Epic last meal in Boston

[MParente]

My husband and I are being relocated for his job soon. Food has been so much a part of our lives in Boston for the past 5 years. I am really struggling to decide what our last big dinner here should be. We've done everything.... all of BL's places, Craigie, TW Foods, L'espalier etc.... What would you all eat as your last meal in Boston? I'm feeling nostalgic and looking for something particularly Boston.

[noneemac]

It's obvious: Neptune Oyster.

I'm an LAX guy, and my best friend and I have been known to fly into Boston for a day. No trip -- and I mean NO TRIP -- would be complete without the warm lobster roll.

If I were leaving Boston for good, I'd also really miss the three-hour meal at Hammersley's Bistro. I've never tasted better roasted chicken. If you and hubby-man want to amp up the romance quotient, insist on reserving table 31.

Cheers!
Noneemac

-----
Neptune Oyster
63 Salem St Ste 1, Boston, MA 02113

[MParente]

Its interesting that people keep mentioning O-ya. I thought SF would have way better sushi than we have here (in general). Either way we decided to do a few last meals which so far are going to be Oiishi (we've done O-ya, but not oiishi and didn't feel like shelling out that kind of cash), Neptune, Kowloons for hang-over lunch after our going away party tonight and Santarpios. We might be able to squeeze one more dinner in- Hammersly chicken sound awesome and we haven't been there in forever..... with all this eating I'm not getting a lot of packing done!

[noneemac]

It all sounds yumbo-licious.

On your way to the airport, don't forget to stop at Flour to scarf some scones and pound some pastries.

[Pia]

I would skip Oishii and go to Hamersley's. I like Oishii, but like you said, I think the sushi in SF is better.

[Gabatta]

Actually the sushi in SF is not great, and one area where Boston is probably stronger (much different scene from socal). When you get out there check out Ozumo, Bar Crudo (not traditional sushi place, however a very creative take on fresh seafood at a reasonable price), Sushi Sam's (in San Mateo) and Sushi Ran (in Sausalito). However, I don't think you will regret one last turn at Oishii.

There is great food of all kinds in the Bay area, however at the end of the day my favorite things about my time in SF were the Ferry Building Market and proximity to In-n-Out burger.

[MParente]

Does anyone know why the sushi isn't great in the Bay Area? With proximity to Japan and the natural resources I'd expect it to be amazing.

Went to Neptune last night for lobster spaghettini. It was out of this world. Best thing I've eaten in Boston in a long time. Price seemed a little high, but then when I saw how much lobster was on the dish it seemed totally reasonable. Sidenote- people weren't kidding about the line. Hour an a half wait at 8;30 on Monday night. But worth it.

[twentyoystahs]

FWIW, I think that hour + wait on a Monday night is mostly b/c it is summer and there are lots of visitors/tourists now. If you went there on a Monday night in November (not that you will, since you'll be gone, but for others) i am fairly certain you wouldn't have that same wait.

[barleywino]

the Bay area seems to be stronger in non-sushi "casual" Japanese food than high end sushi. places like Gombei in San jose Japantown, which cater more to local Japanese who may prefer comfort food (katsu, curry, yakiniku, nimono or oden, unatamadon etc) over special-occasion sushi meals. Seattle is similar, with a surprising dearth of high end innovative sushi. Dot com bust may have something to do with it. Trendy places like Azie disappeared almost overnight. One exception (which Limster turned me on to) is Minako, omakase (including sushi) at a budget price.

[Mr Bigglesworth]

My brother-in-law grew up here and lives in SF. He misses east coast seafood more than anything. For him, his return must consist of Santarpio's, Woodman's, Casey's (for hot dogs) and if time allows, the East Coast Grill (because he worked there...)

-----
East Coast Grill and Raw Bar
1271 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02139

[cambridgedoctpr]

i lived in Palo Alto, Cambridge, and Chicago. I think that one would be hard pressed to find supporters of the Boston pizza outside of NE. Nonehtless, here is an article on the best pizza's in the US: http://www.gq.com/food-travel/alan-ri...

[fooder]

For an epic meal I would suggest O Ya. My review is on here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7227...

For something that is a good meal but has a lot of Boston feel to it, I would suggest the original Summer Shack in Cambridge.

-----
O Ya
9 East Street, Boston, MA 02111

Summer Shack
310 Northern Ave, Boston, MA 02210

[treb]

Depending on what part of the country you'll be living in, I'd choose food items from all different places that you won't be able to get or that won't be as good as here.

[your_outreach]

I think Neptune Oyster is perfectly Boston. It's delicious and you can fill up on one large lobster roll before leaving!

-----
Neptune Oyster
63 Salem St Ste 1, Boston, MA 02113

[MParente]

I was thinking about that actually. I hate the no reservations thing (I get line-rage- I'm just not good at waiting for things). What about Locke-Ober? We haven't been there- but I wasn't sure if it was still worth it?

-----
Locke-Ober
3 Winter Place, Boston, MA 02108

[CocoDan]

Good choice. I was going to recommend it. Terrific wine cellar.
Enjoy,
CocoDan

[cambridgedoctpr]

best deal on wine in boston: Troquet

-----
Troquet
140 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116

[Beachowolfe]

Is Troquet still cleaning out the cellar? Some very good bargains to be had in the $15-$20 per bottle range.

-----
Troquet
140 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116

[cambridgedoctpr]

yes, there are always bargains at Troquet. I had a great bottle of 1978 premier cru burgundy that was sitting with 1/2 and full bottles of old Bordeaux that was great. But Chris said that there were plenty of misses, too

-----
Troquet
140 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116

[Beachowolfe]

Not talking about the regular bargains... they were bringing up 20 or so bottles a night, the ends of cases and selling them for like $15. You just go downstairs and pick one off the table.

Is this what you're talking about? and if so do you know how much longer it will last?

[cambridgedoctpr]

i picked up the bottle of burgundy from that table on the 1st floor after consulting with Chris the owner.

[tallullah]

If there is a line Neptune will take your cell number and call you when your table is ready. Waiting on the Greenway is great.

[christinegallary]

Line rage? Good luck with that in San Francisco, everybody waits in line for everything!

I also moved back to San Francisco after two years in Boston. Here are the places I would hit that I feel SF doesn't have:
- Drink
- Neptune Oyster, especially lobster spaghettini
- Pizzeria Regina (you'll be shocked at how expensive ordinary pizza is here)
- Formaggio
- No.9 Park
- O-Ya

-----
Neptune Oyster
63 Salem St Ste 1, Boston, MA 02113

[barleywino]

where are you moving?

[MParente]

San Francisco. Far from home, but not a bad move food-wise.

[barleywino]

nice! in that case, i might suggest O-Ya, since i have not found any comparable really high end sushi out in the Bay Area (although I could be wrong).

[yumyum]

Someone posted about this same thing a while ago and I agree with the basic premise ... ONE last meal will be almost impossible to choose, so pick several things you're unlikely to find where you're going.

Take a drive up to Ipswich / Essex for some clams
Get a chacarrero sandwich downtown
Hit up dim sum at Winsor
Belly up to the bar at Neptune for some bivalves and wine
Make sure to have some pork and clams at a Portuguese restaurant
Take pictures (and then eat it all up) of some amazing Taiwanese fare at MuLan or Shangri-la
etc....

Plan carefully and do it all. Good luck!

-----
MuLan
228 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139