Southern California Hound Visiting Boston for First Time, Seeks Best Upscale Dinner for $100/150pp (post tax/tip)

[brettlee714]

We will be there at the end of July. All 3 of us friends 26-30 males.

Looking for meat, seafood or Italian

We're in a hotel a mile from Fenway park, so something close to the area hopefully, but we do have a rental car.

Please help with recs!!!

[treb]

One of the best clam shacks is The Clam Box, on rte 133 in Ipswich, MA, worth the drive. Nothing like it on the 'west side'. Also, The Lobster Pool, for yes... lobster, on rte 127 in Rockport and what a view , right on the water.

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Lobster Pool
329 Granite St, Rockport, MA 01966

[uhockey]

Skip Craigie. Just go to Bisto LQ or Animal back home - far more innovative and interesting.

Consider Island Creek Oyster Bar (nothing like it in LA, great service, and fits your location) or L'Espalier (only Melisse is comparable in my LA experiences, though perhaps a bit "fussy" for what you're looking for)

O-Ya is amazing - seriously, the sort of food that makes you rethink an entire genre (sushi) but at the same time there is so much great fish in LA it would be hard to say it tops your best Sushi. Regardless - O-ya is probably one of my top 10 US meals ever.

http://uhockey.blogspot.com

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L'Espalier
774 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02199

Island Creek Oyster Bar
500 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215

[dulce de leche]

Brettlee714 are you from the LA-area? If so, all this fuss about where things are and how far away they might be is irrelevant. You will be used to driving an hour to get anywhere.

Boston is so much smaller, almost anything anyone will recommend to you will be included in a circle 5 miles in diameter. Like the size of Pasadena, maybe including Alhambra and Altadena.

Some places will be easier to get to than others, and I agree that if you can use public transportation or even cabbing around, you will be a lot happier, because walking around is one of the best things about Boston, and something that you can't nearly as easily do in SoCal.

[Beach Chick]

Native San Diegan and we love BOS and loved Locke-Ober...est around the 1870's.
JFK Lobster stew and the Lobster Savannah are stellar.
Neptune's Oyster and the Langham hotel are wonderful too.
Have a great time!

www.lockeober.com

[pemma]

Yes, where exactly are you staying? You may be able to avoid driving all together. If you are only a mile from Fenway Park, the whole downtown area would be open to you. Are you actually staying downtown? Exactly where you are and whether or not you need to drive will help us give you better suggestions. Also, what date are you looking at? If you want to go to Fenway Park area whether or not the Red Sox are in town will make a big difference. Gee, if you are only a mile from Fenway, you may consider walking to that area, too.

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Fenway Park
82 Lansdowne Street, Boston, MA 02215

[barleywino]

Although these are all great recommendations, if you are looking for "upscale" similar to LA's Providence, Spago, Sona, Urasawa, etc., you should also consider places like Clio, O Ya, Troquet.

[opinionatedchef]

hi bretlee, maybe this might prove helpful%3

Guide to Boston by Areas and Restaurants%3

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/781155

Many CHs have come through here lately so if you scroll down on this and the previous page,you will find a number of threads.

Meeting your criteria, the restnts most often raved on this board are%3

Island Creek Oyster Bar (by Fenway

)

Craigie on Main, 10 minute drive from Fenway, in Cambridge/lots of meat,plus sfd.

Neptune Oyster in the North End

Erbaluce for Italian, in the So.End

Prezza for Italian in the No.End

all take reservations except Neptune and you will def want to reserve in advance for all these spots.

How many days will you be here(how many lunches and dinners)and will sunday brunch time be included in your stay?

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

Prezza
24 Fleet St., Boston, MA 02113

Craigie on Main
853 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02139

Erbaluce
69 Church Street, Boston, MA 02116

Island Creek Oyster Bar
500 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215

[globalgourmand]

LOL, you can see we love helping plan itineraries! You can hit some of these for brunch, lunch, cocktails, dinner... we love fantasizing what we would do with your weekend. :)

Anyhow, opinionatedchef gives great advice as usual. I'll second Prezza and barleywino's suggestions. You could probably even blow past your pricepoint at O Ya but most definitely upscale and among Boston's finest.

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O Ya
9 East Street, Boston, MA 02111

Prezza
24 Fleet St., Boston, MA 02113

[cambridgedoctpr]

may i add Clio/Uni new french with a sashimi bar
Rialto Italian in Harvard Square
Toro and Coppa: small plates Spanish and Italian respectively.

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Toro
1704 Washington St, Boston, MA 02118

Coppa
253 Shawmut Ave, Boston, MA 02118

[cambridgedoctpr]

i hope that you will be close to the "T" our subway system; most places worth going to are close to the T.

[globalgourmand]

A mile from Fenway park could make a difference in terms of walking/public transport, can you specify?

Uni came to mind for seafood. Craigie on Main came to mind for meat.

I haven't tried Island Creek Oyster Bar... can others comment if it does/doesn't fit upscale and pricepoint?

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Craigie on Main
853 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02139

Island Creek Oyster Bar
500 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215

[brettlee714]

We have a rental car, so we can drive, i was just trying to give a spot on the map of where we were staying.

[LeoLioness]

I think the point was that walking/taking the T is usually easier than driving/parking. In Boston, we tend to think more in neighborhoods/T stops/blocks as opposed to "miles" when calculating distances.

As for suggestions, I second Island Creek Oyster Bar, but it depends how you're defining "upscale". It's that rare combination of a local favorite and also a place that well answers the age-old tourist question of "what's a good seafood place in Boston?"

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Island Creek Oyster Bar
500 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215

[brettlee714]

Well i looked at the Island Creek Oyster Bar menu and immediately knew it was a great choice, so i thank the both of you

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Island Creek Oyster Bar
500 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215

[C. Hamster]

Like someone else said, a mile from Fenway could be anywhere; not a good frame of reference.

ICOB would be a fun choice, but if you want other types of places let us know.

Check the red sox schedule, though, as it's right next to Fenway and will be mobbed before a game.

We don't drive like you do in LA. There is a subway stop directly below ECOB. Much better than trying to park in Kenmore Sq

[Madrid]

Boston is about the direct opposite of LA in terms of driving. It's a small, compact city, the streets are narrow, often one-way, the signage is terrible, streets even major ones are often not marked, parking expensive and limited. Drivers are rude and impatient with people who don't know where they are going...which you won't, even with GPS. Despite how we all complain about it, public transportation is excellent, or at least an excellent alternative to driving. Brookline, Cambridge, and various Boston neighborhoods are just a few stops from Fenway by public transportation.

[Ricardo Malocchio]

In Boston, a car is not freedom. It's an anchor.

[emannths]

ICOB: If upscale means tablecloths and formality, then no, it's not. If upscale means excellent food and impeccable service, then it is.