What's Boston like? I wanna hear from Fluther.

I went to Springfield outside of Boston and went to the German Prince, oh so fucking good. We also hit an Italian place that was amazing. I can’t remember the name of that place.

Boston is great ! Just don’t take your favorite Maserati there; bring a sixteen year old beater, accidents seem to be common. There is public transportation and it is good. Lots of history and places to see. Downtown Boston is a maze with one way streets and narrow roads. Know where you are going. Go to the Aquarium and Faneuil Hall. If you like beef go to Durgin-Psrk.

My father was born and brought up in and around Boston, we use to visit on a regular basis fifty years ago.

I’ve lived in Boston my entire life and absolutely love it. What do you want to know about? There’s so much.

The city life?
Food?
Culture?
Sports?
Stuff to do?
The cities around Boston?

Gimme some direction and I’ll fill you in.

Hmmm how about food and nightlife?

I’ll eat anything but I want something exclusive to Boston.

Awrighty then…

FOOD
Variety is the name of the game in Boston. There is a plethora of authentic, homemade food from many different cultures at a whole bunch of great restaurants.

Seafood and Italian are the historic staples here due to our proximity to the ocean and our large Italian immigrant population. So there’s no going wrong there.

In addition, you can find amazing Brazillian, Argentine, Spanish, Japanese, Indian, and Vegetarian fare in and around the city.

cookieman’s faves
Bocelli’s (Italian)
South Medford

Tango (Argentine)
Arlington

Dali (Spanish)
Cambridge

The Barking Crab (seafood)
Boston

Zuma’s (Tex Mex)
Boston

Life Alive (vegetarian)
Lowell

Orozco (Venezuelan)
Brookline

Bogie’s Place (Steak)
Boston

B.Good (burgers)
Boston, Cambridge

Redbones (barbecue)
Somerville

Modern Pastry (bakery)
Medford

The Chip Yard (cookies)
Boston

Not to mention the food trucks and pretty much any dim sum joint in Chinatown.

Our only failing, IMO…Mexican food is lacking.

[in our next episode, we’ll tackle night life]

I might make Boston one of the next cities I visit after this Q.

How long will you be there?

Yes, there’s lots of stuff to do – see the above.

But I lived there for 3+ years in between 2005–2008, and I found the people in Boston to me some of the most unfriendly, cold, rude people anywhere. Even worse than NYC.

Historically, it’s a great town but personally, it’s not.

I’ve only been there in the Fall. I loved the place. Besides the bookstores and the history, the thing that impressed me most was how big and fat the brown squirrels were in the Commons. Next to the skinny little grey things we have sown south, these were monsters as big as fat pugs. Be careful, these aggressive little bastards will steal your lunch.

Brattle Books, which opened it’s doors in 1825, is one of the most interesting places in town. Tufts University is there and the famous Boston Latin, among many other famous schools, the medical history museum at Tufts is worth spending a whole day. This place has art and history museums everywhere, and of course their’s Faneuil Hall and the site of the Boston Massacre and the Central Market.

There is also a little graveyard (Central Burying Ground, 1756–1826) tucked away in the Commons. Here were buried British common soldiers who died in combat or of disease during the Revolution, foreigners who died while in Boston, American patriots from the battle of Bunker Hill and the Boston Tea Party; painter Gilbert Stuart, and composer William Billings. Isolated in one corner guarded by a statue of an angel, I noticed a lot of infant’s graves from the winter of 1802 or 3. I thought it unusual for so many to die in one season. 18th Century. Nobody could tell me what this was about until I asked the old man at Brattle Books. They’d had had an Influenza epidemic that year.

Definitely hop the Red Line to Harvard Yard. That part of Cambridge is packed with little museums, statuary of Harvard Dons, American authors, etc., seemingly plopped down arbitrarily in the corners of small green areas around town. MIT is just down Mass Ave., There are still some old coffee houses with history, but I understand that these are quickly disappearing and being replaced by Starbucks, etc.

I’ve been there a bunch of times as a close relative went to college there. I am far from an expert but I can assure you it’s a fun city with a lot to do. If you love history, you’ll find a ton of stuff. If you love shopping, there’s indoor shopping connected by over the street walkways (Shops at Prudential Center, etc.).

I stayed at the Omni Parker House and Fairmont Boston. Two great hotels, incredible rooms.

There’s a “Broadway” just like NYC and there is China Town and Little Italy (not sure if they’re called that). Great book stores, cafes, movies, you name it.

@Espiritus_Corvus – don’t forget the truly excellent hamburger joint about 100 yards off Harvard Square on Mass Ave – it’s a no-name, it looks like a dive – but really good burgers.

Boston is one of my very favorite cities to visit. It has great energy, great music. great cultural options. Plus all that history. Lots of restaurants (fabulous seafood).

@elbantitoroso: I won’t defend our apparent rudeness, as I’m obviously biased, but I will say this:

• If we tease you, or “bust your chops”, it’s because we like you.
“What are you, a fuckin’ moron?!”

• If we blatantly ignore you or cut you off in traffic, it’s because we’re busy, deep in thought, and/or do not give two shits about you.

• If we really, really didn’t like you, you’d be dead at the bottom of the Charles or in a dumpster in South Boston.

If you are visiting Boston in either Spring, Summer or Fall, I definitely recommend, if you have time, taking a day trip (or more than a day) to Cape Cod.

@cookieman And New Yorker’s are supposed to be cold?

@Adirondackwannabe – I’ve been to NYC (and for that matter, other places in the state) many times. I always felt more connected / kinship with New Yorkers than I did with Bostonians.

New Yorkers aren’t as bad as they’re supposed to be.

Just to chime in on the topic of rudeness: I’ve been to NYC and Boston, and if anything, the people in Boston were nicer. Of course, personal experience means next to nothing when you consider the size of those two cities.

I kid, I kid. Us Bostonians are at least as friendly as New Yorkers (and I’ve been to New York dozens of times).

ANYWAY…—NIGHTLIFE
First things first, Boston is not the city that never sleeps. Sidewalks around here roll up around 2AM. We need our beauty sleep after all.

Beyond that though, there’s oodles to do here at night. Lots of touristy stuff, sure (Fanueil Hall, Duck Tours, John Hancock Tower & Trinity Church, Freedom Trail, Old Iron Sides are all very cool) — but other great stuff includes…

cookieman’s faves
Landsdowne Street and a Few Blocks Around Fenway is where a lot of the action happens. My favorite places are:

• Jillians (Started as a pool hall and has expanded like crazy over the years. Good food and bar, foosball, bowling, darts.)

• House of Blues (Started in Harvard Square, then moved here. Great live music.)

• Copperfield’s (local music, cheap beer)

AND…You gotta see a Red Sox game at night. Show up day of the game and you can get bleacher seats pretty easy and cheap (unless the Yankees are in town).

————
Outside of the Fenway area, I like…

The Beehive (South End)
Live music, New Orleans inspired food.

The Brighton Music Hall (Allston)
Indie local bands.

Scullers Jazz Club (Allston)
Love me some jazz.

The Middle East (Cambridge)
New local bands.

Assembly Row (Somerville)
—This is a new area (from the ashes of a scummy area). Fun neighborhood feel. Good places to eat, cool movie theater, and a Leg
go Museum.—

The North End (Boston)
Our Italian section. If you’re here in the Summer you gotta go to a feast. Saint Anthony’s is the biggest in August. Homemade street food, music, carnival games, and the parade of the saint. It’s crazy.

Rowe’s Wharf (Boston)
Every night in the summer is a free concert from a floating stage in the harbor.

————-
There’s other stuff like dance clubs, but cookieman don’t do dance clubs, so I have nothing useful on that.

Whoa thanks a lot @cookieman :)

You are welcome @Blackberry

I live here, too. This question is overwhelming. I think Boston’s cool. One of my favorite things to do is just walk around (I don’t have much money). I’ll take the T somewhere and explore, finding new places to eat and what not. I bargain hunt like crazy. If I don’t feel like doing anything else, I’ll just go walk around in the Boston Common. I don’t really do too many conventional things.

Do you like pizza? There are plenty of great pizza places, but here are a few that I personally really like:
1. Pizzeria Regina—very touristy, and very good, located in the North End.
2. Galleria Umberto—Old-school hole in the wall where Sicilian pizza is sold by the slice ($1.65/slice). Along with pizza they have tons of other great Italian foods, like arancini. It’s also in the North End.
3. Santarpio’s—In East Boston. $10 for a decent-sized pizza. I think it’s made in a brick oven but the crust is crunchy and has cornmeal.

^^ @dxs: Stop talking dirty!! I love those places. My daughter loves the arancini from Galleria Umberto.