147004 Fri Jan 30 14:00:49 -0800 2004 19 12 Boston Area 0 787899 Greetings fellow Hounds. . . Long time New Orleans board hound and contributor, in search of some helpful Boston hints. We're coming up from NEPA the last weekend in March and staying in Cambridge at a boutique hotel called Hotel Marlowe. First, anyone have any yays/nays for Marlowe? Second, and most important - the four of us LIVE TO EAT! We'd like some recommendations for dinners two nights in the area. Price isn't as important as quality! We like all kinds of food. Your comments are most welcome! DY Fri Jan 30 14:00:49 -0800 2004 0 Damn Yankee 1 787902 Have heard good things about the Marlowe but haven't been over to see it. For dinner in Cambridge you might consider East Coast Grill which is discussed on this board almost weekly. A fun casual and lively place with really well turned out fish and passable barbecue. It also has a good raw bar and mighty fine Margaritas. For more formal (and expensive) but not stuffy, try Rialto. If you have ethnic interests, Cambridge has a number of good Portuguese restaurants. If you are venturing into Boston, Chowhound faves in no particular order have been: Sage (north end) see postings by Limster Prezza (north end) Peach Farm (Chinatown) see postings by Galleygirl (In fact read any posting by Galleygirl. She is the heart and soul of this Board imho). For very high end $$$$$ places try Clio or Radius. So many places so little time..... Fri Jan 30 14:43:53 -0800 2004 787899 0 Northender 2 787903 Check out EVOO. Fab food, great menu, wonderful service, low-key atmosphere. Near the city line between Cambridge and Somerville. The daily specials lists are very long and wonderfully considered. I've never had less than a wonderful meal there. Link: http://www.evoorestaurant.com Fri Jan 30 15:04:07 -0800 2004 787902 0 Karl S. 2 787919 If you go to a high-end place like Clio, you'll probably have the most fun if you get the tasting menu. At Clio you can start with some apps/cocktails/cold sake (a bamboo carafe of Kimoto or bottle of Seiryo are good bets) at the Uni sashimi bar downstairs and then once you feel well-lubricated and loosened up you can retire to the dining room for the Main Event... Fri Jan 30 16:34:35 -0800 2004 787902 0 barleywino 3 787922 Be sure to confirm at time of reservation and before you are seated that the chef is serving the Tasting menu at Clio - we have been disappointed many times that it was not available. Fri Jan 30 16:57:17 -0800 2004 787919 0 AJ 3 787967 If you ever get to New Orleans, go to Commanders Palace in the Garden District. They have gotten some mixed reviews in the last several years due to some chef changes, but Michelin rated it the best restaurant in the country some years ago. The tasting menu, paired with a wine flight is absolutely decadent! And for dessert, they brought out one of everything! A culinary orgasm!!! Sun Feb 01 09:23:18 -0800 2004 787919 0 Damn Yankee 1 787920 Marlowe is part of the Kimpton Chain - haven't been to that specific hotel, per se, but I've stayed at other Kimpton hotels in DC and they're all very pleasant. East Coast Grill is a great recommendation. They don't generally take reservations, so go early or be prepared to wait. I also like Dali (actually in Somerville) and Salts, which is nearer your hotel. Hi-Rise Bakery has two locations in Cambridge, on in Harvard Square and one closer to Porter, and they have great breads and sandwiches, salads and soups. I always enjoy having lunch or an early casual dinner there. If you want hot chocolate, check out Burdick's, also in Harvard Square (and near the Hi-Rise there). It's amazing. I also like Taranta, which is actually in the North End. Their artisan fusilli is to die for. Fri Jan 30 16:36:22 -0800 2004 787899 0 jacinthe 1 787923 I've passed through the hotel on my way to the restaurant, Bambara (a nice little place, but not worth it if you're just in town for 2 days.) It reminds me of any boutique hotel in San Francisco, with the velvet-y overstuffed furniture, etc. East Coast Grill is a solid suggestion (great brunch, too) and I'm also quite fond of Oleana on Hampshire Street ("Arabic influenced foods of the Mediterranean" from the web site: www.oleanarestaurant.com) - I've had some fantastic meals there and still dream about the butterflied schnitzel pork chop - wow! Dali is good, but I prefer the tapas-type plates of Atasca (Portuguese) for much better quality and value. And speaking of Portuguese, you're about a 10-15 minute walk from what is one of the biggest Portuguese/Brazilian communities around, Inman Square. Ask your concierge to point you in the direction and you'll be fairly immersed as you walk down Cambridge Street. You could have a fine Portuguese meal at Sunset Cafe or O'Cantinho (owned by the same folks as Atasca, see - http://www.atasca.com/ocantinho/) or a hearty fish stew or a sampling of salgadinhos at Muqueca, a small family-run spot that I adore (this might be better for a quick snack or light lunch). Across the street from Muqueca is Casal Bakery, perfect for a morning cappuccino and pasteis de nata, a sweet custard-style pastry. Oh, and if you end up in the area, you owe it to yourself to visit Christina's Ice Cream for dessert (it's right next door to East Coast Grill and just 1-2 blocks from the Portuguese places, maybe 3 minutes or so from Oleana.) Carrot cake was my favorite flavor for a while, not sure if they have it right now. (what I wouldn't do for an oyster po' boy from Acme right now!) Fri Jan 30 16:59:02 -0800 2004 787899 0 MB 2 787937 Don't miss the dessert at Oleanna, especially the fruit based ones. The food there is good, but I go back mostly for their superlative sweets that are original but sensible. Might just be me, but I vastly prefer the custardy pasteis de nata at O'Cantinho over the starchy one at Casal. Consider the Cape Verdean food at Luciano's, also on Cambridge street. Awesome fried yucca. Fri Jan 30 23:27:09 -0800 2004 787923 0 Limster 3 787994 I keep meaning to stop by O'Cantinho and do a sampling, all in the name of research, of course. Casal's aren't made on premises and so I think some days they're fantastic (fresh) and other times it's day #2. Mon Feb 02 09:44:26 -0800 2004 787937 0 MB 2 787966 been shucken 'em, sucken 'em and eaten them raw for 12 glorious years now!!! Sun Feb 01 09:19:45 -0800 2004 787923 0 Damn Yankee 1 787924 Troquet is our favorite city spot. Now that they have opened up the second floor, the views of Boston Common are even better than before! And by the time you arrive, their wine-tasting bar should be open on the first floor (scheduled to open February 2). Great bistro fare with fabulous wines (40+ by the glass in 2 or 4 oz servings) that are wonderfully reasonably priced. Fri Jan 30 16:59:36 -0800 2004 787899 0 AJ 1 787933 I can't DITTO loudly enough about the hot chocolate at burdicks- it is beyond anything I've ever had before. all the chocolate there is great, but that's a mind blower. I also agree with all the high end places... Clio is great, Rialto is great... but after all that great, rich food, sometimes you need a little home cookin'- so I would add a great place for cheese fries and burgers when you are looking for a great lunch, Bartley's (spelling? help!) it's right across from harvard yard and the burgers are fresh, wacky combos offered along with the classics. very tasty. very low key. if you are down by kendall square I would recommend Emma's pizza for a great, artisan pizza. it's beautiful, thin, you get to choose sauce, and all the toppings. great salads, too. they had a cult following when they were on huron, and while the move didn't hurt the food at all, it's easier to walk in now and get a pizza. (you could, on a saturday, wait several hours before a pizza would be ready). Fri Jan 30 19:06:00 -0800 2004 787899 0 steakandeggs 2 787934 The move didn't hurt Emma's, but the change in ownership did..... Fri Jan 30 19:08:06 -0800 2004 787933 0 galleygirl 3 787948 whoa... when did dave and wendy stop owning emma's??????? Sat Jan 31 15:14:47 -0800 2004 787934 0 steakandeggs 1 787940 Will just add a couple of things to the many great things mentioned already. On the big picture side of things, I think Italian is probably one of the strongest suits of this city, so you might consider having one dinner be Italian. Sage and Prezza are the most popular on this board for fancy Italian; both are in the North End and you won't go wrong with either. I'm more fond of Sage, mostly because it's a little less expensive, and because they will do a 7 course tasting menu on request, which is often more than 7 dishes, since the pasta dish is often a pasta tasting of 2 or 3 pastas, and the entree usually a surf and turf pick of the menu, a fish on one side and meat on another. Other good places to go, that are less pricey: Rustic Kitchen (for handmade pasta), Centro and Limoncello (for spicy Calabrese cooking). BTW, if you're in the North End, do stop by Napoli Pastry for sfogliatelle (2 varieties: a multilayered crust in the riche and a crumbly one on the frolle) as well as Modern Pastry for fresh filled cannoli (I prefer plain ones filled with ricotta). Portuguese (and its ex-colonies) also have a great showing, as mentioned in many of the responses in this thread. This area is also a pretty good hunting ground for regional Indian. In addition to the more common Punjabi cream-heavy fare, you'll see honest-to-goodness Bengali at Royal Indian (be sure to get their mishti dol/sweet yogurt for dessert) or the lighter flavouring of Gujarat at Namaskar, where vegetables are a strength (just be careful with their face-puckering pickles -- eat them as a condiment, not on their own). A nuber of Indian places here try to strike a few regions, Tanjore, Bhindi Bazaar and Rangoli are perhaps some of the better pan-regional Indian places. If you're willing to drive 45mins or take a train, Udipi Bhavan in Framingham is worth the trip for extremely well made vegetarian South Indian, the quality of which is probably surpassed in this country only in the heavily Indian-populated areas near Silicon Valley. Although Chinese isn't as up to stuff as I would like, I've been rather pleased with the Sichuan (western China) places in general. Rice Garden, a tiny takeout with 2 four-seat tables is currently the place I'm most excited about, primarily because it's the first in the area to really demonstrate a serious and careful balance of the hot and numbing qualities characteristic of the cuisine. But also worthwhile is the homey Zoe's, especially for their twice cooked pork and their outstanding red bean pancake; fried meat-stuffed lotus roots are also good. Shandong (North East China) places aren't bad either, although that's my second choice. There's good boiled dumplings and other treats at Qingdao or Wang's Fast Food. Not banquet quality, but very reasonable homestyle food. Potstickers (often called Peking ravioli) are excellent at King Fung Garden, as are their scallion pancakes. A pretty reasonable showing of small plates, snacks and dishes at Noodle Alcove too, even though I think their knife-shaved noodles have gone downhilll. As you must know, this is a mere tip of the chowberg. Hope it's a useful start. You'll definitely benefit by browsing the boards for more detail on these places. Hope to hear where you went and how you liked the food. Sat Jan 31 01:07:24 -0800 2004 787899 0 Limster 1 787943 I haven't been in Boston that long, but let me give you some suggestions based on what Boston is known for. Check this board for more specific restaurants because I am a novice, but here's how I would think about it: Types of food Boston is better at (or should be): Italian Seafood Brazilian (Portugese) maybe Indian or Chinese - not sure what New Orleans has, but definitely above average here in Boston So, if you have four meals in two days, I would suggest a dinner in the North End (followed by a trip to a bakery - I've had the best cannoli outside of Italy here in Boston). If price isn't a factor, for the other dinner, maybe one of Boston's higher end places -- Locke Ober and Radius are on the top of my list for places to try. From experience, I can say Great Bay and East Coast Grill are winners (and you get the seafood there). For lunches, someone suggested a walk down Cambridge Street and that sounds good. Maybe dim sum one morning - there are some good recos on this board, esp. from galleygirl. Sat Jan 31 08:03:36 -0800 2004 787899 0 nomadfromcincy 1 787964 I've only been to New Orleans a few times, but if I were a native visiting Boston and looking for chow, I'd want to eat things that I just can't get at home. IIRC, New Orleans has an amazing food scene, particularly in the seafood department, including a wide range of high-end "dining" choices (creole, new american, etc.) and a lot of little places for good chow (oysters, po boys, muffaletta, crawfish, etc.). So, I'll echo a few general recommendations here and throw in a few more: 1. Definitely hit the North End for Italian. All of the suggestions that have already been made are right on target, though I'll also throw Pomodoro into the mix. Tiny little restaurant on the main drag (Hanover Street) that takes no reservations and doesn't have a bathroom. BUT, incredible fried calamari with a truly unbelievable marinara for dipping, great carbonara, marsala, caesar salad, and more. Simple, unrefined, absolutely delicious food. And since they don't have dessert, walk across the street to Mike's Pastries. Some folks prefer other places, but I love Mike's cannolis and lobster tails. 2. Also definitely hit Chinatown. Does N'Awlins even have a Chinatown? As much as I love Taiwan Cafe and King Fung Garden, I'd think out-of-towners who don't have a similar concentration of Chinese restaurants would be best served at Peach Farm Seafood. See many posts on this board about Chinatown in general including restaurant & ordering recommendations. 3. I'm sure you'll find yourself in Harvard Square, a stone's throw from Inman Square. So whether you end up going for Portuguese or East Coast Grill in Inman or sticking around Harvard for lunch at Bartley's burgers or dinner at Rialto, make your way over to Christina's ice cream. Boston has an amazing affinity for ice cream, and you'll find great options in Herrell's, Toscanini's, J.P. Licks, and more, though Christina's is a notch above the rest. Have a great trip! :) BK Sun Feb 01 08:04:20 -0800 2004 787899 0 BK 2 787965 Thanks for the info. Quite honestly, the food in New Orleans cannot be matched for variety and quality (IMHO). For those who live to eat, it's the only place where you can experience such a wide variety of tastes and textures. And no, NO does not have a Chinatown. Not yet, anyway! TB Sun Feb 01 09:11:53 -0800 2004 787964 0 Damn Yankee 1 788741 Stayed at the Marlowe last summer and really enjoyed the hotel and the service. Rooms have a funky style (leopard print throw and carpet if I recall correctly). Bathroom was luxurious, beautiful wallpaper and off beat light fixtures. I really liked the decor, but I guess some might find it too trendy. Also, in the late afternoon they serve complimentary wine in a living room area off the lobby.They are also very pet friendly. But best of all was they lent us bicycles to check out the neighboorhood. We had such fun exploring the streets of Cambridge. Also, rode along the Charles River with a beautiful view of the Boston skyline. The nearest T stop is Lechemere (sp?) it is a 5 - 10 minute walk from the hotel.So transportation is not a problem. I hope you enjoy the hotel as much as I did. Fri Feb 20 09:42:51 -0800 2004 787899 0 Research Rose