Weekend in Boston - Food & Shopping Recommendations?

A few years ago Filene's Basement (the original FB) in Downtown Crossing closed up shop to make way for a mixed use space in its location. This was in my opinion the best place to shop as they had the inside track on most of the post sale overflow from stores like Barneys, Wilkes, Mario's, Mr Sid, and Louis. Since this location shuttered and subsequent other FB stores have closed the discount opportunities here in Boston have died.

There are still the usual suspects at full retail like Neiman's, Saks, Barney's, and Louis in Boston. The 1st three are all in Copley/Prudential mall right in Back Bay with Louis being on the waterfront by the ICA. Newbury St is a good walk with Ralph Lauren, Scoop (never been) and Stel's. Take the redline to Cambridge adn you have Gary who owns Drinkwater's (close to Porter Red Line stop) and Andover Shop (Harvard stop). If you are coming from NY I wouldn't get too excited but if you are from somewhere that doesn't have some of the higher end stores listed above you can hit them all relatively quickly.

There are tons of great food options in Boston, Cambridge and Somerville too. I can offer some suggestions if you tell me what you want and where you are staying. Notables include Craigie on Main, The Hungry Mother, Butcher Shop, Hamersley's, Island Creek Oyster Bar, Neptune Oyster, etc. Many good places for beer bars as well: Deep Ellum, Redbone's, Lower Depths, Mead Hall, Bukowski's.


Forgot to mention Bobby From Boston - you need to go here. Vintage men's clothing without absurd prices. He has been written up in Esquire and has been doing this for years.

http://www.selectism.com/news/2011/03/28/bobby-from-boston-shop/

I agree with pscolari - Bobby from Boston is a must ... As far as food, the North End is the Italian end of the city, over 100 restaurants within say 6 blocks and very close to Downtown/Faneuil Hall ... Other shopping destinations I would say Newbury St. as well, hit up Stel's and Rescue ... Then again you could always venture off the beaten track and come visit Bodega, close in proximity to Newbury St. / Copley ...

 

Hope you enjoy your time in Boston!

Oleana in Cambridge is worth looking into. Terrific.

Pscolari, do you have any good recs for North End. I have heard of too many terrible Italian places there and have no desire to sort through the worthwhile ones. I've also not heard anyone who has decent taste in food recommend anything there.

Every time I try to eat in the N. End it has been a shitshow, especially at Neptune. The one place I would pass along to check out is Carmen but haven't been there. I have heard from a few different people who I trust that this is the best restaurant there. My wife and I tend to avoid N. End for some reason. I think it is the fact we always pick the most inopportune times to try to eat there. We stopped going there once Sage moved from N. End to S. End ( fwiw - the S. End space is now The Gallows as it was too big for their britces). That was one of our favorites.

Will do. It's also a pain in the ass to get to it on the T. The whole neighborhood us a huge pain in the ass the couple of times I've gone.

I've heard of good things from The Gallows, their menu looked decent. I haven't been to many places in S End.

If you're going to Bobby from Boston, you should grab a bite at Myers and Chang. For non-shittastic Italian, I recommend Trattoria Toscana near Fenway.

Service at The Gallows is hit or miss when it is busy. Entrees are overpriced. I live around the corner from Toro so it is close to me and is fine but wouldn't go out of the way for it.

Myers and Chang is a good call.

travelling alone or w/ a partner?

if with partner, i recommend Cuchi Cuchi as a decent date. It's a pretty girlie restaurant, all about cocktails and tapas-style eats.

http://www.cuchicuchi.cc/

Then go for a nice walk on the Mass Ave. bridge. It's supposed to warm up this weekend.

They have some hot chicks that work at cuchi cuchi in skimpy outfits. However, I would not really recommend going there.

For tapas, your search should begin and end at Estragon. By far, the most authentic tapas in the city...and pretty cheap too.

Cocktails at Estragon are lacking severely.