Boston -- Classic or Dirty Water?

the red house in harvard square is super super cosy (especially the small rooms w/fireplaces)

oleana is supposed to be really wonderful for a special dinner. that's in cambridge too, but closer to inman. it's mediteranean.

google both, they should pop right up.

upstairs on the square is great for that too.

haha was just going to say rialto and harvest.

I've also heard that Aujourd'hui is massively overrated.)

I've had that sense too. I'm relying on a semi-recent namecheck, but it's based upon an historical selection.

Upstairs on the Square might not be special enough in ambience. But the food is quite good, and it's really lovely for brunch overlooking that square (which is called what again?).

I haven't been to Oleanna, but I remember getting really excited reading the menu.

I haven't been to the one in Charlestown so I can't speak to it. He's got another restaurant on the border of Back Bay and the Theatre District called Bonfire that I walk past all the time but have never eaten at. Also the Ritz Carlton has a place called Jer-Nae ("journey": yes, I know) that I've never eaten at but is great for drinks (solely because they have Absolut Peppar and hence you can get spicy vodka tonics there).

(xpost: Stewart, I think you should investigate Chez Henri on Shepard St. in Cambridge. IIRC they don't cost a mint and it's a cool place.)

Pomodoro near Coolidge Corner, in Brookline. Our new fave.

oh, and is there any really good sushi to be had in boston?

am i going to have problems finding good vegetarian food? i kind of feel spoiled because in london a lot of the 'fancy' restaurants have started adding veg menus as options, so i'm not only faced with health food places.

we'll probably do at least one nice/fancy dinner, but will probably be eating out at less expensive and less fancy places quite a bit as well. oh, and the ice cream!

xpost-- we are such dorks both posting to the same threads on our laptops

Uni, as I mentioned above, is probably your best bet in terms of invention. Otherwise, I don't know, but I don't think it's really a Boston strength.

as for non-fancy places, I would be sure to eat at Durgin-Park. both East Coast Grill and Jasper White's Summer Shack have fancy and non-fancy (and pricey and non-pricey, the latter especially cheap) food in non-fancy but fun settings.

COFFEE AT ALGIERS

PLENTY OF VEG PLACES-TRY THE GRASSHOPPER OR BUDDHAS DELIGHT

But I'll probably just end up going up there around the time you do Gabbneb, which has been an annual event for the past six years. You need to work your sources for Green Monster seats for me.

is this a boston franchise?!? 'cause i've seen them in NYC and philadelphia. and it seems like a down-market version of dunkin donuts (which i always thought was a boston franchise).

I will be in your area Nov. 7-10, and in Cambridge during the day on the 7th. Let's meet-up!

Sincerely,
Youn

Some amazing Venezuelan food to be found in Boston.

So... are there exciting festivals etc in Boston in the summer (July-September)? So far I have discovered the jazz festival in late September, and the Tanglewood classical festival which appears to be really quite far from Boston. Surely there must be some pop/rock/electronic stuff?

you can take a bus to/from Tanglewood

http://www.bso.org/bso/mods/c_09_gen_images.jsp;jsessionid=YPTRGEWGJF42OCTFQMGCFEQ?id=30300043

But the answer's basically no, afaik. You want folk/roots music-type stuff, there's a decent amount of that nearby, but no Glasto-type events. Most of your big festivals exist in places where there are fewer big cities - everyone comes here anyway - and to the extent you find them on the East Coast, they're usually gonna be more central, i.e. between NY and DC.

if you're just looking for (semi-)outdoor concerts, and maybe this is obv, there's the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, plus the South Shore Music Circus and Cape Cod Melody Tent

There's definitely a growing electronic scene if you are into house/techno/nu-rave stuff. I think there was a small indie-pop festival last year too.