Moving to Boston next week. What should I do?

Hi all, I am a long-time SF poster and I know there is a large Boston Area contingency here, so I thought it suitable to make my move to the city known. Specifically i will be living in East Cambridge, my roommate is an MIT grad student. Besides definitely being the dumbest kid on the block (I'm a U of Texas alum), I also know very little about the area. What are the cool spots? Coffee shops? Good public tennis and basketball courts?

While I'm at it, do any of you work in nonprofit/public service? I am applying to become a case worker for the homeless or at-risk youth at several organizations, maybe you have some tips on reputable employers.

And if any of you need advice on the Austin, Texas area, or Martha's Vineyard (my current residence), I would be happy to return the favor!

Thanks in advance,

Greg

Is it possible for you to move back to the Vineyard?

That would be my first item of advice.


- B

There is a court near where you are. I haven't played but i've heard friends/coworkers talking about something near central/inman square. I'm bout to pass out but will definitely hit you up in here or via pm about some other stuff like coffee shops, killer cheap eats and other little crap like that.

Welcome though. I've only been hear just under a year but have gotten to know a lot of stuff thanks to some friends with good knowledge

so, im from austin texas, and living in cambridge (harvard/brattle sq.) for the summer (interning).

let me just say.

austin is much better!

Originally Posted by garmis

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Hi all, I am a long-time SF poster and I know there is a large Boston Area contingency here, so I thought it suitable to make my move to the city known. Specifically i will be living in East Cambridge, my roommate is an MIT grad student. Besides definitely being the dumbest kid on the block (I'm a U of Texas alum), I also know very little about the area. What are the cool spots? Coffee shops? Good public tennis and basketball courts?

While I'm at it, do any of you work in nonprofit/public service? I am applying to become a case worker for the homeless or at-risk youth at several organizations, maybe you have some tips on reputable employers.

And if any of you need advice on the Austin, Texas area, or Martha's Vineyard (my current residence), I would be happy to return the favor!

Thanks in advance,

Greg

In that area your best bet is to walk to Inman, or jump on the Lechmere T which is 2- short stops to Boston.

No decent coffee shops, unless you like ABP, Dunkin Donuts, or Starbucks, which are in the Cambridgeside Galleria Mall. There are several restaurants near you that I wouldn't call "cool" but have great food- Helmand and "The Similians". There's a park near you that has basketball courts, but all of the tennis courts in the area are no good. The closest decent tennis court is at MIT, which really needs to be resurfaced.

Anyhow, welcome to Cambridge!

Originally Posted by ppllzz

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so, im from austin texas, and living in cambridge (harvard/brattle sq.) for the summer (interning).

let me just say.

austin is much better!

Huh.

Originally Posted by jerrybrowne

Click to expand...

In that area your best bet is to walk to Inman, or jump on the Lechmere T which is 2- short stops to Boston.

No decent coffee shops, unless you like ABP, Dunkin Donuts, or Starbucks, which are in the Cambridgeside Galleria Mall. There are several restaurants near you that I wouldn't call "cool" but have great food- Helmand and "The Similians". There's a park near you that has basketball courts, but all of the tennis courts in the area are no good. The closest decent tennis court is at MIT, which really needs to be resurfaced.

Anyhow, welcome to Cambridge!

Yea, Cafe Luna on mass ave just before central sq is pretty good and there is good coffee and food at inman.

Don't mind andyliu. Boston/cambridge area is what you make of it like any other city. Can be a lot of fun with plenty of cool areas, local food joints, and stores to explore or if you don't put the effort in you'll probably be bored as well

+1 @ Chrono. It's definitely kind of a sucky dysfunctional city but what he says holds true for anyplace.

But yea, you can google/yelp these for exact addresses but i'll run down some stuff Clothing- I don't know what you're into so i'll list a few things - Tannery at harvard sq main store and basement. The main store has a good selection of stuff you find in sw&d and the basement store there is 1 rack hidden in the back with deep sale items from like a year ago of good brands though the rest of the store is ****** as hell - Alan Bilzerian on newbury- Probably the best mens clothing store in the city. Lots of artisinal designers like ccp, yohji, morishita, augusta, yohji, rick owens, paul harnden, etc... Really nice tailored wear too. Definitely work checking out once - Stel's on newbury- Basic sw&d clothing like w&h, apc, robert geller, ndg, our legacy, etc.... - Drinkwater's in cambridge- Lots of good MC clothing and some stuff like engineered garments and the owner is a styleforum member - fast fashion on newbury: h&m, zara, all saints, urban outfitters, rugby, jcrew (in copley mall), club monaco (prudential mall) - Barneys in copley mall food places - Mike and Pattys in bay village. My favorite sandwiches in the city. Lots of great fresh local products, creative sandwiches and overally just superbly done. Really small but i recommend everyone in the area go once and get a sandwich. Love the place - Alive and Kicking lobsters on putnam- Good fresh seafood to take home and cook and make a mean lobster sandwich (lobster roll). Really quality stuff - Galleria Umberto in north end- been around for a long time and only open till 2. Long lines but the pizza is awesome - Santarpio's Pizza in east boston- Really old school place and i recommend just sitting at the bar, grabbing a beer and a pizza and relaxing. They cook the homemade sausages over a charcoal pit next to the bar. The pizza and sausage are out of this world good. - Atwood's Tavern- Near you at inman/mit area. Good beer selection and the food is actually very solid for a bar. Highly recommended. - Oleana near inman- Good turkish/middle eastern type food and it's pretty fresh since her husband owns a local farm. The chef was recently on Top Chef Masters and her side bakery place Sofra (forget the street so look it up) has awesome food and coffee and teas as well. - Orinoco in south end or brookline- Great modern/hip venezuelan food. I really like the food and atmosphere is nice - Toro in south end- Lots of good spain related tapas and a great drink selection with a good nightlife/scene - Wan Convenience Store in jamaica plain area. Good jewish deli style sandwiches. Small place but nice charm and good food - Hungry Mother- upscale "southern country" type food. Cool place to check out near inman i think. - Giacomo's in north end. Good italian food but the line is always really long. Worth the wait to go there once, though i doubt you'll want to do it a bunch when there are plenty of solid italian places in north end like Pomodoro (which i personally enjoyed the time i went) but go to Giacomo's once - East Coast Grill in inman- Good bbq and seafood. Also do a "hell night" that is famous throughout the country (been on food network shows) where they have unreal hot dishes with ghost chilies galore. They do it for like a week twice a year. I haven't been yet but want to. The regular food is definitely worth going to though. - Neptune Oysters in north end area. Great seafood, oysters and lobster rolls. Usually mad crowded because it's famous but the food is still good. - Elephant Walk in cambridge and boston/brookline. Really tasty french and cambodian food. Interesting menu items and nice atmosphere. Fair prices too for unique food - Coffee: - Cafe luna near central - Cafe l'aroma on newbury - Crema Cafe in harvard sq - Polcari's in north end- Lots of good coffee beans and tea leaves and a cool little shop. I don't know if you can drink coffee there but they sell a bunch of coffee and tea and related products. Really cool and definitely check out once when you're in the area - Boston Common Coffe Co in financial district/downtown - Diesel Cafe in somerville - Simon's coffee shop in porter sq - True Grounds in somerville - Cafe Paradiso in north end and other north end espresso/pastry places make some nice coffee/espresso other: - Formaggio Kitchen in huron village. Awesome awesome place. You have to go if you like food at all. They have a wonderful cheese selection with all kinds of top notch local and european cheeses and a great meat selection with imported salamies, prosciutto, iberico jamon and iberico bellota. Plus some nice wine/beer, great bakery, wonderful coffee/tea selection, and lots of fresh local produce and breads. Also during the summer months they do an amazing street bbq with unreal good food from 11-2 - Sunset Tap and Grill in allston- over 500 beers and like 100 on tap. Crazy beer selection. The food is kinda mediocre and sit down service sucks but if you just go to the bar area and chill and look through the massive beer list it's fun. - Las Ventas in south end. It's a spanish (spain) groc store with sandwiches during the day. All kinds of great products imported from spain like cheeses, seranno ham, iberico ham, iberico bellota ham, and the sandwiches are really good. - If you are interested in artisinal cheeses and the like PM me though - Anything in particular you're looking for just post.

wow, I am overwhelmed by the great responses! Thank you all. I guess I've never really ventured into the world of forging real friendships from an online forum, but if any of you guys are interested in meeting up sometime, I'm definitely up for it.

Chronoaug in particular, I really appreciate your in-depth replies. I am definitely going to hit up Oleana immediately, I live for Greek food. FALAFEL BABY.

And all the shops! Awesome..I can't wait to see Drinkwater's and Stel's in person. I saw the J Press when I was there last week and it might as well have been Oz..unreal!

Originally Posted by chronoaug

Click to expand...

But yea, you can google/yelp these for exact addresses but i'll run down some stuff


Clothing- I don't know what you're into so i'll list a few things
- Tannery at harvard sq main store and basement. The main store has a good selection of stuff you find in sw&d and the basement store there is 1 rack hidden in the back with deep sale items from like a year ago of good brands though the rest of the store is ****** as hell
- Alan Bilzerian on newbury- Probably the best mens clothing store in the city. Lots of artisinal designers like ccp, yohji, morishita, augusta, yohji, rick owens, paul harnden, etc... Really nice tailored wear too. Definitely work checking out once
- Stel's on newbury- Basic sw&d clothing like w&h, apc, robert geller, ndg, our legacy, etc....
- Drinkwater's in cambridge- Lots of good MC clothing and some stuff like engineered garments and the owner is a styleforum member
- fast fashion on newbury: h&m, zara, all saints, urban outfitters, rugby, jcrew (in copley mall), club monaco (prudential mall)
- Barneys in copley mall

food places
- Mike and Pattys in bay village. My favorite sandwiches in the city. Lots of great fresh local products, creative sandwiches and overally just superbly done. Really small but i recommend everyone in the area go once and get a sandwich. Love the place
- Alive and Kicking lobsters on putnam- Good fresh seafood to take home and cook and make a mean lobster sandwich (lobster roll). Really quality stuff
- Galleria Umberto in north end- been around for a long time and only open till 2. Long lines but the pizza is awesome
- Santarpio's Pizza in east boston- Really old school place and i recommend just sitting at the bar, grabbing a beer and a pizza and relaxing. They cook the homemade sausages over a charcoal pit next to the bar. The pizza and sausage are out of this world good.
- Atwood's Tavern- Near you at inman/mit area. Good beer selection and the food is actually very solid for a bar. Highly recommended.
- Oleana near inman- Good turkish/middle eastern type food and it's pretty fresh since her husband owns a local farm. The chef was recently on Top Chef Masters and her side bakery place Sofra (forget the street so look it up) has awesome food and coffee and teas as well.
- Orinoco in south end or brookline- Great modern/hip venezuelan food. I really like the food and atmosphere is nice
- Toro in south end- Lots of good spain related tapas and a great drink selection with a good nightlife/scene
- Wan Convenience Store in jamaica plain area. Good jewish deli style sandwiches. Small place but nice charm and good food
- Hungry Mother- upscale "southern country" type food. Cool place to check out near inman i think.
- Giacomo's in north end. Good italian food but the line is always really long. Worth the wait to go there once, though i doubt you'll want to do it a bunch when there are plenty of solid italian places in north end like Pomodoro (which i personally enjoyed the time i went) but go to Giacomo's once
- East Coast Grill in inman- Good bbq and seafood. Also do a "hell night" that is famous throughout the country (been on food network shows) where they have unreal hot dishes with ghost chilies galore. They do it for like a week twice a year. I haven't been yet but want to. The regular food is definitely worth going to though.
- Neptune Oysters in north end area. Great seafood, oysters and lobster rolls. Usually mad crowded because it's famous but the food is still good.
- Elephant Walk in cambridge and boston/brookline. Really tasty french and cambodian food. Interesting menu items and nice atmosphere. Fair prices too for unique food
-

Coffee:
- Cafe luna near central
- Cafe l'aroma on newbury
- Crema Cafe in harvard sq
- Polcari's in north end- Lots of good coffee beans and tea leaves and a cool little shop. I don't know if you can drink coffee there but they sell a bunch of coffee and tea and related products. Really cool and definitely check out once when you're in the area
- Boston Common Coffe Co in financial district/downtown
- Diesel Cafe in somerville
- Simon's coffee shop in porter sq
- True Grounds in somerville
- Cafe Paradiso in north end and other north end espresso/pastry places make some nice coffee/espresso

other:
- Formaggio Kitchen in huron village. Awesome awesome place. You have to go if you like food at all. They have a wonderful cheese selection with all kinds of top notch local and european cheeses and a great meat selection with imported salamies, prosciutto, iberico jamon and iberico bellota. Plus some nice wine/beer, great bakery, wonderful coffee/tea selection, and lots of fresh local produce and breads. Also during the summer months they do an amazing street bbq with unreal good food from 11-2
- Sunset Tap and Grill in allston- over 500 beers and like 100 on tap. Crazy beer selection. The food is kinda mediocre and sit down service sucks but if you just go to the bar area and chill and look through the massive beer list it's fun.
- Las Ventas in south end. It's a spanish (spain) groc store with sandwiches during the day. All kinds of great products imported from spain like cheeses, seranno ham, iberico ham, iberico bellota ham, and the sandwiches are really good.

- If you are interested in artisinal cheeses and the like PM me though



- Anything in particular you're looking for just post.


great post and advice!

Wait. no mention of Riccardi? This store is legendary, i was there last week, wild selection and has been doing the couture/high-end street wear thing before anybody in America. Also, the best burger in America is to be found in Boston: http://www.craigieonmain.com/

Never been in Riccardi. There is a ......... on newbury as well.

Yea, i've been meaning to go to craigie on main for awhile. Who dubbed them best burger?

Originally Posted by chronoaug

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Yea, i've been meaning to go to craigie on main for awhile. Who dubbed them best burger?

I did.


I've eaten all the supposed top burgers in Tokyo, London, NYC, LA, SF, and a few other random places here and there. Craigie is top 2 for me.

Yea, i need to drag the gf over and get one soon. My only reservation is i actively dislike ketchup and i see the burger comes with that but i feel bad altering it so i'm in a tough spot. I really want a burger today for some reason and i live a block from UBurger (5guys/in n out type thing) so probably will just get my fix there for the big game today