Not at all comprehensive list of good chow in Boston

[StriperGuy]

Think I have posted this before. Focus is on mostly funky, ethnic, harder to find. The fancy stuff is much easier to hunt down, and for that noone really needs assistance. So here it is, my July 2007 not at all comprehensive list of good food in greater Boston.

Please chime in with things I forgot, overlooked, or just don't know about.

I also left out obvious things like grocery stores in Chinatown, cause if you can't find those on your own you are just not trying ;-).

Café Angela – Brooks and Lexington E. Boston
Fab Mexican Takes Beantown Mexican to a new level

Vinny’s at Night 76 Broadway Somerville [phone]
Best “Red Sauce Italian” in Boston!

Carlo's Cucina Italiana, 131 Brighton Ave
Allston, MA [phone]
Better then north end. Love this place. Good prices

Xinh Xinh Chinatown Great Vietnamese in Boston other then Dorchester Intersection of Beach and Washington on Beach

El Pelon Taquieria Not everything is great, but best fish taco this side of San Diego just moved out near BC

Super 88 – Great Food Court, Brighton
Brighton Ave just where it splits from Comm. Ave Great Vietnamese food and sandwiches at Pho Viet, Good Taiwanese at Wisteria, the Hong Kong Style roast meat place is good
Panificio Charles Street Beacon Hill not far from Red Line
My favorite coffee place. Good pizza, sandwiches, and pastries

Oleana, 134 Hampshire St, Cambridge [phone]
One of the best restaurants in Boston, not cheap
Best outdoor dining in Boston. Chef Ana Sortun just one James Beard Award for Best Chef in Northeast.
Ken’s Ramen
(same building as Super88 Brighton but on the side)
By far best Japanese noodles in Boston

Sakurabana, Broad Street, Financial District
not far from intersection of State and Broad
OId school sushi Been around for 20 years and still one of the best in Boston. Does most of it’s business lunch hour so a nice quiet place for dinner during the week or on weekend. Tuesday they have crazy cheap, crazy good sushi special. Noodles are also excellent.

Porter Exchange Mall
Porter Square Cambridge
Lots of mostly Japanese food stalls, general good stuff

Yi Soon Bakery Brighton Ave Brighton
Taiwanese Bakery with a really nice little sit-down tea shop next door. Yi soon has all sorts of interesting stuff. The Sweet potato pastry and the egg custard.
Clear Flour Bread Bakery
178 Thorndike St, Brookline [phone]
Near split of Comm and Brighton
Best croissant in town great bread.
Grotto [phone] [phone]
37 Bowdoin St Beacon Hill
Reasonable $ great food romantic italian

Hong Kong Eatery Chinatown
Good roast meats, side street off Beach
Franklin Café 278 Shawmut Ave [phone]
South End, One of the best places in Boston and prices are not bad for how fancy the food is. Also good bar scene
Buff's Pub 317 Washington St, Newton, MA [phone]
Top of Galen Street and right on Washington
Just a bar, possible best wings in Boston
Specials are good and cheap. Crazy on Friday/Saturday

Blue Ribbon BBQ locations in Arlington and Newtown
Best BBQ North of the South. Arlington a little more reliable
Taiwan Café [phone]
34 Oxford St Chinatown Excellent food a perennial favorite

Winsor Dim Sum Café Best - Excellent Dim sum
10 Tyler Street Boston, chinatown [phone]
Hei La Moon [phone]
88 Beach St, Chinatown good cart style dim sum
Kam-Man Foods, 221 Quincy Ave
Quincy 617-328-1533
Great food court and Chinese groceries
JNJ Turo Turo (Filipino Cuisine)
143 Water St, Quincy, MA Ph: [phone]
Sichuan Gourmet 978-670-7339
502 Boston Rd. (aka Rte 3A) Billerica

Fuloon Restaurant www.fuloon-restaurant.com
375 Main Street, Malden [phone]
Superb Chinese great Sichuan

Blue Asia – Allston MA 113 Brighton Avenue
[phone] nice homey Taiwanese
Yi Soon Bakery across the street is also excellent
Café Polonia [phone] 611 Dorchester Ave
Polish, excellent, reasonable, lots of food

Fresh Farms Rotisserie - Greek
Needham/Newton Line nr. china fair

Lowell Vietnamese
Thanh Thanh - 475 Chelmsford St.
SE Asian - Behind Dutton & Market
Thao's - 80 Gorham St.
Pho 88 - 1270 Westford St Chelmsford

Szechuan Village Brookline
Excellent genuine Szechuan food

Allie's Donuts in N. Kingstown RI

Dakshin 672 Waverly St, Framingham, MA
[phone] Indian Good

Tacos Lupita - [phone]
13 Elm St. Somerville

Athan's Cakes Biscuits & Chocolates
1621 Beacon Street, Brookline 1-617-734-7028
New location in Brighton center their “Jamaica” is an awesome chocolate mousse cake. Some of their other stuff is iffy.

Dok Bua – Thai Cambodian awesome!!!
411 Harvard St., Brookline best in boston!

Thwaites Market, [phone],
36 Railroad St, Methuen, Railroad & Oakland Ave
pork pies & tasty french-canadian treats

Udipi Bhavan 417 Waverly St 135/126 Framingham 508-820-0230

Rincon Limeno - Peruvian
409 Chelsea St., East Boston. 617-569-4942
Excellent

PEPPER POT, 381 Blue Hill Ave 445-4409 about 2-3 blocks down from Grove Hall heading towards Boston fish soup barbequed beef Jamaican

FLAMES 663 Morton St. Mattapan 296-4972 Jamaican food. Drive down Blue Hill Ave towards Mattapan at police station at the corner of Morton (I think) you go right. It's just up around the corner on the left.

Trinidadian Ali's Roti Blue Hill Ave, too, at the same intersection by the police station/Mobil (Morton Street.

)

Irie at 310 Bowdoin in Dorchester 617-929-3866 --- Jerk and stewed chicken, goat stew, meat patties and turnovers

Lynn

La Fe Restaurant - Dominican
189 Union St.
781-593-3333
Bright and brisk, this takeout place specializes in food fried, baked, and stewed. Whether red snapper or fishcakes, the offerings are fresh and light. Plantains, two pieces for $1, are not to be missed!

D'Leomar
228 Union St.
781-595-6114
An Old World Dominican buffet, with over a dozen island specialties. The prices are equally appetizing, with a lunch plate $5, and dinner, $8.

Mi Guatemala Bakery
201 Union St.
781-598-5851
Pastries in this quaint little hole-in-the-wall cost 60 cents.

Rincon Macorisano
350 Washington St.
781-592-5823
Stop in to commune with the Dominican baseball gods, swing to the bachata, and feast on island favorites from $2 (salad) to $25 (lobster soup)

Jims Bagel & Bake Shoppe
[phone]
24 Washington St.
Gloucester, MA 01930

Bá Lè Bakery Bahn Mi
1449 Dorchester Ave
Dorchester, MA

Sichuan Garden II 2 Alfred St.
Woburn 781-935-8488; 781-935-1652

Singh's Roti Shop 617 282 7977
692 Columbia Rd. Dorchester
(near intersection of Mass Av and Columbia Rd.)

Sichuan Gourmet
[phone] [phone]
271 Worcester RD. (Rte.9), Framingham

Brookline Family Rest. Turkish 617-277-4466
305 Washington Street, Daily, 7 a.m.–11 p.m.

Kane's Doughnuts 120 Lincoln Ave (near Ballard St)
Saugus 781-233-8499

Chung Ki Wa, in Medford Sq. Decent Korean
27-29 Riverside Ave. 781-391-5606

Little Q Hotpot, 196 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington
[phone] Amazing Mongolian hot pot

Cantonese: (all Chinatown)

Peach Farm Seafood – Best Chinese seafood

Hong Kong Eatery Roast Meats

Great Taste Bakery & Restaurant
63 Beach Street Boston, MA [phone]
Nice homey rice plates, good steamed buns

North-Eastern Chinese/Beijing:

Wangs Fast Food, 509 Broadway Somerville 617-623-298 2
Excellent dumplings and other Chinese

Beijing Star, homemade noodles, dimsum, ask for Chinese menu www.beijing-star.com
835 Main St., Waltham, 781-642-8888

Taiwanese:

Mulan - 228 Broadway Cambridge(617) 441-8813
The bacony pork in a pancake is amazing. Lots of other good dishes.

Shangri-La 149 Belmont St -Belmont
[phone] www.shangrilachinese.com
Great food, great dim sum, tea smoked duck!

The Best Little Restaurant (Chinatown) Superb a favorite
13 Hudson St Boston, MA 617-338-4988 Long bean and pork with lettuce wrap, garlic fried spare rib, squab

Brazilian Bakeries:

Padaria Brazil - 125 Harvard Ave. Allston
[phone] – Good savories, don’t bother with sweets

Panificadora Modelo 508 Medford Street, Somerville
[phone]‎

Pastelaria Broadway, 192 Broadway, Somerville
[phone] savory stuff and sandwiches

Shanghai Gate in Allston serves very good Shanghainese.

New Shanghai Allston is excellent for Shanghainese, especially the appetizers and small plates

Katmandu Spic Mass. Ave Arlington
Excellent Nepali food

Martsa on Elm Davis Sq Somerville – Homey Tibetan food

Mittaheap - 877 Western Avenue Lynn(781) 477-6045
superb Cambodian
-Taqueria Jalisco in Day Sq (Mexican) - One of the only Mexican owned and operated taquerias in Eastie. Their adobada and lengua tacos are superb. Torta de adobada is one of my wife's favorites. Nice owners.
S&I Thai - 68A Brighton Ave. Allston 617-254-8488
Nice homy authentic – great baked goods near register

Yoma 5 N Beacon St Allston superb Burmese!
[phone] www.yomaboston.com

Malden MA Ethiopian – very good
www.fasikarestaurant.com [phone]

Wonder Café Watertown Sq
Nice homey Taiwanese

Demos Watertown Square – No ambience
Very good kebabs and black eyed pea soup

Tabrizi Bakery Watertown Sq
Superb Persian sweets – Walnut Macaroons are insane

Arax Armenian Grocery 585 Mount Auburn Street Watertown [phone] My favorite Green grocer, prepared food, baked goods

Sevan – Right nearby, also worth a stop

Red Lentil – Grat vegetarian resto right across street

Diner right nearby does great pancakes, CROWDED for brunch

Verna's Donut Shop www.vernaspastry.com
2344 Mass. Ave Cambridge [phone]
My favorite

Linda’s Donuts - 247 Belmont St
Belmont [phone] also good

Ohlin's Bakery 456 Common St Belmont, MA
[phone] Good donuts, apple fritter, skip the cakes and pastries

Iggy's Bread of the World
www.iggysbread.com
130 Fawcett Street
Cambridge, MA 02138-1112
[phone] Awesome!

www.danishpastryhouse.com

Two locations:

The pastries are lame, but the German style, insanely dense like a brick breads are worth the trip.

330 Boston Avenue
Medford, MA 02155
tel. [phone]

205 Arlington Street, Unit 4
Watertown, MA 02472
tel. [phone]

Hi-Rise Bread Co
208 Concord Avenue, Cambridge - [phone]
Good sandwiches, baked goods and pastries
Pricey

Formaggio Kitchen
www.formaggiokitchen.com
244 Huron Ave Cambridge, MA [phone]
Might be best cheese shop in N. America

New Deal Seafood
622 Cambridge Street Cambridge, MA [phone]
Mon 3pm-7pm; Tue-Fri 10am-7pm; Sat 9:30am-6:30pm
Easily best fish store in Boston area

Courthouse seafood nearby is not bad either

www.modernpastry.com
Malden and North End Locations
Great Florentines, turrone, pastries, cassata, ricotta pie

Maria’s in the North End is also good

Sulmona Meat Market – Boston’s BEST!
32 Parmenter Street, Boston - [phone]

For good meat for small $ try Mcinnon’s in Somerville

A Russo & Sons Inc www.russos.com
560 Pleasant Street Watertown [phone]
Amazing, hug green grocer with bakery, pasta, flowers cheese, dairy. A Boston institution.

Wilson Farm - www.wilsonfarm.com
10 Pleasant Street Lexington, MA [phone]
Like Russo’s MORE $ not as big.

www.verrillfarm.com
Amazing farm stand near Walden Pond
Bakery, produce, etc.

This web site has listings of farmer’s markets all over MA:
http://www.massfarmersmarkets.org/

Toraya - 890 Massachusetts Ave Arlington, MA
[phone] – Superb homey sushi and cooked Japanese food. Their Lunch bento’s are great.

Kabab & Tandoor - www.kababandtandoor.com
699 Main St Waltham [phone]
Some of Boston’s best Indian. Order the things you don’t recognize

Guru the Caterer
www.guruthecaterer.com
1297 Broadway
Somerville, MA 02144-1724
[phone]
Also good Indian

Taqueria Mexico - www.taqueriamexico.com
24 Charles Street Waltham, MA [phone]
Decent homey taco place

H Mart 3 Old Concord Road
Burlington, MA [phone]
Huge Korean grocery store

O'Fado Restaurant - www.ofadorestaurant.com
72 Walnut Street Peabody [phone]
Great Portugese

There is a great Portuguese Bakery also on Walnut.

Cakes for Occasions
Danvers, MA – Yum

Formosa Taipei - 315 Marrett Rd. Lexington [phone]
www.formosa-taipei.com Great Taiwanese

Karl's Sausage Kitchen Inc
AWESOME!
www.karlssausage.com
142 Broadway
Saugus, MA 01906-1027
[phone]

[MC Slim JB]

A lot of my favorites on there already! A few more, not-at-all comprehensive, just what I can think of for budget-priced places from visits over the past couple of years:

Boston Speed's Famous Hot Dog Wagon, Newmarket Square. Favorite hot dog stand in Boston.

Zo, Government Center, Greek. Pork gyros.

Cafe Latino, Government Center, Puerto Rican. Pernil asado.

Griyo Lakay, Dorchester near Franklin Park, Haitian. Griyo.

Lee's Store & Bakery, Fields Corner. Bahn mi.

WAN Convenience, Mission Hill. Jamaican owner, mostly doing big, messy American sandwiches.

Clover Food Lab, Kendall Square. Extraordinary truck food: pastries, coffee, sandwiches, salads, fries. Meat eaters won't care that it's vegan and vegetarian.

Karo's BBQ, two Downtown Crossing stands. Excellent Armenian chicken kabobs.

Cutty's, Brookline Village, American. Small, beautifully-made sandwiches.

The Spot Cafe, outside Watertown Square. Breakfast fare.

Deluxe Town Diner, Watertown. My favorite all-around breakfast place, great pancakes, a rare exponent of jonnycakes in Greater Boston.

Fordee's Falafel, Watertown. My favorite falafel.

Indian Dhaba, Allston. Probably the best Desi Chinese menu in town.

Fiorella's, Newtonville. Fine neighborhood Italian with good medium-crust pizza.

Vinh-Sun, Chinatown. Very good Chinese BBQ.

The Snack Bar / O Senhor Ramos. East Cambridge. Great Azorean specialties.

Rino's Place, Eastie. Very fine Abruzzese specials, solid red-sauce Italian-American otherwise.

Dorado Tacos & Cemitas, JFK Crossing. Excellent cemitas.

Scup's in the Harbor, Eastie. Fine little bakery/cafe/restaurant in a working commercial shipyard.

Trini's, Arsenal Mall. Excellent little taqueria with Mexico City chef-owner in a mall food court.

Flat Patties, Harvard Square. A very good griddled budget burger.

Lee's Place, Newton Centre. Another good budget burger, this one grilled.

Hanmaru, Allston. Good little Korean place specializing in gamjatang.

Alex's Chimis, Jamaica Plain. Dominican. Fine rotisserie chicken and chimis.

El Paisa, Eastie. Excellent Colombian sit-down restaurant.

Pupuseria Mama Blanca, Eastie. Excellent Salvadorean/Mexican.

Auntie B's, W. Roxbury. Way above average diner fare.

Mike & Patty's, Bay Village. Tiny, superb breakfast/lunch place.

Mi Tierra, Waltham Center. Excellent Guatemalan fare.

Taqueria El Amigo, Waltham. My favorite little Mexican taqueria.

Blunch, South End. A fine indie breakfast/lunch spot.

Pita Kabob, Downtown Crossing. Good Persian kebab place, excellent kubideh.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[Ora Moose]

It may be "Not at all comprehensive' if you say so but it's a heck of a start. Thanks, Striper Guy and MC.

[mvi]

OMG, I am in love with you. Thank you!

[StriperGuy]

Whoops forgot the Russian Grocery stores, Google addresses for yourselves:

Baza in Newton. Truly Amazing, WOW. If you wan't Russian or Eastern European food run don't walk.

Berezka at Comm and Harvard in Alston ain't bad.

Bazaar off Brighton Ave in Allston is big and pretty good and has some nice prepared lunches. Somewhere between Berezka and Baza in terms of size, etc.

I'm sure I'm leaving out a few.

Heck while I'm at it Rosenfeld's in Newton for bagels and the most amazing Challah.

I have come around to the fact the Brugger's chain is not bad either.

Iggy's does some cool round bready things that technically are not bagels, but are good.

Many of the farmer's markets have really good bread sellers.

And if you can check out the When Pigs Fly bread outlet in Somerville, their breads are also superb:

When Pigs Fly Bread
www.sendbread.com
378 Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02144-2508
[phone]

[itaunas]

A few things which haven't been mentioned....

Chelsea can tend to be overlooked because its not right on the T, but there is bus service from Haymarket, East Boston, and the commuter rail. It has some great gems. Las Carnitas de Monte Cristo is excellent Salvadoran, El Charrito isn't quite as good. El Chalan is my favorite peruvian rotisserie place and does decent with meat plates (overall not as good as Rincon Limeno). Katz and Arthur's are both excellent. I prefer sit-down Dominican to it in Lynn, but Latino Restaurant is pretty good greasy counter/take-out eating. Bella Isla can hit the spot and has a decent selection of mofongos (again you can do better in Lynn). John's Pizza is a good example of a place where the owners make the dough and pizzas which helps them provide a consistent decent pie. There are some better options for Guatemalan, and many restaurants have some basic Honduran offerings.

Vinny's gets a lot of attention, but there are plenty of suburban alternatives including Abbondanza, Nappi (for sandwiches), and Pastalina is worthy of note.

Under markets I think La Sultana Market (aka El Valle de la Sultana) gets overlooked, but the squeeze a lot into two small shops in Somerville and Everett. Fresh cheeses including some local, unusual produce and often green coconuts, they have pork bellies seasoned for chicarron and sometimes carry Brazilian "cupim" for grilling. For me El Paisa the restaurant has gone downhill (and I would prefer to go to El Kiosco nearby), but I am dying to know more about their butcher as enjoyed their morcilla a lot in the past.

Fernandes Fish market carries more fresh cheeses from the South Coast/RI than other Portuguese stores, plus usually several imported Azorean cheeses (from $19-$30) and also has torresmo or ribs Saturdays (not as good a fry job as dominican on the pork belly, but nice seasoning and the meat isn't over-fried a bit at the expense of the skin which they sometimes remove). Seabra does a decent job with smaller pieces of continental and azorean cheeses, plus has a much wider selection of Portuguese chouricos "caseiros" even though the butcher selection is mostly Brazilian. They also have true artesenal olive oil and piri piri, which smaller stores don't carry.

The Portuguese bakery in Peabody is Central Bakery, no relation to Central in Cambridge. My favorite in Boston/North is the Lowel Portuguese Bakery, Central/Peabody and Winter Hill in Somerville tie for me (Winter Hill is better for Portugese rolls, Central for Pasteis de Nata).

[StriperGuy]

Nice, thanks Itaunas!

[nsenada]

I love La Sultana's guava pastries - need to check out the other items you mention.

[nasilemak]

Other very good Thai spots
Thai Moon - Arlington
Rod Dee - Brookline

Penang for their Malaysian stir fried noodles and noodle soups.

[mabelm4050]

Small correction: It's Farm Grill & Rotisserie (not Fresh Farms)

Great job!!

[itaunas]

A couple of things I noticed in these posts. Pretty certain that Dakshin and O'Fado are both gone. Dakshin definitely closed, but continued to rent out their fuction room so it might have still been possible to arrange a banquet, but I think even that has stopped. O'Fado is more recent. Have you been to Mi Guatemala recently or was it a while back? I had thought this closed, but maybe that was a change in ownership or confusion on my part. Don't want to discourage people as my memory is incomplete, but its one to check before driving (Galangatron likely has current info). And Striper, isn't that someone else's wife that likes the Torta de Adobada mentioned with Taqueria Jalisco (cut and paste issue??)?

The flat patties link in MCSlimJB's post is to the Garage location and they have moved across the square to 33 Brattle (and I think now they are open??!!).

The Modern Pastry second location is in Medford Square not Malden, not certain what Malden has now as far as Italian bakeries, but nearby Everett has some good options.

The Franklin Cafe also has locations in Southie (larger, but very busy) and Cape Ann (Gloucester, never been).

A general word of warning about Summer Boston chowing, there is a fairly large contingent of restaurants (primarily European, but some Caribbean, less Asian and Central/South American) which close for brief vacations. They vary from one-week, two, occasionally a month and are spread between July and August. The one I am certain of on this list is the Snack Bar (I think a July one, but not certain). I think Modern Pastry in Medford does take a week. Vinny's used to in the past, but I don't think they do any more. Others which definitely do include Galleria Umberto, Trattoria Toscana, Courthouse Seafood Restaurant, Izzys... etc. If you are looking for new eats in July and August, make sure you call first!

[StriperGuy]

O'Fado reopened in the original location, unless it re-closed again.

Also forgot to add:

For Caribbean and African groceries:

Tropical Foods
2101 Washington Street Roxbury,
MA 02119-2021 - [phone]

And, a little more on the Caribbean side:

Hi Lo Foods
450 Centre Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
[phone]

And Itaunas is right on the Torta de Adobada, forget where that was originally from.

[itaunas]

I am talking about it closing again, but I could be completely mistaken and don't have an easy way to verify (the web site is working but has a complicated form for contacts and only toll-free #). In the re-opened version, they made some unforgiveable mistakes which made it hard to convince dining companions to return which is a shame because the plate-of-the-day offerings they added were a nice tour of Portugese plates.

[itaunas]

Striperguy the restaurant which I believe has replaced O'Fado (originally O'Fados) is called Top Churrascaria. Dunno what happened to the O'Fado chef/owner (my information came from a Peabody Brazilian). Flash heavy and content-free website link follows.

http://www.topsteakbar.com/contact.html

Glad to hear Mi Guatemala is still there!

[StriperGuy]

Drat, that is sad. Heck might have to give the Churrasco place a whirl.

[galangatron]

mi guatemala bakery is still open

[BostonZest]

We're collecting a list of those July vacations here.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/718315?tag=boards;topic-718315

Penny
http://www.bostonzest.com/

[passing thru]

fantastic list. thank you.

[galangatron]

floating rock (cambodian)
485 mass ave
cambridge, ma 02139

thmor da (cambodian)
144 shirley ave
revere, ma 02151

angkor wat restaurant (cambodian)
38 bennett street
lynn, ma 01905

red rose (cambodian)
716 middlesex street
lowell, ma 01851

senmonorom (cambodian)
1671 middlesex street
lowell, ma 01851

tepthida khmer (cambodian)
115 chelmsford street
lowell, ma 01851

phnom penh restaurant (cambodian)
309 westford street
lowell, ma 01851

phien's kitchen (laotian)
586 westford street
lowell, ma 01851

pho 2000 (vietnamese)
198 adams street
dorchester, ma 02122

pho so 1 (vietnamese)
223 adams street
dorchester, ma 02122

anh hong (vietnamese)
291 adams street
dorchester, ma 02122

pho lynn (vietnamese)
18 munroe street
lynn, ma 01901

pho minh ky (vietnamese)
238 union street
lynn, ma 01901

qingdao garden (shandong)
2382 mass ave
cambridge, ma 02138

uncle cheung's (shanghainese)
266 worchester road
framingham, ma 01702

thailand cafe (sichuan)
302 mass ave
cambridge, ma 01239

chilli garden (sichuan)
41 riverside ave
medford, ma 02155

red pepper (sichuan)
17 edgell road
framingham, ma 01701

[StriperGuy]

Nice additions, Thanks!

Do you know if Floating Rock Cambridge is open?

[galangatron]

they're planning to open in august

[bakerboyz]

Thanh Thanh in Lowell may have closed and re-opened as something else?

[galangatron]

thanh thanh is now pho da lat

[gourmaniac]

Thanks for the great list. A veritable canon for all things Boston Chowish.

Here are a couple

Polish Markets:
Baltic Bakery and Euromart on Dorchester Ave South Boston near cafe Polonia
DJ's Boston Ave South Boston.

Inexpensive pizza slices
Umbertos Hanover Street North End
Stella's pizza Mt Auburn Street Watertown
Sabatino's Mass Ave Arlington

Dominican
Yely's Coffee Shop Centre Street JP.

Chinatown BBQ meat and rice plates
Quik Pic (Beach Street)
Wai Wai (Oxford Street)
Hong Kong Eatery (Harrison)

[trufflehound]

Dakshin is now a Mexican place. Udupi Framingham is Cafe Belo, but Udupi is open in Shrewsbury. Was by Auntie B's and that may have a new name.
I'd like to give props to the
Shawarma at Garlic n Lemons in Allston,
The Magic Oven in Framingham for those cheese balls
Hot Breads for the Chicken Tika panini
Dosa Temple dosas.
Stones Public house for the fries alone. Other food is good too.

As much as we complain there is decent food in Metrowest

[MC Slim JB]

There's also an Udupi Bhavan in Lowell, sister of the Shrewsbury location. When they say "hot", they mean it.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[yumyum]

Great list .. and I agree with almost all of the recs on it and can't wait to try the ones I haven't gotten to yet. Here are a few additions I might nominate from the Camberville metro area:

Victor's Ball Square: great chicken and veal parms, excellent daily specials, nicest people in the world

Soundbites: breakfast of champions IMO, with excellent eggs benny and no place like home fries (go on weekdays if you can)

Bobs (Medford): subs of distinction. I like Nappi's better for meatballs, but Bob's is great for tips.

La Cantina Mexicana (Union Square) carnitas, combo plates, tamales

Macchu Pichu charcoal rotisserie chicken yumz.

Gran Gusto for excellent pizza (still dying to try Posto for comparison)

[nsenada]

This list makes me realize how many of these spots I've been meaning to go to, but haven't yet.

[brandywiner]

Wow. Just.... wow.

Amazing collection of information! I'm going to print this out for handy reference whenever I'm in town (which is frequently, lately).

Thanks to the OP and all contributors!

[lexthom]

Navy Yard Bistro & Wine Bar in Charlestown, five minute walk from The Constitution. Or take the water shuttle from the Aquarium. Excellent food and drinks. Great outdoor patio in summer. But make a rez, as it's always packed with locals.

[yumyum]

Speaking of water taxi ... Scups in the Harbor is great fun and should be on the list.

[Alcachofa]

Now I'm hungry.

[StriperGuy]

Start at the top and work your way to the bottome ;-)

[Karl S]

Um, Fasika is in Somerville.

It's Habesha that's in Malden.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/habesha-malden

[StriperGuy]

Whoops, yes. Thanks.

[Blumie]

The only thing I'll add to this wonderful and comprehensive list is Chacarero, which in my mind is the archtypical chowhound experience: unique, delicious, relatively inexpensive, makes you feel like you're "in the know" (even though, at this point, everyone knows about it!).

[bear]

I was looking for some cheap eats for refueling for my vegetarian son and me after shoveling today, and scrolled down this thread. We're in Waltham, and Mi Tierra, Guatemalan cuisine, jumped out at me. They have several vegetarian choices along with plenty of pork and beef, so it was perfect.

We had fried yucca to start, along with a vegetarian pupusa plate and a mixed pork and cheese pupusa plate. Both plates included sides of delicious black beans, tasty white rice, fried plantains, the usual curtido and tomato soup-like dip. With two glasses of passable sangria and a large mug of atol de elote (a flavorful and slightly sweet warm corn soup), the bill was just over $30. A real steal, and we were both stuffed.

[StriperGuy]

Fried Yucca is awesome.