146096 Sun Oct 12 15:46:31 -0700 2003 20 12 Boston Area 0 783133 We are originally Asian chowhounds that have been transplanted to NY. We love to explore your great country in-search of their regional food great eats. We'll be coming by Chinatown bus from NYC on a Saturday morning and will be staying overnight. SO, we will have time for 2 lunches, 2 dinners and anything in-between. So far, we are planning to visit the ff: East Coast Grill Prezze Finale Flour Cafe Cannoli places in the North End Please feel free to suggest better and other places to go too. Please suggest the best only in Boston/Cambridge wherever it may be! Stuffs that you can't find in NYC, SF or LA whatever that might be ~~ highly desirable. Looking forward to some great eats. Sun Oct 12 15:46:31 -0700 2003 0 Nyufoodie 1 783138 I have to say, for two lunches and two dinners, I can't make your list any better (unless you want some Taiwanese - I love Taiwan Cafe). Your dessert places are great picks -- and so are your dinner/lunch places. Not sure what's at Prezza now - but I always love their pastas, and if anyone is a hefty meat eater, any of their grilled dishes are fantastic. Have fun! Sun Oct 12 22:09:35 -0700 2003 783133 0 Rubee 2 783168 what is good there? i've never had much success in taiwanese food in manhattan's chinatown. i am particularly looking for this rich pork street food dish served with tea eggs that i cam across during a business trip in kaoshung a few years back. Mon Oct 13 13:00:52 -0700 2003 783138 0 Nyufoodie 3 783173 dunno if they have the pork dish you're looking for, but i like their oyster/black bean and actually prefer it to Peach Farm (although both are very good). soup dumplings also fantastic, as is the beef with poblano peppers. fish balls filled with pork also very good. lots of talk on the board about this place, and probably suggestions for things specifically taiwanese. i have no idea as to the regional specialties. Mon Oct 13 13:54:15 -0700 2003 783168 0 Nab 1 783139 In my experience, desserts at Finale are not better than what you'd find at a good restaurant; and Finale is much more expensive. I would recommend going for some good ice cream instead -- Toscaninni's (richer texture) and Christina's (purer flavours) are board favourites. Try Oleana -- great desserts. Another place in the North End worth trying is Napoli Pastry for sfogliatelle. Get them in the morning when they're fresh (makes a huge difference.) Also good are their imported gelati. Sun Oct 12 22:21:08 -0700 2003 783133 0 Limster 2 783167 thanks for the dessert tips! Mon Oct 13 12:58:38 -0700 2003 783139 0 Nyufoodie 1 783142 I'll probably catch some heat for this, but what the heck... I am a native New Yorker, but I lived in Cambridge for seven years. Based on fairly substantial experience in NYC and metro Boston, I have to tell you that I don't think Boston really has significant outstanding "regional" cuisine that cannot be found in NYC. I went to Boston thinking it would be an exotic world of lobster and clam chowder, but it's basically like NYC but with many fewer restaurants, and the top NYC restaurants just blow away the top Boston places. That being said, I think Boston outdoes NYC foodwise in a few ways. Here are my comments: 1. Italian food in Boston is, on the whole, better than in NYC. You should definitely visit the North End. You've listed Prezza, which is considered a top place, but I would suggest you go to Sage instead. Sage is inventive, delicious, and intimate. Prezza didn't knock my socks off when I went. 1a. While you're in the North End, you should indeed get a cannoli. 2. You should get ice cream. Boston's ice cream is also better than New York's. Christina's, Toscanini's, even Herrell's. They're all great. 3. YOU SHOULD GO TO BARTLEY'S IN HARVARD SQUARE. Bartley's makes the best hamburger I have ever had, and the college atmosphere is great. This place is not to be missed. 4. I think Boston also makes better gourmet sandwiches than New York, although it cannot compete with New York on huge Jewish deli style sandwiches like at Katz's. My favorite sandwich shops were Darwin's and Hi Rise. 5. East Coast Grill is a good restaurant, but there's nothing especially regional about it. I think you can probably find something more special than that place. Mon Oct 13 03:18:42 -0700 2003 783133 0 EatClerk 2 783150 Does NYC have chowder? My experience is that it's some sort of red cioppino stuff. And where does Durgin Park fit on your list? Worthy? Overrated? How about Jacob Wirths? These are certainly the "local" places. Not to mention Union Oyster House and Locke-Obers. Mon Oct 13 10:16:13 -0700 2003 783142 0 Vic Faziole 3 783166 I've never been to legal seafood so, i'm going to try their boston chowder. Mon Oct 13 12:57:00 -0700 2003 783150 0 Nyufoodie 3 783175 Not that this thread should turn into one about my opinion of Boston establishments, but... Chowder: I never had that quintessential cup of chowder that I thought Boston would have. I guess Legal makes a competent enough one, but my inability to find mind-blowing chowder was definitely a Boston disappointment. I think the city rests on its laurels in this regard. Durgin Park: I don't think this place could be overrated, because most people acknowledge that it is mediocre. Sure, it's a fun place, but it really serves massive, middling cuts of meat. I would recommend it to a bunch of college kids looking for a Boston experience, but never to a hound with only a couple of days in Boston. I have never been to Jacob Wirth's. I don't think Union Oyster House was ever making good food during my entire time in Boston, but it's certainly historic. As for Locke-Ober, that's certainly a real old Boston place. Definitely at least worth a look at the room. Mon Oct 13 14:27:38 -0700 2003 783150 0 EatClerk 4 783192 Legal Seafoods for chowder? Is that where you're looking for that "quintessential cup of chowder"? No wonder you're disappointed! Sure, I like their chowder, but I also like Wendy's hamburgers. Is that really the kind of place you want to go looking for the "best"? Surely the definitive cup of chowder is some delapidated shack in Gloucester or Rockport. If not Booth Bay Harbor, Maine. Stay out of chains like Legal and you'll be the better for it. I agree with you on Durgin Park and Union Oyster, though. Mon Oct 13 19:41:43 -0700 2003 783175 0 Vic Faziole 5 783213 You sort of prove my point on chowder here. To repeat, my point is that Boston does not necessarily excel in those foods that people associate with it. If a visitor wants a great cup of chowder, the Boston native recommends going outside of Boston. Tue Oct 14 03:07:34 -0700 2003 783192 0 EatClerk 6 783224 True, which is why it's called New England-style, not Boston style. Tue Oct 14 09:06:26 -0700 2003 783213 0 AlanH 2 783165 I am not much of a sandwich person. But, I do live a few blocks north of Katz's and love their pastrami but do end-up in Russ more often. Thanks for the burger trip. It is actually part of my list but, I'm just not sure where to insert it! I am assuming that I can head to the ice cream places after dinner? What restaurants do you think are better than ECG? But, I am really looking forward to going to that one though. Mon Oct 13 12:55:28 -0700 2003 783142 0 Nyufoodie 2 783193 Having lived half my adult life in Boston and half in New York, I agree with much of what EatClerk says, EXCEPT his comment about finding something more special than East Coast Grill. Yeah, it may not be quintessential Boston, but it's a great restaurant and, in my mind, not to be missed. Mon Oct 13 19:47:04 -0700 2003 783142 0 Ian 3 783214 Yes, I mostly agree with Ian on East Coast Grill. I'm not saying it's not a great place to eat. I'm just saying that there is nothing quintessentially Boston about it. Tue Oct 14 03:11:13 -0700 2003 783193 0 EatClerk 4 783228 The original poster didn't ask for "quintessential Boston", NYUFoodie asked for "Stuff that you can't find in NYC, SF or LA whatever that might be ~~ highly desirable.", which is what people seem to be overlooking.... Tue Oct 14 10:22:45 -0700 2003 783214 0 galleygirl 1 783152 Your list looks like it'll do you proud, noting Limster's reservations about Finale; it never gets very excitng reviews here... When my NY chowhound friends come to town, their list of must-haves that they can't get back home (and they search long and hard!) include the amazing Florentines at Modern pastry in the North End; don't ignore everything but the cannolis...Also, the pistachio macaroons (the house-made ones) at Mike's Pastry; little, ugly, greenish lumps of rich, seeet, denseness.. Their other must-haves begin right across from the bus-stop...Before you hit one of your choices for lunch, I would suggest you go right from the bus to Peach Farm Seafood, down a flight of stairs at 4 Tyler Street, 2 streets in from the Chinatown Gate...Yep, I know thre's great Chinese food in NY, but the oysters on the half-shell with black bean sauce here will make you weep..Just have a few as an appetizer (you'll be hungry after your bus-ride!), then proceed...If you can tear yourself away... Next must-have for my friends in East Coast Grill, lots of posts here...But the black and blue tuna, raw on the inside, charred on the outside, is what I go for... Mon Oct 13 10:30:23 -0700 2003 783133 0 galleygirl 2 783164 thanks for the great tips! I love oysters and should check-out the ones nearby. I also was planning to order the tuna in ECG and some of their dishes from hell. Mon Oct 13 12:50:51 -0700 2003 783152 0 Nyufoodie 3 783174 You can't go wrong with the tuna, but don't dismiss the daily specials-- more often than not they'll be the star on any given night. Also, IIRC, the dishes From Hell are primarily served on Hell Nights not as regular menu items, although the Sausages from Hell are sold as a regular appetizer, and maybe also the Pasta From Hell. Mon Oct 13 14:17:30 -0700 2003 783164 0 AlanH 1 783254 For something a bit different, you can order the following at Clio, for starters (call ahead to make sure they have): Tomato-water "martini" Tempura zucchini blossoms w/ spicy aioli Lobster/uni cassoulet (in the uni shell if you're lucky) Pico rocco (Chilean barnacle--if available) Kimoto honjyozu (sp?) sake Tue Oct 14 13:55:41 -0700 2003 783133 0 barleywino