Frozen Four - Where to Eat? Drink? Must See Stuff

[Siouxfaninseattle]

OK, help us out Boston peeps. Tell us about your favorite places to eat and drink. What are the "must see" places? We won't have a car so downtown stuff or easily traveled by public transportation would be appreciated!

 

[BUPhD]

Re: Frozen Four - Where to Eat? Drink? Must See Stuff

Dinner in North End. Arrive around 5, find the tiniest restaurant with the longest line and get in it. You'll have some of the best Italian you've ever had.

 

[Scarlet]

Dinner in North End. Arrive around 5, find the tiniest restaurant with the longest line and get in it. You'll have some of the best Italian you've ever had.

Giacomo's. There's also one in the South End. Bring cash, they don't take credit cards.

Seafood - go to the No Name on the Fish Pier. Casual. Inexpensive. Freshest fish you ever had.

Mike's Pastry in the North End. It's walking distance from the Garden. Or Cafe Vittorio. I've gone there for gelato.

Grill 23 is the best steakhouse in Boston.

Where are people staying?

 

[LTsatch]

Re: Frozen Four - Where to Eat? Drink? Must See Stuff

I have always enjoyed Restaurant Marliave at 10 Bosworth St. old school Italian in downtown crossing without the North End wait. http://www.marliave.com/home/ Also like The Littlest Bar near there as well. http://www.littlestbar.com/ The Black Rose near Quincy Market is always good for Irish music. Taking a tour of Fenway Park would also be cool. Grabbing a sausage of one of the carts over there if available is not to be missed, there are a few nightclubs near Fenway as well. Tell the wives to head for Newbury St for shopping. For history buffs the Freedom Trail is always interesting. If kids are along mine loved Quincy Market and the Aquarium nearby.

 

[blackbear80]

Re: Frozen Four - Where to Eat? Drink? Must See Stuff

Giacomo's. There's also one in the South End. Bring cash, they don't take credit cards.

Seafood - go to the No Name on the Fish Pier. Casual. Inexpensive. Freshest fish you ever had.

Mike's Pastry in the North End. It's walking distance from the Garden. Or Cafe Vittorio. I've gone there for gelato.

Grill 23 is the best steakhouse in Boston.

Where are people staying?

Mike's is big, busy, and has a big selection. For cannoli, though, try Parziale's on Prince st., also in the North End and close to the Garden. Just check the hours because it's not a tourist place and doesn't stay open late.

 

[blackbear80]

Re: Frozen Four - Where to Eat? Drink? Must See Stuff

Tell the wives to head for Newbury St for shopping.

That'll make the game tickets seem like a bargain.

 

[Siouxfaninseattle]

Re: Frozen Four - Where to Eat? Drink? Must See Stuff

Giacomo's. There's also one in the South End. Bring cash, they don't take credit cards.

Seafood - go to the No Name on the Fish Pier. Casual. Inexpensive. Freshest fish you ever had.

Mike's Pastry in the North End. It's walking distance from the Garden. Or Cafe Vittorio. I've gone there for gelato.

Grill 23 is the best steakhouse in Boston.

Where are people staying?

Thanks - we are staying at Hotel 140. I don't know the address - just that it is downtown.

 

[QUAlum2004]

Re: Frozen Four - Where to Eat? Drink? Must See Stuff

Food

North End is right near the garden. La Dolce Vita is a place I recommend. For Pastries Modern to me is better than Mike's. The lines are crazy for both so if you don't want to wait go to Bova's on the corner of Prince Street and Salem Street.

Bar food there are tons of places to go by the Garden. The Fours, Grand Canal have good food. If you just want to drink any place around there is pretty good.

 

[mookie1995]

Re: Frozen Four - Where to Eat? Drink? Must See Stuff

these places will probably not be mentioned anywhere else

for lunch Wed-Fri go to sam lagrassa's in town. get a sandwich (wide selection) and the fries. there is a line and not many seats, but you'll get through and get a seat. (44 province st) this is a little 1/2 block side street parallel with washington and between school st & bromfield st (T stops state & downtown crossing & park street (all colors)). a little pricey - sandwich and fries will run you ~$17 but are fantastic. you will thank mookie. no booze.

redbones bbq serves lunch and dinner. this is in davis sq (red line) off elm street @ 55 chester st. good stuff. full bar (very important for this crowd )

for italian i go to d'parma which is in maverick sq (blue line stop) in east boston and a 2 minute walk from the station. this is the first stop after the airport heading into town. 182 sumner street. the d'parma salad is a go to for mookie. full bar (very important for this crowd )

pho? new dong khanh in chinatown (chinatown stop orange line) 81 harrison st. cash only and no booze. but better than the pho joints on beach st - imho

chinese? noodle plates i'd stay on harrison and hit asian garden at 28 harrison. also standard chinese dishes but i get fried noodles here. for other chinese food i hit china king at 60 beach st.
for old school chinese food try taiwan cafe at 34 oxford st which is next door to china king.

bars:
around the garden they run from jumping night spots like the north star and the harp, to dives like sully's tap. you'll see them all there. the four's is cool as it has a mini-sports museum feel to it and others will mention it (sorry, mookie promised he wasn't going to do this)

since i did, i'll add everyone will tell you to grab a guiness at the black rose near faneuil hall at 160 state street (green orange and blue lines - haymarket, state)

jj foley's is a dive'ish place near downtown crossing (orange & red lines) that gets a good after work crowd and has that feel. 21 kingston st. also on this street is the good life (same owner as the north star) and kingston crossing. all 3 are bars with food and become more upscale as you read them in that order.

 

[QUAlum2004]

Re: Frozen Four - Where to Eat? Drink? Must See Stuff

Thanks - we are staying at Hotel 140. I don't know the address - just that it is downtown.

Hotel 140 is in the Back Bay where there are tons of good restaurants. The walk to the Garden is 25-30 minutes on foot and probably a 10 minute cab ride.

 

[Scarlet]

Thanks - we are staying at Hotel 140. I don't know the address - just that it is downtown.

THAT'S a hotel??? I walk by that every day to the office from the T. Great location. The Back Bay Orange Line T stop is a block away. Takes you right to North Station. Grill 23 is a block away from that hotel, too. That's really close to the Marathon finish line as well. The Hancock Tower is at 200 Clarendon. Not sure if the observation deck is open. The observation deck at the top of the Prudential Tower is open.

 

[bcmsu9196]

Re: Frozen Four - Where to Eat? Drink? Must See Stuff

Only place I ever ate by the old and new Garden(s) was the Burger King by the old "T" trestle, not sure if it's even there anymore

 

[QUAlum2004]

Re: Frozen Four - Where to Eat? Drink? Must See Stuff

Only place I ever ate by the old and new Garden(s) was the Burger King by the old "T" trestle, not sure if it's even there anymore

That is gone I believe. The area by the Garden has vastly changed.

 

[melmac]

Re: Frozen Four - Where to Eat? Drink? Must See Stuff

Giacomo's. There's also one in the South End. Bring cash, they don't take credit cards.

Seafood - go to the No Name on the Fish Pier. Casual. Inexpensive. Freshest fish you ever had.

Mike's Pastry in the North End. It's walking distance from the Garden. Or Cafe Vittorio. I've gone there for gelato.

Grill 23 is the best steakhouse in Boston.

Where are people staying?

Regarding Grill 23: will hottie bartender be there all weekend? I'd like to put a face to the name.

 

[brassbonanza]

Re: Frozen Four - Where to Eat? Drink? Must See Stuff

posted from FF thread:

If you want a great craft beer bar, I'd highly recommend The Publick House in Brookline on Beacon St. Easily accessible on the Green Line, right off the stop, no walk necessary, extraordinary selection of beer you can only find in a very, very small number of places. Be wary of Garden-area sports bars or "Irish" bars, they're often overpriced glorified college bars serving up Bud Light in plastic cups.

Also, I've always thought Mike's was good but more of a tourist-hyped place. Modern Pastry down the street is another great choice, and around a few corners is Bova's Bakery (24 hours!) that's excellent.

 

[UML]

Re: Frozen Four - Where to Eat? Drink? Must See Stuff

If you are looking for cheap beer Coogan's in the financial district has $1 Bud/Bud light drafts. It's roughly a 15 minute walk form the Garden.

 

[hpgunner14]

Re: Frozen Four - Where to Eat? Drink? Must See Stuff

Alright, so I may have gone a little overboard… this turned into a 3 page sample itinerary that I had to create a blog for.

Here it is if you want the hyperlinks to the restaurants suggested: http://hpanos.blogspot.com

Otherwise, here you go.

Thursday

12pm: Head to South Station (Red Line on the T). Grab lunch along the Greenway (the park built where the old elevated I-93 highway was- aka The Big Dig’s payoff) and find out what Boston paid $10 billion for. There are some great food trucks across from South Station and at Rowes Wharf (schedule listed here: http://www.rosekennedygreenway.org/visit/food/) or visit James Hook + Co (http://www.yelp.com/map/james-hook-and-co-boston) for all things lobster.

Walk down the Greenway and continue on to the Harborwalk- make sure to wander over to the Aquarium and see the harbor seals (for free!) in the little exhibit in front. For those of you staying at the Long Wharf, this is across from your hotel. If the weather’s bad, the Aquarium or the IMAX theatre is a fun thing to do. Also nearby is the Tea Party Museum (which I haven’t been to.)

If you make it all the way up into the North End, grab a pregame snack (pretty much anywhere) of which my fave is the cannoli at Bova’s or Modern Pastry. Mike’s Pastry is also great. If you want something more substantial, get the lobster roll from Neptune’s Oyster.

3pm: Head over to the Garden and grab a pregame drink and check out the sports memorabilia at The Four’s.

5pm: Semifinals begin at TD Garden.

 

[hpgunner14]

Re: Frozen Four - Where to Eat? Drink? Must See Stuff

Friday

9am: Let’s pretend your team is not North Dakota and you’re a in a good mood and want to get out and do some more exploring!

Head to Back Bay station (Orange line/Commuter rail) or Copley (Green Line) and get breakfast at Flour on Dartmouth Street. Walk north down Dartmouth into the heart of Copley Square and check out HH Richardson’s Trinity Church. Head in to the Boston Public Library (America’s first) and do a quick walk around or do the whole Art & Architecture tour. Go check out the Finish Line of the Boston Marathon (taking place on April 20th) and buy something from Marathon Sports or City Sports on Boylston Street. If you have a boutique retail-oriented travel companion, Newbury Street is one block away. Then choose to go East or West...

West: The Fens Tour/Brookline
Head down to Commonwealth Ave and walk west (or take the Green Line if you’re getting leggy) to Kenmore Square. The big Citgo sign you see over the wall of the Green Monster at Fenway sits on top of the BU Barnes & Noble and is the Eastern-most (pretty much) edge of BU. Lots of BU and Boston-related merchandise on the bottom floor. Walk up Brookline Ave to Fenway Park and buy tickets to a tour at Gate D (about $20). The tour lasts for a few hours and you get to go all over Fenway (including into the press box and visitor’s dugout sometimes!) and there’s a cool little Red Sox museum at the end with a lot of MVP/Cy Young Awards.

Get a coffee/crepe from Neighborhoods on Peterborough, or if it’s lunchtime, the El Guapo burrito from El Pelon taqueria next-door. (When El Pelon burned down, I had to force myself to trek up Comm Ave to BC territory to get my fix occasionally.)

Wander over to the Fens- part of Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace linking all of Boston’s parks. If you’re into art at all, the humongous Museum of Fine Arts with it’s new American art wing as well as the excellent Isabella Stewart Gardner museum (has Titian’s Europa and a very cool courtyard- can see a lot of it in just a couple hours) are both located here.
Downside: you’ve gotten closer to Northeastern.

Dinner/Bars in Kenmore: Eastern Standard is one of the best all-around restaurants in Boston with an awesome mint julep. Island Creek Oyster Bar is amazing seafood. The Hawthorne is a great mixology/cocktail bar with good small bites. If you’re looking for more of a dive, The Lower Depths has a great tap selection right in Kenmore.

If you want to head up Comm Ave along BU’s campus, the Dugout is the diviest of dives (LOL at the 4 stars on Yelp- but you may catch an ex-Terrier in there) and keep heading up until you get to St. Paul St and go to Sunset Cantina right across from Agganis. The food is better than average for the price (Boston ain’t cheap) and tons of tequila and beers.

Alternatively, take the C line from Kenmore (or a pretty short cab ride) to Washington Square in Brookline. The Publick House has the largest selection of beers in Boston/Brookline and specializes in Belgian beers and moules frites (that’s mussels and fries for you uncultured folk- for you there’s the delicious mac & cheese.) The Fireplace is another very good restaurant and I’ve heard great things about Ribelle as well as Barcelona Bar (a little more on the more expensive/fancy side.)

A few stops closer on the C Line is Coolidge Corner, kind of the main square of Brookline. Get ice cream at JP Licks, Thai food at Dok Bua, burritos at Anna’s Taqueria, or if you’re there for lunch, the Rachel (corned beef and coleslaw) from Michael’s Deli or the New Jewish cuisine of Zaftig’s Deli. Good bars are Hops N Scotch right on Brookline Ave, or walk down Harvard St into Brookline Village and go to Matt Murphy’s for a taste of Ireland (and frequently live music.)

East: The Freedom Trail

This little tour is easy- head east down Boylston (if you’re ready for lunch, get a sandwich from Parish Cafe- trust me.) Walk into the Public Garden towards the North. If you have kids, this is where the Make Way for Ducklings statues live, and are right across from Cheers. Walk across the suspension bridge and check out the swan boats, cross the street into America’s first public park- Boston Common. Walk towards the gold dome of the Massachusetts State House (on the site of John Hancock’s old estate) and pick up the Freedom Trail from here. Literally a 2+ mile trail of red bricks, this path will take you along many of Boston’s historic sites- including the Granary Burial Ground to see the graves of Paul Revere, Sam Adams, and John Hancock. Follow the Trail to the original State House and see the site of the Boston Massacre. Look up to see the balcony where the Declaration of Independence was read to the citizens of Boston in July 1776. Keep walking down to Faneuil Hall (go to the top floor) and wander around Quincy Market. Grab a drink at the Green Dragon (favorite bar of the Sons of Liberty) or food at the Union Oyster House (America’s oldest restaurant.) If you end up in this area at night, watch out for the bros. You can continue into the North End to see the Old North Church (“one if by land, two if by sea”) and even to the Bunker Hill Memorial and the USS Constitution of Charlestown (hometown of Captain Matt Grzelcyk.)

Alternatively, a lot of these sites can also be enjoyed via Duck Tour if you’re not quite up to walking for several hours. These can be picked up if you walk into the Prudential Center mall, and have the added fun of ‘sailing’ on the Charles! These are kind of pricey ($30ish) and touristy, but hey we’re being tourists here, and this is a nice way of seeing Boston if you’re not familiar.

 

[hpgunner14]

Re: Frozen Four - Where to Eat? Drink? Must See Stuff

Saturday

Check out Cambridge! The ‘People’s Republic’ of the North Bank of the Charles River and home to MIT and Harvard. Cool things to check out are the MIT Museum as well as the area around Harvard Square. Good things to eat can be found at the famous old Mr. Bartley’s Burger, Pinnochio’s pizza, and Russell House Tavern. If you want to get off the beaten path a bit and find some of the best restaurants in Boston, go to Inman Square. If it’s breakfast/brunch, go to The Friendly Toast. If it’s lunchtime, get Indian at Punjabi Dhaba or baja tacos at Olecito. If it’s pregame dinner/drinks get the fish and chips at The Druid, chicken and waffles from Trina’s Starlite Lounge, or beer and snacks at Lord Hobo.

Then take a taxi or the Red Line to Charles St/MGH and walk over to the...

8pm- Championship game at TD Garden

 

[Siouxfaninseattle]

Re: Frozen Four - Where to Eat? Drink? Must See Stuff

Thanks all! Lots of good suggestions. hpgunner14 gets the gold medal!