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Anyone want to try to get that pig roast at Citizen Publick House going?
D'Guru is good/fast foodish, but only does weekday lunch to my knowledge
Tantric is sitdown, not amazing but solid
Mela is a little further away, but they are awesome
Doing the pig roast at Citizen will require some significant planning - they were booking out 2 months in advance last time I checked so you'd want to figure out details sooner rather than later.
Red B/Gold Professor
[15:53] <+juju-work> ArsonIsFun is one of the best people I know.
Oof, getting enough interest 2+ months in advance might not be so easy.
EDIT 6:45pm: here's a list of the foods/services offered. http://www.south-station.net/Retail-Food-Services.htm
and Google lists it as a 13 minute walk.
So... ahem.
*** Places close the Convention Center worth noting: James Beard award winner & celebrity chef Barbara Lynch plopped three of her ventures down on Congress Street. Menton is definitely worth noting. Menton, a French/Italian fusion restaurant is as pricey as your Morton's and usually requires a reservation if you want something guaranteed. But hell, if you have $$$$ to drop, try it. Sportello has lunch fare, and serves dinner as well, as the "mid-range" restaurant effort of the group. It's a seat-yourself style upscale lunch spot where most of the tables are counter-style. They also serve light brunch, and it's great! If you don't want to wait, they do some take-out and have an AMAZING small-scale bakery counter (I brought specialty cupcakes for my staff at work one day before the last PAX East, to great praise). The other Lynch venture is Drink, but hellish at night. Drink is a speakeasy style cocktail bar and one of the top five in Boston. You basically go there and give the bartender an idea of what you want and how you feel, and they'll make up a drink for you. They're also well versed in classic cocktails - any bartender who can give me bourbon-based variations on a classic negroni by name really knows their stuff. If you're not sold yet, did I mention they have daily house-made ginger beer for their cocktail bases if you so choose to have, say, a spicy El Diablo? If you venture close to the Boston Common (7 bus or 17 minute walk), Barbara Lynch also has No. 9 Park, known for their cocktails. No. 9 Park is very similar and close to a level as Menton.
Temazcal opened up along the Waterfront as well since the last PAX East, right near the Renaissance Waterfront. They serve upscale traditional Mexican fare which is culinary-grade solid (100% authentic? Not too sure. Delicious? Absolutely) and have tequila pours and tequila-based cocktails that will blow your mind. All of this, though, is very overpriced thanks to location, hype, and restaurant ambiance. Papagayo is another option of the same upscale Mexican/tequila vibe on Summer Street. It opened shortly before the last PAX East and it was BOMBED the entire time as it is one of the closest restaurants to the convention center. If you want tequila but don't care too much for mexican, SushiTeq, at the bottom of the Intercontinental Hotel, is also good, and it's easy to figure out what they're all about from their resto name. Tequila is still overpriced, ambiance is inside-out disco-ball-esque, food is tasty. That's about a 10 minute walk over the bridge from the BCEC.
I'm surprised that no one's mentioned Flour Bakery! Flour is really great for breakfast and light lunch. Flour's owner, Joanne Chang, was featured in a Bobby Flay throwdown for sticky buns, and her bakeries and other local food ventures are amazing. Flour Bakery is on Congress Street right near all the other places everyone is mentioning, a five minute walk from the BCEC. Go.
O Ya in the Leather District (near Chinatown) has the same prestige as Menton but for sushi. Expect to drop a hundred or more with alcohol pairings, but it is one of the most renowned Japanese restaurants on the east coast. I can't vouch for O Ya but Arsonbro can, as he went for the tasting menu there fairly recently.
I second Salvatore's because the pizza is solid and I know the staff well personally. They're great at what they do.
Between last PAX East and this one, Legal Seafoods opened up a new Harborside location that had rave reviews for the roofdeck in the summer. I was completely underwhelmed by Legal Test Kitchen both times I've been there (and I'm easily pleased when it comes to food!) although they offer a 6 oyster deal, $6 before 6pm. It's usually Mon-Thurs but I went to LTK last PAX on a Saturday and they honored the deal for some reason. It's totally worth it - they shuck onsite and you can get whatever oysters you want; they have a variation that is insanely good for dollar deals.
*** CHINATOWN IS NOT VERY FAR FROM THE CONVENTION CENTER. For just $1.25 with a Charlie Card, you can take the 7 Bus from right across the street from the BCEC across the bridge to South Station or Milk St (last stop) and walk 5 minutes to ANY of the points in Chinatown my native Bostonians suggested. Or it's less than a 15 minute walk.
Loki - I will go eat soup dumplings with you! I'm a fiend for them, just went for some last night :P Taiwan Cafe is my favorite of the three to grab a bite. Gourmet Dumpling House is very, very good as well. I am a very big fan of soup dumpling crawls if you want to go to the three Chinatown locations, get an order at each, and compare. I did this at a few places in Flushing on my half-birthday and took notes with a foodie friend of mine.
Out of the three shabu places in Chinatown my favorite is Shabu Zen. Kaze has great broths but Shabu Zen has better plates/portions. If you wanna be a fatty an all-you-can-eat Shabu place, Hot Pot Buffet, that's less than a year old opened up at the Chinatown gate.
If you are wandering around the area and have 10 minutes to spare go to New Saigon Sandwich and pick up a BBQ pork bahn mi for PAX snacking. At around $3.25, these things are CHEAP-EAT GOLD MINES. Meat (they have vegetarian options!) vegetables, cilantro, and deliciousness all on a baguette. They keep well in the fridge, or you can carry one in your bag all day until you want some snack noms. New Saigon also offers awesome takeaway rice and noodle plates for dirt cheap you can buy, keep in your mini-fridge, and reheat in the microwave.
Go get dim sum if you can. The large Cantonese population in Boston guarantees solid dim sum; you'll only probably be severely disappointed if you've lived in Vancouver, LA, San Fran, or Flushing and had dim sum there regularly. Anywhere you go in Boston is acceptable and very, very good for people trying to branch out for new things. Hei La Moon is my immediate favorite because of authenticity and great selection if you get there early, but China Pearl is also good. If you're trying dim sum for the first time, Empire (Emperor) Garden is good for large groups (you get seated quickly because it is huge!) and basic dim sum fare. It's the least intimidating for newbies trying to eat and you still get a good, basic dim sum experience. If you know Manhattan dim sum, it reminds me of Jing Fong. A grand ballroom setting and awesome ambiance for people new to the system.
*** DOWNTOWN EATS ARE CLOSE TOO. If you're in a beery snobby mode, Stoddard's Fine Food and Ale has a really excellent selection of craft beers on tap and in bottle if you don't want to venture too far from the convention center. It's a bit pricey, but reasonable for the city, and you get to try a lot of things you can't have easily accessible to you. Last time I was there I was easily able to order a Unibroue La Fin Du Monde without even blinking. (There are some very good beer bars and brewpubs within T distance also; if you're interested in craft beer ask away for recs.)
Max and Dylan's is forgotten quite a bit as well because of its hidden location. It's upscale bar food, borderline American bistro style. Everything there is pretty good, but I personally dream about their prosciutto and truffle oil macaroni and cheese. The food there is solid if you're wandering around the area.
Waterbottles - Another close Indian restaurant to downtown that is worth talking about is Mantra, which is on the same side street as Stoddard's. It's right next to Downtown Crossing T Stop (steps away from the 7 Bus). It's Indian style bistro food and it's very good (at low-upscale restaurant prices)! They have a worth-mentioning cocktail list and a semi-open kitchen, as well as a buffet lunch that is unknown in the downown area, diverse in selection, and a good value). D'Guru on Devonshire Street is solid but it is only open for lunch on weekdays, filled with Financial District people, completely out of the way, and closes early if they run out of food. If you're adventurous, hop on the Red Line to Central Square and look for Dosa Factory in the back of Shalimar Market (about a 12 minute ride from South Station in the Alewife direction). It has a real dosa oven with the ability to make paper crepe-like dosas and the menu focuses on South Indian street food, which tends to be different than your typical Indian fare, more complex in flavor, and vegetarian. They also have your typical chicken/lamb dishes as well, and some rarity desserts like rose falooda and Indian sweets.
*** Heels - if you need some ideas on which food trucks to rope in/who has good availability, I can be a resource if you haven't started on it already, and I'm awesome at promoting stuff like that too.
*** Arsonbro, trinistand, and Khadour - if we wanna get a Citizen Public House & Oyster Bar pig roast going, we need a set 10 at least 2 months in advance. I follow the Citizen twitter, and it seems as though if you want a pig roast, a month out, 85% of the dates are nailed down for 6-8 weeks ahead, so if we want to nail down a PAX date, we have to get our bid in EARLY. As in, before December. Especially since it's a holiday weekend.
*** Also, if you're in town early or late and wanna grab dinner at a place different and exciting with good PAX company just ask me. I will make lunch/dinner plans with anyone interested in seeing the city by eating good food and/or drop specific recs easily (my forte is cheap, quality eats). Ask Arson, too, who is totally overqualified to tell you where to eat. Really, all we do is eat at places and roll out there sated. We are Boston eating pros.
PAX Prime '10-'13 Triwizard Drinking Tournament || Hufflepuff Head of House!
Twitter: @jujukoo
[E]
I read soup dumpling crawl and blacked out out of sheer excitement. So that's a yes on that XD I'll hopefully be in town on Wednesday so maybe it can be a warm up to PAX? I'm not sure if you're already booked clean through the week though XD
Ahhh thanks to everyone in this thread! I now know to save my pennies and what to save them for. Foodie adventures coupled with PAX will make for the best vacation ever.
2009 Omeganaut
Maybe it's time to update the Hitchhiker's Guide...
I'm willing to get the pig roast together if there's enough interest. Let me call ahead to get some dates from them and then I'll start a post.
Soup dumplings...I crave them so much. I hear Dumpling Cafe is excellent, haven't been yet though.
[edit] So I just called and they won't be booking for April til January. I figure Fri-Sun is probably out as most folks would be at the PAX events. Thursday is the pub crawl (I think?), so what do we think of Wednesday night (assuming Tuesday we'll be doing a special JJ foley's night?)
If I can go count me in. My stupid job is not giving me approval on my time off yet. If I go to PAX east I would love to go to a pig roast
I'm down for a Wednesday night pig roast! We should do some sort of Eventbrite RSVP when we get this on the board.
Also, if you want to go to Dumpling Cafe, it's the only place I haven't been to in Boston for soup dumplings. I finally got to Shanghai Gate in Allston a week ago. Lemme know, I am totally down from it and it's on my way home from work
PAX Prime '10-'13 Triwizard Drinking Tournament || Hufflepuff Head of House!
Twitter: @jujukoo
[E]
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PAX East 2015: -Pass [X] -Hotel [X] -Time off[X]
twitter: acumen101 | fb: fb.com/acumen101
Steam: acumen101 | xbl/psn: caseBlaster101
Juju, we'll talk soon, dying for the soup dumplings. Just got back from the Giants game, need sleep so badly.
Awesome post, definitely giving me good ideas for a foodie weekend while at PAX! Now I want dumplings...
Edit: Now that I think about it some more, I'm sure there are others in the local scene who would be down for this as well (Waterborn, etc.), despite not being able to attend our usual meetings - PAX week is one long special event, so they'd probably be very interested. See if Citizen is available for that Wednesday, and I'm positive we can get at least 10.
Flour Bakery was DE-FREAKING-LICIOUS. I would walk there every morning and get an assortment of pastries and coffee for myself and friends. I still dream of their craquelins and sticky buns. It's tucked down a side street right by Lucky's on Congress, and while it's almost always busy, you get in and out quickly.
Might have just been the wine I was drinking.
<=== Classy fucker right here.
I never finish anyth
Sportello is delicious and a bit on the pricier side but worth it imho. Only problem is getting into Drink afterwards :P
Wrote a reminder for myself to check with Citizen's after Christmas. Will create a thread and update then.
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/the_50_best_restaurants_2011/page1
Red B/Gold Professor
[15:53] <+juju-work> ArsonIsFun is one of the best people I know.
Man my mouth is watering from page one of that article.
I never finish anyth
cardullo's in harvard square has some lovely little gourmet foodstuffs, including a bunch of locally-made new england things.
Tweet me @Landerolin
I just wanted to chime in about that Sam Adams Brick Red - finding this beer was one of the highlights of PAX for me. If you like amber beers, it is so, so, SO good, and you can only get it in a select few bars in Boston itself - it's not available outside of Boston or in bottles at all.
The food was quite good, too. The kalamari rings were fantastic. But seriously. Try that beer.
Your knowledge and articulation of the distinctions between Boston's 3 shabu joints elevates you to a level higher than "eating pro": how about "chow champion"?
Although I do prefer Kaze to Shabu Zen...could be Kaze's short-rib, or maybe it's that flaming scorpion bowl for 4...
After having walked to the South Station food court and subjected myself to $8 BCEC chicken fingers I was cursing myself for not finding this sooner in the weekend.
Flour Bakery & Cafe. 12 Farnsworth St. Their hours are short (Mon-Fri 7a-7p; Sat 8a-6p; Sun 9a-4p), but they have *awesome* sandwiches and baked goods. A sandwich + soda + bakery item will usually go for $12-$15.
Papagayo. 283 Summer Street. Pretty good mexican food, also a tequila bar. Mon-Thu 11:30am-10pm, bar until 1am; Fri-Sat 11:30am-11pm, bar until 1am; Sun 11:30am-9pm, bar until 11pm. Food runs $10-$20.
Lucky's Lounge. 355 Congress Street. Typical bar food prices. They have a *fantastic* Frank Sinatra-themed brunch on Sundays.
To get to KO Pies, you exit through the BCEC parking lot and head south a couple of blocks.
Kaze's broths are really great, much better than Shabu Zen's, but for some strange reason I really like the vegetable parts of the combo and I think Shabu Zen's is much better. I don't usually drink when I go shabu unless it's one glass of Choya so the scorpion bowls don't really sway me
My favorite thing to do is request the high bar so I can watch ESPN while having kimchi broth. I'm an easy girl to please.
You can find Brick Red at a good amount of the bars in Faneuil Hall. If you are lucky enough to have Bell in Hand on your map, you'll be able to grab a Brick Red there.
This is totally worth it, the walk to KO. The food there is pretty bomb! The dessert is good too, and if they have Tim Tam ice cream, get it.
Also, don't ask for a knife and fork to eat your pie. That's just sacrilege.
PAX Prime '10-'13 Triwizard Drinking Tournament || Hufflepuff Head of House!
Twitter: @jujukoo
[E]
Before PAX last year there was a long thread about Boston’s best restaurants filled with excellent suggestions and great foodie discussion. I’ve made a giant list culled from the wisdom of these Boston locals. Being a five-year resident myself, I’ve been to many of these establishments and can vouch for their greatness.
I’ve also completed the (fairly annoying) task of googling every single restaurant address and including it in the list. So without further ado, here is a gigantic compilation of amazing restaurants spread across the whole of Boston for those willing to venture away from the Waterfront. I split restaurants into general categories, which upon completion I realized was a dumb idea, as some restaurants are hard to classify and occasionally the lines between types blur. Oh well!
Anyway, let’s continue the discussion about food! I’d love the opportunity to eat with some of you, so if you want to try to schedule a time to dine at a particular restaurant during PAX, uhh, let’s do it!
Pizza:
• Bostone Pizza (225 Newbury Street , Back Bay)
• Pinocchio’s Pizza (74 Winthrop Street, Cambridge)
• Original Pizzeria Regina (11 1/2 Thacher St, North End) [Nothing like the thoroughly average chain stores all over America]
Sandwiches / Lunch Spots:
• Charlie’s Sandwich Shop (South End -- 429 Columbus Ave)
• Charlies Kitchen (10 Eliot St, Cambridge) [$8 lobster melt]
• Chacarero (101 Arch Street, near Park St. T stop) [Chillean sandwich shop]
• Sam LaGrassa’s Sandiwch Shop (44 Province Street Park St. stop) [Open only lunch hours, weekdays. Incredible sandwiches, definitely worth a trip on Friday if you can swing it]
• Clover food truck (Summer St. & Atlantic Ave, outside South Station) – “Fresh, fast, organic-when-we-can” food. Opens at breakfast and closes around 6:00pm, or when food runs out.
• Flower Bakery (12 Farnsworth St, Waterfront) [Great sammiches and, of course, pastries]
Seafood / Oysters:
• Lord Hobo (92 Hampshire Street, Cambridge) [Does $1 oysters and $5 apps Monday-Friday from 5-7 pm]
• Legal Seafood Test Kitchen (225 Northern Ave., Wharf) [Try experimental and very often delicious dishes before they appear on the Legal Seafood menu]
• Turner Fisheries (10 Huntington Avenue) [Friday night $1 oysters]
• Myers + Chang (1145 Washington St, South End )
• B&G Oysters (550 Tremont Street)
• Neptune Oyster (63 Salem Street)
• Island Creek Oyster Bar (500 Commonwealth Ave, Kenmore)
• Union Oyster House (41 Union Street, near Faneuil Hall) [Epic sea food broil with lobster, crab, clams, scallops, fish, tons of veggies, (touristy) and other stuff i cant remember. Came to around 30 dollars, (steamers clam choder and beer cheaper)]
• Drydock Cafe (7 Drydock Ave, Wharf) [Top-notch seafood, not touristy yet]
• Eastern Standard Oysters (528 Commonwealth Ave, Kenmore) [Also serves great mac ‘n’ cheese, apparently]
Asian:
• Kaze Shabu Shabu (1 Harrison Avenue, Chinatown)
• Ginza (16 Hudson Street, Chinatown) -- Excellent sushi
Hei La Moon (88 Beach St. Chinatown) -- Dim Sum
• Le’s (137 Brighton Avenue Allston) -- Huge bowl of pho with all the trimmings only $7-9.
• Windsor Dim Sum Cafe (10 Tyler Street, Chinatown) [Menus in Engish]
• Porter Exchange (1815 Mass Ave, Cambridge) [Several different and tasty Asian restaurants]
Italian:
• Rino’s Place (256 Saratoga St. North End)
• Giovanni's (North End)
• Mama Maria (3 N Square, North End)
Vegetarian:
Veggie Planet (47 Palmer Street, Cambridge)
Ethnic:
• Addis Red Sea [Ethiopian] (Cambridge) [Spongy bread, spicy entrees, interesting tables that are conducive to sharing. Totally unique and enjoyable experience]
• Indian Quality (484 Commonwealth Ave, Kenmore Square) [Rated Zygat’s best for the last TEN STRAIGT YEARS]
• Gaslight (560 Harrison Ave, South End) [French Cuisine]
• Falafel King (48 Winter St near Park St. T stop) [Best falafel]
• Herrera’s Mexican Grille (11 Temple Place) [Pollo Collorado Burrito is life-changing]
Breakfast / Diner Food:
• South St. Diner (178 Kneeland Street, near South Station) [One of very few places in Boston open 24 hours]
• Ryles Jazz Club (212 Hampshire Street, Cambridge) [Mind blowing Sunday brunch with live jazz acts serenading you while you eat. I recommend cream cheese and jam-stuffed French Toast]
Burgers:
• Craigie on Main (453 Main St, Cambridge) [$18 to-die-for burger]
• RF O'Sullivans (282 Beacon Street, Somerville) [Also makes a hell of a burger]
Cocktails:
• Drink (348 Congress St, Waterfront) [Talented mixologists craft you a custom drink after you relay the ingredients you’re partial to]
Steak:
• Fleming’s Steak House (217 Stuart St, Waterfront)
Other (Hard to Classify):
• Stephanie’s on Newbury (190 Newbury St, Back Bay) [“Sophisticated comfort food”]
• Beehive (541 Tremont Street)
• The Other Side Cafe (407 Newbury St, Hynes T stop)
• Fire + Ice (205 Berkeley Street, near Arlington T stop) [On the expensive side. Pick ingredients and your meal is cooked in front of you]
• Petit Robert Bistro (468 Commonwealth Ave, Kenmore) [Dope sandwiches for lunch, and an interesting dinner menu]
• Garden on the Cellar (991 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge)
Edit: If I’ve mis-categorized any restaurant, or if you’d like to add to the list, please speak up or shoot me a PM, I’ll correct it!
http://jpaceandson.com/index.php?page=southboston
last year pax east fell during restaurant week and I ended up walking to oishii, but they don't coincide this year
there are coupons on restaurant.com and groupons that might be useful for some places in the area
Seriously, unless you only eat 7-11 food, check them out.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&gs_upl=476l2553l0l2682l22l8l0l8l8l1l443l1740l1.3.1.2.1l11l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1280&bih=929&wrapid=tlif132677461860310&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=j+pace+and+sons+boston&fb=1&gl=us&hq=j+pace+and+sons&hnear=0x89e3652d0d3d311b:0x787cbf240162e8a0,Boston,+MA&ei=XPkUT-_gEIqqiALQop2ZDA&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=image&ved=0CAUQtgM
We are staying at Park Plaza (booked late) and I was wondering if there were any places close by that serve breakfast (not a bakery)?