to Boston in awhile, and the last time I was there did the Legal seafood thing, and also a really nice Bistro (forgot the name) Joannas, or something like that.

Looking for some recommendations, it will be 2 adults and 1 15 year old with a fairly sophisticated palate, ( but braces) LOL.

Suggestions?

My family visited Boston in 2001, and this was a very memorable restaurant. The seafood was excellent, and the desserts (Boston cream pie and apple pan dowdy) were scrumptious. Filling portions too.

http://www.durgin-park.com/

340 Faneuil Hall Marketplace
Boston MA 02109
Phone: (617) 227-2038

While Durgin Park is an experience ..... it's definitely geared for tourists. You can walk inside the Quincy Market area and experience many different cuisines at any of the booths. Here you'll find everything from chowder & lobster to pizza. This is a great way for everyone to sample a bit of this and that. If you want a dining experience, walk a bit beyond the market, and you'll find yourself in the North End. This is the Italian section of Boston. Try any of the 'small' restaurants dotting this neighborhood (most have menus posted on their windows). There's not a bad one in the bunch. Final thought: Make sure to save room and wander into Mike's Pastry shop for the best Boston has to offer.

I second wandering the North End. One of the great evenings of my
life--wandering through the North End, taking in the sights, perusing
the menus followed by a lovely meal. Hard to go wrong there.

Do be careful in The North End. As with any area frequented by tourists, there are plenty of places that take the low road and dish out generic, uninspiring, American-Italian banalities. If you do happen to venture into the North End, avoid the huge, super-crowded joints. Pomodoro, on Hanover St. is casual, small and delicious (strangely, the owner is Irish, but she runs a couple of excellent restaurants in the greater Boston area). If Mike's is too crowded (and it will be), try Modern Pastry. The cannolis are just as good and the crowds are smaller.

If you're a beer advocate, do not miss The Publick House in Brookline. The beer offering is amazing and the use of beer in the kitchen is brilliant. Rodenbach on draft is not something to be taken lightly.

Your best dining bet would be to cross the Charles and head over to Cambridge. Try Oleana on Hampshire Street between MIT and Harvard. The Mediterranean (mainly Turkish) inspired cuisine is unique, perfectly prepared and served in a charming setting. If you're feeling like French, find the Craigie Street Bistrot (between Harvard and Porter squares off of Massachusetts Avenue). The place is super small and in the basement of an apartment building, however the attention to detail is second to none. The chef is as anal-retentive as they come, demanding pristine ingredients and often offering such precious rarities as cockscombs and sweetbreads.

Good luck. Hopefully the miserable, late-winter fog will lift in time for your visit.

Do be careful in The North End. As with any area frequented by tourists, there are plenty of places that take the low road and dish out generic, uninspiring, American-Italian banalities. If you do happen to venture into the North End, avoid the huge, super-crowded joints. Pomodoro, on Hanover St. is casual, small and delicious (strangely, the owner is Irish, but she runs a couple of excellent restaurants in the greater Boston area). If Mike's is too crowded (and it will be), try Modern Pastry. The cannolis are just as good and the crowds are smaller.

If you're a beer advocate, do not miss The Publick House in Brookline. The beer offering is amazing and the use of beer in the kitchen is brilliant. Rodenbach on draft is not something to be taken lightly.

Your best dining bet would be to cross the Charles and head over to Cambridge. Try Oleana on Hampshire Street between MIT and Harvard. The Mediterranean (mainly Turkish) inspired cuisine is unique, perfectly prepared and served in a charming setting. If you're feeling like French, find the Craigie Street Bistrot (between Harvard and Porter squares off of Massachusetts Avenue). The place is super small and in the basement of an apartment building, however the attention to detail is second to none. The chef is as anal-retentive as they come, demanding pristine ingredients and often offering such precious rarities as cockscombs and sweetbreads.

Good luck. Hopefully the miserable, late-winter fog will lift in time for your visit.

A vote for the South End- Jae's on Columbus Ave., there's also a new French bistro place about a block towards town as well-went over Christmas and it was great.. Lots of places on Columbus and Tremont.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys!

Can't wait!

The North End is lovely, and even more so since they buried the expressway that used to divide it from the downtown area around Fanuiel Hall.

If you go to the North End, I highly, highly, recommend Neptune Oyster Bar. This place is a gem. Small, but cozy, and exactly what you'd expect from a little seafood restaurant in Boston. The oysters are beyond excellent, but there is also a full menu of deliciously prepared seafood of all sort. The prices are reasonable by Boston standards. I thought it blew Legal Seafood away in every way.

The other place in the North End that I like a lot is Antico Forno, which is an old school Italian restaurant with a huge wood burning oven in the rear of the room. The dishes cooked in the "forno" are the best.

check out BostonChefs.com.

One of my old roommates checked out Finale after we found it on there, and he was blown away...

Which in turn reaffirmed our observation that Louisville really needs a dessertarie/patisserie.

I was just looking at their website last night......the desserts look very European to me! yes, you are right we could use a patisserie!( Hmmmm, Ethan, got any spare time?)

I have not been there yet, (try not to eat TOO many desserts) but I would guess that Sweet Surrender would be the closest thing in Louisville?