Boston

[dancerjodi]

A LJ friend is coming into the city for a training, and I'm going to pick her up at Logan on a Monday at 5 PM. We'll spend a few hours or so in the city before I take her out to her hotel in Natick and somewhere in there have some food.

She's never been here before, so I'm thinking just for it's iconic Boston nature and proximity, doing the Faneuil Hall/North End thing. Where do you think we should get dinner? I'm thinking good and kind of funky/Boston without needing to dress schmancy or mortgage my house to go there. Parking nearby of course a plus (ha ha!)

I would say somewhere in the north end may be good (because I see she likes pasta from her LJ), but my North End experience in a restaurant proper is limited (I'm all about the wandering and the pastry and coffee). Brian and I enjoyed Pomodoro once, and that cheezy/family style place with the huge neon sign near the end of Hanover that I'm forgetting the name of. I've eaten with a large group at a couple of other places that were OK, that I'm forgetting the name of but neither of them were "oh my God this feels like it did when I was in Italy" good.

What would you do if you were trying to introduce someone to Boston in 3-4 hours? Food near Faneuil Hall/Govt Center first and *then* dessert in the North End may be a nicer way to go too, kind of walking/sightseeing directing our eating. Mayhaps the easiest thing would be to park at the Common Garage and just follow the Freedom Trail (how easy is it to see that red line at night)? Keep in mind also the potential for nasty weather, as this is in a couple of weeks. Thanks in advance!

Comments

[mizdarkgirl.livejournal.com]

Maybe the Barking Crab for "chowda", walking the Harbor Walk to Faneuil Hall then dessert in the North End.

There are meters in the Seaport that end at 6pm (check, some end at 8pm)and the tunnel from the airport dumps you in the area. You could Silver Line (Court House) or taxi back if you are cold.

[dawntreader]

i've been told Boston has a lot of coffee places so pastry and coffee is also good, especially if it is going to be cold. WHICH IT WON'T. (i have decreed.)

[sajuka.livejournal.com]

We enjoy McCormicks and Schmicks (no promise on the spelling) right at the Faneuil hall end of Quincy market. Very fresh seafood and reasonable prices. Durgin Park is a major landmark in Quincy market (operating continuously since 17-something, etc.). We've also had pretty good luck with Tia's on long warf (guess why we tried it).

[christmasjedi.livejournal.com]

Tia's is kind of expensive, I'd suggest checking out their menu before going there.

We've eaten at Ristorante Villa Francesca in the North End a few times and always enjoyed it. It's neatest when the weather is nice and they open up their front wall of windows, but that's unlikely this time of year. I'd suggest reservations.

The red line for the freedom trail is pretty visible. I mean, there are street lights, so it's not like you're stumbling around in the dark. :)

[cris.livejournal.com]

I work right across the street from Fanueil Hall so, my general thoughts for eating places:

When I think of worthy Boston eating experiences, I think of seafood. East Coast oysters, lobster, chowder -- that's stuff that Boston really does well. Legal Sea Foods near the Aquarium is, I think, a better pick for seafood than any of the places in Quincy Market. It's a little more local to New England and tends to have more regional catches. If you think Legal may be a little vanilla, or if you really want something in Quincy Market then I'd go with KingFish Hall over either McCormick & Schmick or Durgin Park. Food @ KingFish Hall can be a little pricy ($30 entree, $24 lobster roll) but so is everything at Quincy Market.

if you want old-timey atmosphere, and are willing to go a bit outside of the Quincy\North End area, then I'd consider Stoddards in Downtown Crossing (fancy pub food, not as expensive as Quincy Market stuff, decorated with pieces of furniture salvaged from old Downtown Crossing buildings like the former Filene's dept. store, etc.) Jacob Wirth's down by Chinatown and the Theater District has all of the historic ambiance of Durgin Park without the surly waitstaff or mediocre prime rib.

For Italian, I don't usually eat in the North End, but we've liked Assaggio when we've gone. There's a new lunch counter place that just opened up in Financial District - Casa Razdora, it's small and really meant to be a place for lunch so I don't know if you want it as a place for catching up and hanging out, but if you're ever in the area on a weekend or in the middle of the day it's a superb place for a sandwich or bit of pasta and relatively cheap.

For the Freedom Trail, a colleague of mine did it recently when entertaining out of town guests and said it was neat. There's a visitor center near the Park Street T station that has maps and guides and stuff.

[disownedheidi.livejournal.com]

Iconic not too expensive restaurants:

* Pizzaria Regina
* Union Oyster House
* That place with the famously mean waitresses
* Legal Sea Foods

If I only had a few hours, I'd start with coffee on Newbury Street, and walk through the Public Garden and down to Quincy Market, have dinner, and then stroll along the water front. Or stroll to the North End for dessert.