Not sure if these are "beyond the norm" but the average tourist wouldn't go to these places:


Allston Public Library / dormitory - Machado/Silvetti

at Harvard:
Carpenter Center - Corb
Peabody Terrace / Holyoke Center / Science Center - Sert
GSD - John Andrews

at MIT:
Simmons Hall - Steven Holl
Baker House - Alto
Kresge Auditorium / Chapel - Saarinen
Stata Center - Gehry

second walldrug's picks, especially the machado silvetti allston branch library.

if you are driving, would recommend the drive up to exeter, N.H. as I recall, it's just two hours north of the city or so.

and if you are coming from the east, stop by yale

Is the Spite House any good? It's privately owned, so I am not sure you can get a tour of the narrow interior.

the gropius
house in lincoln is off the beaten path (and a bit outside of the city) and totally worth it. unfortunately i just looked at the website and its closed for the winter.

and the isabella stuart gardener museum is a must-see.

where are you staying? i can recommend some bars and restaurants if you want.

I can recommend bars/restaurants also, although my choices typically have a somewhat lowkey/cheap bend to them.

Might want to catch some music, at the Berklee School of Music....

visit 18 abbey road in brighton. vado's coke snorting new wave home of the early 80's

or catch some music at Great Scott in Allston or the Middle East in Central Square. and if you're near the GSD you should go to Bartley's Burgers.

pixel, please, please do post some good cheap eatery/bar recommendations. I've lived in the city for 3 years on a crazy tight budget and I can barely afford appetizers at most places!!!!!

please help. Thank you!

Boca Grande on Mass Ave between Harvard Square and Porter Square. You could get a sweet enchilada and Mexican soda for like $4.50 last time I was there. Freakin' awesome. There was also a Japanese market in the Porter Exchange. Yeah, it's nothing you can't get in Chinatown, but hooking up the Calpis and variety of delicious Japanese candies is always good. Legal Seafood has an awesome Boston Creme Pie. It's pretty good at the higher priced end of reasonable. You could always stop by the Upstairs on the Square and see my old roommate. She took me there for lunch when I moved and the chef made a dessert for me that said "Harvard Sucks, Go Penn." See cause we like...got along well and I wanted to go to Harvard and we were going to be roommates and stuff. Get it?

HH Richardson's Trinity Church (ridiculous detail...pictures do not do it justice) and the Boston Public Library (visit the reading room at night)...
I didn't get to see inside but there is this underground library (houses maps, etc...) at Harvard...
Don't forget to eat some clam chowder!!

from the Boston Pheonix. Plenty of good eats in there.

I second going to see Trinity Church, the BPL and oh yes, the Hancock Tower! All in the same block, a definite must see.

Also second, or third, going into Harvard Square to see the Carpenter Center and the Holyoke Center. If you go to the GSD, go check out Sert's house on Irving St (if memory serves) a couple blocks away. And my old high school on Cambridge and Irving isn't too shabby either.

I think Deck/Acorn/ Empyrean is in the Lincoln/ Concord area so it would actually be close to the Gropius house. You could also stop at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln and check out the sculpture garden, weather permitting.

For food:
Cambridge in Porter Square
Anna's Taqueria, so cheap and so yummy.
Blue Fin Sushi in Porter Exchange, sweet potato tempura!
(Sadly there is no more Nick's House of Beef and Beer!)
Get a hot Chocalote at Burdicks in Harvard square for desert. I think you have to use a knife to eat that stuff.

Boston:
the original brick oven pizzeria, Pizza Regina in the North End. All the rest are pale imitations of the original. Then there's that pizza place near the common that office da made some metal thingies for.

And cap it all off with an evening of ice skating at the Frog Pond. (followed by more hot chocolate at Curious Liquids.)

Here are some more suggestions...

- The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, a recent Moshe Safdie project

- The Big Dig, because you've been hearing about it for so long

- Boston City Hall, because it's so weird

- Definitely the ICA, and the De Cordova Museum, and the Gropius House

I would take Emma's for pizza near MIT anyday over anywhere else.

Drink lots of local beer. It's all really good.

it's not for everybody, but i love looooeeeeez amongst the other fine things on newbury street.

I was once told the Louis Boston building was the original home to the MIT architecture program...

This is absolutely not out of the tourist track, yet you will love having a drink at the bar atop the prudential center.

Wow. I could throw a quarter out the window and hit the Porter Exchange...

Thanks to all for the great recs.

fyi...curious liquids has been closed for about two years now.

for food:
second on anna's..they have the location near porter and one in davis.

cinderella's..sort of in that weird space between central and mit...good
sandwiches..the mit and harvard specials in particular...miss them
hard-core in nyc.

falafel palace - right in central square...cheap and good...think it's still
open.

*best bfast deal in the city bar none..if not anywhere* - the
lumberjack special right outside davis...renee's cafe - they serve only
bfast and it's high quality..no premade bs..everything made to order.

another great bfast place - kelly's diner outside powderhouse sq in
somerville...it's near soundbites which i've hear is totally overrated.

next to soundbites though is one of the best sandwich places in
beantown..their prosciutto/basil/tomato sandwich is made to order
and it takes about ten minutes..but it is so good. i totally miss it.

the plough and stars just outside central...very good lunch menu.
very small, but everything is made to order due to the limited menu.

pho pasteur...in harvard square...very good pho and pretty cheap.

drinking:

the bside lounge outside of kendall

there's a bar on somerville ave..i can't remember the name..but
it's a brutal interior...fluorescent lights and total townie atmosphere..
but the owner doesn't sell beer for much more than cost...a beer
that normally sells for 6-7 a bottle he sells for 3...i think his quote
was something like 'if i wanted to sell a beer for six bucks i'd have to
include a meal with that..'

middlesex seems to be the new place to go..and it seems to be ok
on mass ave outside of kendall..good mix of people and an interior
that one a bsa interior design award for whatever that's worth.

wow it's time for lunch. if i could move the lunch places from boston
to nyc i'd have the perfect city.

in allston on brighton ave. great beer selection

oh and check out the sam adams brewery

third vote on anna's but if you're from the west coast, it's nothing special.

i like tosci's for ice cream. FYI massachusetts has highest per capita consumption of ice cream. it's bizzare.

north end has all sorts of little hidden gems for food. bring cash.

if you can fanagle it. in wellesley (take the commuter train or drive). go to Blue Ginger. Dinner you need to make res'vtions a month in adv. but you might be able to sneak in for lunch. delish.

outside of the city...

the old mill restaurant...old-timey new england chaaahm.
same with the longfellow house ..although the food and ambience
aren't all that special

icecream:

j.p. licks on newbury st. is better than toscanin's overpriced fare in
my opinion.

also the ice cream place in inman square..can't remember the
name at the moment is all homemade i believe.

in wellesley...white mountain creamery...


while you're there you can go to wellesley college and see the
davis museum by moneo..some buildings by rudolph and
the new campus center by scogin and elam...

also the umass dartmouth campus is, i believe, all rudolph...
semi brutal concrete structures..

im pei's christian science center

the mit campus in general. the saarinen chapel is beautifully
simplistic..it's like a perfect built thesis project.

If you find yourself wandering around downtown near Faneuil Hall and the Big Dig, Sultan's Kitchen has awesome middle eastern food. (falafel, pita, shwarma, kebab) at the corner of Broad and State. The guy who runs it is a character.

Also Jaffa Cafe in the Back Bay on Fairfield St. (I think) between Newbury and Boylston is great.

other side cafe..on newbury st..across mass ave. good
sandwiches and good beer...a bit hipsterish, but better than
most places in that area.

I'm from the west coast and anna's kind of disgusts me. Boca Grande, on the other hand, is very near and dear to my heart. I loooove that place, their al pastor is to die for... the rest of these are very helpful, i'm aware of a few already, but most are new to me. Thanks! Any more in the Brookline area? I don't get off the green line much.

Rami's, in Coolidge Corner.

Myriam, have you been to the burrito place in Brookline Village? I can't remember its name...but it's pretty good.

brookline village, would that be baja betty's...or is my memery getting old?

i believe there was a restaurant called fajitas and ritas around the corner on route 9...but why walk that far? i also miss murphy's pub and the liquor store in bv

myriam have you been to el pelon (i think its on peterborough) in the fenway? its right next to sorento's which is also great.

El Pelon used to (haven't been there in awhile) have an all you can eat taco night.

And although its a bit more pricey that taco joints, I'm a HUGE fan of Grasshoppers over in Allston. Best vegan chinese food around - I've driven 3 hours round trip to go there for dinner.

Geeze...all you people do is eat, drink and sleep?

i second (or third...fourth...) pizzeria regina. an authentic boston experience and great pizza. just off the main drag in the north end - ask anyone for directions from hanover street.

also second the christian science center plaza, it's incredible. other than that, hit the campus highlights from harvard and MIT campus. fyi - except dorms (holl and aalto) all MIT buildings are open to the public during the day.


and this is very touristy but very worthwhile - go to the courtyard of the boston public library, and upstairs to the reading room as well, in copley square. i think it's still the best building in boston.

lars-
so Curious Liquids has been RIP for 2 years? I gotta get back more often. Well here are some more spurious recommendations (who knows if any of these places still exist?)

Algiers Coffee house in Harvard Square, actually has really good food for a decent price(relative to the square.) And check out the picture of the Ayatollah in the back downstairs.

I vote Tosconini's over J.P. Licks, for the summer sorbets alone. Cantaloupe sorbet, damn good. But if you want really good hot fudge, Herrels is the place. (It really is true about Massholes and ice cream, my mother always gives directions by way of her favorite ice cream shops.)

The mental hospital by Rudolph is pretty astounding too. Also go to Boston City hall and go up to the top floor to see the model room, if they still have it, pretty amazing. Now that I think about it, I suppose all that brutalist stuff that was done 30-40 years ago is probably why no one will let architects use anything but bricks now.

the mexican joint in allston/brookline is anna's. i lived in allston for a couple of years and i would have to say one of the best bars would be the model - probably the best long island i have ever had - you could always try our house, but at times it can be a frat party. the shilloette had $6 pitchers of high life if that is your style. if you are lucky you might get to see the mr. butch show - who knows if that guy is still alive. probably one of the few homeless people that has his mural on the side of a building.

jh.

i know of a homeless guy that had his photo in a mural and a painted
mural in central square...sadly i believe he died a couple years ago..

always an eccentric personality...wearing a sort of police uniform
and being odd in a good way.

and fog lite..

i believe algiers is still there...although i didn't go there all that
often.

and the only reason i wasn't so hot on toscanini's is that they're
way overpriced...i also liked jp lick's black rasperry chip...as a
displanted masshole though i guess i don't eat my share of
icecream.

sadly curious liquids was displaced by a channel five tv studio..
or fox or something...they use it to cover anything major happening
at the state house.

puddles, you're right. baja betty's = fantastic.

algiers is still there. but i think for coffee 1369 (either in central or inman) is definitely the way to go. and their chocolate chip cookies are to die for. and if you're in inman, go eat at east coast grill. not cheap, but excellent. and bukowski's has burgers for a dollar at certain times of the day certain days of the week. at both boston and cambridge locations.

8888

second on the bukowski's rec..a great addition to inman sq.

and 1369 as well..although i always preferred the inman sq location..

surprised noone's mentioned redbones...i'm personally not a fan at all..
but people seem to love that place.

snooker-

eatin' drinkin' and sleepin' is wicked pissah!

yeah lars i don't love redbones either. that's why i didn't mention it. but if you are in davis, best to get a drink at the burren. or the sligo.

Boston Bukowski's over the Cambridge, any day.
Charlie's Kitchen over in Brattle Square.

pixel what IS charlie's kitchen? i've heard great things about but sadly, never been there. its right near the kennedy school, right?

wow, thanks guys, this is GREAT!

I've never been to baha betty's, el pelon (that one's been recommended to me before--now it's moved higher on my list), or sorento's. It's really good to have more restaurant choices close at hand, thanks a million.

For my part, there's a new trattoria at coolidge corner (been there... about a year now?) attached to the Florentine restaurant right on Harvard St.. They serve the only real lasagna with bechamel sauce that I've found yet in the states and it is DELICIOUS. They also have a little section of italian foodstuffs for sale that is much better priced than formaggio's or lyon's (garden of eden) in the south end.

I also have had some amazing food--really some of the very best I've had in Boston--at the B Side Lounge over in Kendall Sq--if it weren't such a pain to get to I'd definitely go more often. It's got a great atmosphere for gatherings with friends, and if you get a bunch of different appetizers you'll get delicious food for a reasonable price.

Keep 'em coming! I'm literally making a list.

myriam if you like that trattoria on harvard street, have you been to firenze downstairs? its right on babcock street and you'd miss it if you didn't know about it. its delicious. i've never had a bad meal there. and they give you a free meal on your birthday. do you live in coolidge? i've been there for about 3.5 years now. i love it, though its $$$.

Yeah, never really lived in the 1369 hood so I never became a regular. Although my sister-in-law is one of the cute girls behind the counter at the Central location. And I used to work with one of the guys who was a co-owner at the original 1369 jazz club.

Back in high school Algiers was our favorite hang out, this was before there was such a thing as 1369. I think the last time I was in Algiers it was decorated a little differently than it was back in my day, and the waitresses all seemed really young. *sigh*

8888:
Yup, Charlie's is right over by the Kennedy school. They have a restaurant on the first floor and a bar on the second. I've never been on the first floor so the only comment on it is that I think I saw a lobster tank there, although I could be wrong. Being vegetarian I can vouch for both their fries and grilled cheese up at the bar, and they have a decent beer selection, and keep a full stock of Pabst typically. They used to have a karaoke night that was a blast to watch, I heard they started charging a cover or something on those nights and it died, but its been awhile so things might have changed.

I've been warned by friends to avoid anything deep fried from Charlie's, as it typically has a detrimental effect on your stomach. I've also been told they have amazing hamburgs.

I'm going to be working in Boston starting next week, and hopefully moving into the area soon afterwards. Anyone game for an archinect meetup soon to test out all these recommendations?

I'd be down. Welcome to the bean.

Pixel..

i agree with you that the boston's bukowski's is better..when not
ridiculously crowded that is...but the one in inman was just a good
addition to that area...

others:
tir na nog in union sq.

the hong kong in harvard sq. if you're looking to get drunk for
fairly cheap and the scene upstairs is sort of an anomaly for
cambridge.

a place i just found out about...jimmy's across fort point channel...
i think it's on ave a?...there also used to be a coffee shop/rest/
gallery across the street from payette that had the best steaktip
lunch for not too much..good atmosphere too..not sure if it's
still there.

the good life off of summer st.

people's republik oustide of central

the enormous room in central

and second on sligo's...used to like the burren when i was younger,
but now it just seems like a college bar/tuft's hangout...similar to
joshua tree.

Oh yeah, if you want free food in Boston, there's always the Krishna Center. I wouldn't recommend it unless you're REALLY strapped for cash or actually interested in Krishna Conscious.