Visiting Boston: Give me some suggestions

In the heart of the classic Backbay neighborhood is Newbury Street (the Rodeo Drive of Boston). I recommend stopping by Stephanie's On Newbury at the intersection of Exeter. To cool off, order a Greyhound - fresh grapefruit juice and vodka.

Bit of a tourist trap if you ask me, but yeah a quick drink and babe watching never hurts.

I'm a big fan of L'Espalier. It's a 5 minute walk from your hotel.

Amazing meal at Troquet. We loved it.

Craigie on Main, as has been praised by many members here, is a great eat.

Tastes differ, of course, but I would not recommend Stephanie's. I find it to have a boring menu, filled with tourists, and always smelling of moldy bar rag. Stephi's in the South End is better, but not really destination dining.

My favorite in that immediate area is L'Espalier on Boylston (the new digs are not as wonderfully charming as the old, but the food is every bit as good). Sorrelina might also fit the bill for an upscale evening scene. I also agree on Troquet, and would add that they have a particularly nice wine list. La Voile on Newbury is also good, but I'm not crazy about the atmosphere.

Craigie on Main is fantastic. I also like Neptune Oyster and Prezza (both North End), and you should definitely make the North End a destination.

Going way cheaper, Bahn Mi sandwiches at Mei Sum Bakery in Chinatown are my favorites (order and carry). Petite Robert Bistro right off Kenmore Square delivers excellent bistro fare at moderately prices (the South End location is not as consistently good).

It's hard to recommend must-eat places to a New Yorker. We're not exactly in the desert here, but you're coming from the shangri-la of dining out options.

If you are going to take the time to go out of your way to drop by Louis, I suggest making a late afternoon/evening of it:

1. Grab lunch or a snack at Sportello or at Louis's own restaurant, Sam's.

2. Look through Louis.

3. Walk over to the ICA and spend some quality time there.

4. Go for drinks at Drink.

5. Go for dinner at Menton if you want fine dining, O Ya if you like to break the bank on luxe sushi, or the Barking Crab if you want something super casual and don't mind risking food poisoning.

I can see why people still like L'Espalier, but I wouldn't put it in the top five in Boston anymore. This makes me sad. It's incarnation at the old location was always overwrought and prone to failure, but it could sometimes be really, really good. I eat here for lunch often so I think that I know it pretty well. It's probably a tad harsh to exclude it from the top five, but it's become a little generic pan-American French.

There's a scattering of small restaurants all throughout Boston and the adjacent towns that are really good. Drop me a PM if you are curious about that. It's the small, proprieter-run restaurants that have really carried the food quality recently. These venues are atypical destinations for tourists.

Within Boston proper, I think that No. 9 Park and Clio remain reliable good places. You might try dropping by Locke Ober, the North End and the South End for some lower achievement food in entertainingly Bostonian venues...Coppa in the South End is a lively and fun place for casual eating and drinking, for example, but I could give better advice if you described your tastes more.


- B

Vox, curious your thoughts on Troquet?

Strong on desert and cheeses.


- B

Lee, since you'll be here in September...




- B

+1

If you're there on a Sunday evening would go with the fried chicken special at Clio. Would also suggest Hamersley's Bistro in the South End (10 min walk from Copley) and Bricco in the North End. Hamersley's is solid all around, while I'd order multiple apps/desserts and skip the mains at Bricco. For brunch, Henrietta's Table in the Charles Hotel in Cambridge is a bit of an institution.

I saw that gilt offering too ... I'm tempted to get one even though I'm not in Boston very often these days. I never went to the original location, though.

Vox, what makes the cut of your top 5 Boston restaurants? Mine are O Ya, Craigie, L'Espalier, T.W. Food, and Menton.

Visit Vox!