PAX East 2015 - The Restaurant/Food Thread
imnotalawyer
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I found last year's thread to be very helpful and thought I would get the ball rolling again by sharing a few of my favorite stops from PAX 2014. If this takes off I will compile a spreadsheet of recommendations and edit it in to this post.
Without further ado...
Al's Cafe on State Street - This is far and away the best value meal of PAX. $8.50 gets you a SIXTEEN inch sub sandwich. They do not skimp on the meat and you will probably not be able to finish it in one go. This stretches into two meals for me and at that price it is a no brainer given the alternatives.
Boloco - This is Boston's version of Chipotle, only they have amazing variety: Thai; masala; buffalo; mango salsa; etc... I was so sad to leave Boston last year because it meant no more Boloco.
Hei La Moon - No PAX would be complete without a trip to Chinatown for some dim sum. If you're unfamiliar with dim sum think tapas served by drive-by waiters. The waiters will roll by with strange and unknown carts of food. They let you know what they have, give them a nod, and poof all of a sudden POOF you're neck deep in crispy rooster's feet. Not all of the food is that exotic but there is plenty to try. I am not a very adventurous eater and I loved it. The best part is that it is also very inexpensive. Lunch for two worked out to about $25 including tip last year.
Without further ado...
Al's Cafe on State Street - This is far and away the best value meal of PAX. $8.50 gets you a SIXTEEN inch sub sandwich. They do not skimp on the meat and you will probably not be able to finish it in one go. This stretches into two meals for me and at that price it is a no brainer given the alternatives.
Boloco - This is Boston's version of Chipotle, only they have amazing variety: Thai; masala; buffalo; mango salsa; etc... I was so sad to leave Boston last year because it meant no more Boloco.
Hei La Moon - No PAX would be complete without a trip to Chinatown for some dim sum. If you're unfamiliar with dim sum think tapas served by drive-by waiters. The waiters will roll by with strange and unknown carts of food. They let you know what they have, give them a nod, and poof all of a sudden POOF you're neck deep in crispy rooster's feet. Not all of the food is that exotic but there is plenty to try. I am not a very adventurous eater and I loved it. The best part is that it is also very inexpensive. Lunch for two worked out to about $25 including tip last year.
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Sweetgreen - on Congress St., about a 10 minute walk from the BCEC. Great fresh seasonal salads and they offer to-go. Ended up going there twice last year because it was just so fast, convenient, and tasty.
Blue Dragon. Ming Tsai is considered one of the most influential chefs in the Boston area and has been a cornerstone of its food scene for almost 20 years. Modern Asian-inspired fare, this is a sure pick for anyone looking for a bit of upscale cuisine. Reservations may be tight, but Blue Dragon also offers to-go. If I can get the time, this will be my most anticipated meal for the upcoming PAX East.
Not open yet, the second brick-and-mortar location for The Bon Me Food Truck crew should be on Congress Street by this coming PAX East. If it's anything like their other properties it'll be a big hit. Vietnamese food centered around four possible forms: sandwich, rice bowl, salad, and noodle salad. You customize from there, choosing protein and other fillings. There's a few staples and a few new ones every so often. Quick, delicious, and cheap is hard to beat.
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Absolutely love The Salty Pig. Second the recommendation.
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That's a good tip for pretty much everything in the area. Frankly, it's best to always have a secondary pick close by. Last year Papagayo (mexican restaurant down the street from BCEC) was a 45-90 minute wait from 4pm through closing every day of the convention.
Salvatore's Pizza is also lovely and close by just on the waterfront. Saying that, the bcec offer a food cart service for nearby restaurants which is like a shuttle bus. We got that there couple years back but walked it last time, as it was warmer.
Lucky's had amazing brunch when I went in 2013, great atmosphere too.
I stayed in Back Bay the first two years but we still take the T there to go to Shaws. Its a great grocery shop with a food to go counter too, we pick up snacks and drinks for the week.
We went to Empire I think it was called, someone correct me if I'm wrong, for the 2k party this year, such a great bar and real tasty asian food. I'd imagine its pretty pricy though but luckily it was all free with the party.
Also South station has a few fast food options in one place which is pretty good. McDs, a pretzels place, place that does sandwiches, an Asian food place, cheeseboy and a few others.
Also if you are in the back bay area, the prudential has a good food court.
That's my 5 pence.
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Yea that's why I'll go out for lunch, but for dinner I'll either just get the convention center food to save time, or bring canned fruit and power bars, nuts and other food like that in my backpack.
Just want to pile on the love for Papagayo. So good I'm looking forward to eating there again this year.
http://static.ow.ly/docs/DINING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD TROLLEY PROGRAM_cb1.pdf
Each year the BCEC has operated a free trolley service that will take you to and from various restaurant destinations.
My first PAX (before we discovered the trolley) I spent 17 dollars at the food court for what was essentially a microwaved pasta dinner, veggie side, a roll, and drink. The next day after we found out about the trolley I spent 25 dollars at the No-Name Seafood restaurant for a baked seafood dinner, with veg, starch, dinner rolls, and a drink and had food leftover for dinner.
The trolley usually does most of Boston's most popular restaurants including most of the one's already mentioned in this thread, also in Boston restaurants tend to be clustered together so there are usually other restaurants in easy walking distance of drop points beyond the one's they officially drop people off at.
If you like seafood, No Name Seafood, Crab Pot, and Legal Seafood are all great although Legal Seafood is pretty pricey. I recommend the buffalo scallops at the Crab Pot that is what I had year before last and they were excellent.
Another recommendation if you like Chinese is Pearls .. they are excellent
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I would stay away from Al Capone's, or at least let me warn you that their pasta dishes are adequate at best. Their subs are supposed to be pretty good, but I've always gone to Al's Cafe (different place) for a sub at lunch.
A recommendation of Al's Cafe is worth repeating again.
There's a Chipotle or Boloco on pretty much every corner, so you'd have a harder time not finding one of those.
Over in the Four Point area, I definitely recommend the Kobe Beef Sliders at Lucky's Lounge. Yes, the entrance looks shady as all get-out, and you honestly might have a hard time finding it even standing right in front of it (if you Google street view the address, it's the entrances with the iron gates and octagonal window). I've never been on Sinatra night, but I've wanted to ever since I first heard of it.
If you're still thirsty for a cocktail or two after that, I can recommend both Drink or Blue Dragon.
And if you're interested in checking out the food trucks around the city, I suggest you check out the city's food truck page. Seriously, not a single work day goes by without seeing a Bon Me box at the office around lunch time.
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Thursdays 6-10pm: Half-price Mexican (decent chimichangas)
Saturdays 6-10pm: Half-price Stately Burgers (I'm talking $2.50 for a decent burger and fries)
Tuesdays 6-10pm: Buck-Buck-and-a-half ($2.50) chicken plates
More near South Station, there is the South Street Diner, which I am a HUGE fan of. They are located next to the bus terminal. They don't have anything amazing or that will blow your socks off, but they are a low-cost, 24 hour diner (only one I know of in Boston). Nothing beats breakfast for dinner after midnight. Did I mention they also sell beer?
Jacob Wirth's is also a favorite of mine. Fantastic German food with a great beer selection. It's located on Stuart St. near Tremont.
We went last year. Actually, considering the portion size, etc, I didn't think the prices were bad at all. It's def a no frills kinda place. This is a jeans and sweatshirt, get your hands dirty, really good food kinda place. Wife and I really liked it, and we'll be back next year!
We also did Legal Seafood test, which is the exact opposite kinda place (at least on Friday night!). Much more dressy (not suit and tie, but much more "dressed to impress"), very upscale, relatively expensive place..but the food was amazing!! Definitely a nice romantic night out with my lady.
Our third night we ate at a little bar called Sidebar, where the Wildstar Community party was. It was decent bar food, but nothing amazing.
I needa find a decent bbq joint somewhere near the BCEC this year. And we wanna try out Lucky's Lounge....we had an ressie there that we ended up cancelling to get to Sidebar early.
OH, and we did the Sunday Brunch at Cafe Fleuri on Sunday. If you want an hour or two away from the con on Sunday (OR you want to hit their chocolate buffet on Saturday), it was worth every penny. Holy cow, so much good food!!
That's generally how it works yeah. You'll get on the trolley that's headed to the area you're planning on eating in, and the driver will drop you close to your restaurant of choice. They'll tell you where they tend to pick people up afterwards and when they'll be back around the area. Enjoy your meal, head to the pickup point, hop on board and return to the glory that is PAX.
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i second Foodler. it's amazing.
And they've got sweet potato tater tots. Divine!
Welp, I'm sold.
J Pace and Sons is also within walking distance and does sandwiches and subs to order, plus regular convenience store offerings such as fruit cups, drinks, etc. It's so satisfying to take a sub to go from there and eat it while waiting in line for a panel or the concerts.
Metro Food - discovered this place last year and it was great! Made to order sandwiches with TONS of choices (sprouts, omg), would be a great option for vegetarians/vegans. They also have premade sushi, desserts, bottled drinks, etc. Has a cafeteria feel to it. Downside: only open Monday-Friday.
Gene's Chinese Flatbread Cafe for hand pulled noodles (The shop is tiny and not much to look at, but very good.) Closed Sunday though.
(Those of us on the West Coast don't have any of these yet)
The situation has changed since last year! The place to go for Korean Fried Chicken this year is now Crave: Mad for Chicken, which is both better and way closer. I can't speak for their other Korean offerings though, so if you're in the mood for something kimchi, Bonchon might still be the better bet.
If you want to eat things and do stuff around boston, I highly recommend a week-long charlie pass just so you don't have to stress trying to coordinate travel. One of my friends didn't have one out of the entire group and a few times he ended up being left on his own for dinner because he had no way to get to where we wanted to go. It's well worth the $20 or whatever.