Guidebook for Boston
Food Scene
Tavolo Ristorante
1918 Dorchester AveAshmont Grill
555 Talbot Avehome.stead bakery & cafe
1448 Dorchester AveMolinari's
789 Adams St
Steel & Rye
95 Eliot StGood Indian spot. Dining room is a little no-frills, but food is good and service is fine.
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Shanti Restaurant
1111 Dorchester AveGood Indian spot. Dining room is a little no-frills, but food is good and service is fine.
Tres Gatos
470 Centre StTapas restaurant in a record store. Super charming.
Chinatown is great for cheap good eats. Dim sum on a weekend morning (Hei La Moon is popular) or Taiwan Cafe for dumplings (especially soup dumplings).
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Chinatown
Chinatown is great for cheap good eats. Dim sum on a weekend morning (Hei La Moon is popular) or Taiwan Cafe for dumplings (especially soup dumplings).
Delicious and unique tacos and drinks. (Kinda trendy, fairly pricey with small tacos going for $4-6 apiece. It's also pretty loud and small.)
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Yellow Door Taqueria
2297 Dorchester AveDelicious and unique tacos and drinks. (Kinda trendy, fairly pricey with small tacos going for $4-6 apiece. It's also pretty loud and small.)
Essentials
Ashmont Market & Liquor
630 Adams StStop & Shop
301 Centre StFarmers Market - Ashmont
1996 Dorchester AveFridays 3-7 pm (seasonal)
Drinks & Nightlife
The Industry
750 Adams StLucy's American Tavern
13 Granite AveJust a few miles away, Dorchester Brewing is successful without being TOO popular yet...they have lots of space inside and out, food trucks during the day and summer months. Their deck is dog friendly. Super easy parking. Board games and always space to sit. They don't have food, but you can order from any area place and bring in/get delivery.
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Dorchester Brewing Company
1250 Massachusetts AveJust a few miles away, Dorchester Brewing is successful without being TOO popular yet...they have lots of space inside and out, food trucks during the day and summer months. Their deck is dog friendly. Super easy parking. Board games and always space to sit. They don't have food, but you can order from any area place and bring in/get delivery.
House of Blues Boston
15 Lansdowne StNear Fenway Park, great venue.
Paradise Rock Club
967 Commonwealth AvenueFun venue, Thai restaurant attached.
This is a restaurant, but I'd go for live music, which they have a lot.
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Beehive Restaurant
541 Tremont StThis is a restaurant, but I'd go for live music, which they have a lot.
The Sinclair
52 Church StGood venue for live music
Daedalus
45 1/2 Mt Auburn StRestaurant with a roofdeck, convenient to Harvard Square.
Saloon
255 Elm StSaloon is kinda sorta a secret bar. Cool atmosphere.
A favorite local brewery. Great sour beers, great variety, great space, outdoor space and food trucks when it's nicer out. There is also a distillery (Short Path) and a trampoline center right here. Worth the drive, easy parking.
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Night Shift Brewing - Everett
87 Santilli HwyA favorite local brewery. Great sour beers, great variety, great space, outdoor space and food trucks when it's nicer out. There is also a distillery (Short Path) and a trampoline center right here. Worth the drive, easy parking.
This is the tasting room of Bully Boy, a local distillery. The area is industrial/seems sketchy, but don't be fooled! Once you find your way in, the tasting room is the height of hipster cool--think damask wallpaper and chandeliers. They do cocktail flights and everything is delicious, and often pretty. They also do tours for fairly cheap. Check their website because they are sometimes closed for private events. They do NOT serve food (but you can order in).
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Bully Boy Distillers
44 Cedric StThis is the tasting room of Bully Boy, a local distillery. The area is industrial/seems sketchy, but don't be fooled! Once you find your way in, the tasting room is the height of hipster cool--think damask wallpaper and chandeliers. They do cocktail flights and everything is delicious, and often pretty. They also do tours for fairly cheap. Check their website because they are sometimes closed for private events. They do NOT serve food (but you can order in).
One of Boston's premiere breweries. Big hall with food and drinks. They host festivals (Octoberfest, etc.) at points throughout the year. Their beer tour is good, too.
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Harpoon
1 Harborside DrOne of Boston's premiere breweries. Big hall with food and drinks. They host festivals (Octoberfest, etc.) at points throughout the year. Their beer tour is good, too.
Good little brewery, pretty recent. A short walk to Night Shift in Boston's (actually Everett's) up and coming brewing district.
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Bone Up Brewing Co.
38 Norman StGood little brewery, pretty recent. A short walk to Night Shift in Boston's (actually Everett's) up and coming brewing district.
Getting Around
Ashmont Station
Ashmont StreetParks & Nature
Arnold Arboretum has great trails and walks, with tree info and lots to explore. The view of Boston from Bussey Hill is especially nice.
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Arnold Arboretum
125 ArborwayArnold Arboretum has great trails and walks, with tree info and lots to explore. The view of Boston from Bussey Hill is especially nice.
Less than a mile away, walk or bike along the river on trails that extend into Milton. (If you walk west on the trail, you'll get to one of the stops on the Mattapan trolley line of the MBTA...the trolleys are antique and while this is not great for Boston transit, they are cool to watch come along the tracks, at least for me and potentially for small children who are into trains.)
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Neponset River Reservation
2 Granite AveLess than a mile away, walk or bike along the river on trails that extend into Milton. (If you walk west on the trail, you'll get to one of the stops on the Mattapan trolley line of the MBTA...the trolleys are antique and while this is not great for Boston transit, they are cool to watch come along the tracks, at least for me and potentially for small children who are into trains.)
Pond is great for walking in nice weather and close enough to coffee shops/restaurants in Jamaica Plain to do both. You can rent boats from the Boat House in the summer months.
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Courageous Sailing at Jamaica Pond Boat House
507 JamaicawayPond is great for walking in nice weather and close enough to coffee shops/restaurants in Jamaica Plain to do both. You can rent boats from the Boat House in the summer months.
Dog park on an island. Nice little loop walk. Small beach and water views.
Dorchester Shores Reservation
Victory RoadDog park on an island. Nice little loop walk. Small beach and water views.
The jewel of Franklin Law Olmsted's Emerald Necklace, the Franklin Park Zoo is a big urban zoo in a pretty convenient location (if driving).
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Franklin Park Zoo
1 Franklin Park RdThe jewel of Franklin Law Olmsted's Emerald Necklace, the Franklin Park Zoo is a big urban zoo in a pretty convenient location (if driving).
Pond with a walking trail around it, with nearby ice cream (the Boston staple JP Licks), coffee, food. There is some boating on the pond, through the boathouse (check website for details).
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Jamaica Pond
Pond with a walking trail around it, with nearby ice cream (the Boston staple JP Licks), coffee, food. There is some boating on the pond, through the boathouse (check website for details).
Boston's "Big Dig" of the late 90s-early aughts put the previous raised highway underground. At the time, it was often referred to as a boondoggle and it got lots of bad press, but no one likes to talk about the lovely stretch of green through Boston's downtown that this enabled. The Rose Kennedy Greenway is home to public art (changes regularly, recently some giant heads by Ai Wei Wei) and hosts ongoing weekend craft fairs in the temperate months. Stroll along it from South Station to Quincy Market and on to the North End, for example. It can get really busy, but there are also peaceful areas, areas with Adirondack chairs for sitting, fountains and quiet.
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Rose Kennedy Greenway
Atlantic AvenueBoston's "Big Dig" of the late 90s-early aughts put the previous raised highway underground. At the time, it was often referred to as a boondoggle and it got lots of bad press, but no one likes to talk about the lovely stretch of green through Boston's downtown that this enabled. The Rose Kennedy Greenway is home to public art (changes regularly, recently some giant heads by Ai Wei Wei) and hosts ongoing weekend craft fairs in the temperate months. Stroll along it from South Station to Quincy Market and on to the North End, for example. It can get really busy, but there are also peaceful areas, areas with Adirondack chairs for sitting, fountains and quiet.
Sightseeing
Go to the top of the hub by paying to go up the elevator and have a look OR get an (admittedly pricey) afternoon drink at the restaurant/lounge and spend all the time you want with the view. Top of the Hub is at the top of the Prudential Building.
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Top of the Hub
800 Boylston StGo to the top of the hub by paying to go up the elevator and have a look OR get an (admittedly pricey) afternoon drink at the restaurant/lounge and spend all the time you want with the view. Top of the Hub is at the top of the Prudential Building.
History! Charlestown is a great place to walk around when it's nice out. Bunker HIll is very close to restaurants/coffee shops, and the streets are classic Boston--steep, narrow, and charming. Cobblestones....the whole shebang.
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Bunker Hill Monument
Monument SquareHistory! Charlestown is a great place to walk around when it's nice out. Bunker HIll is very close to restaurants/coffee shops, and the streets are classic Boston--steep, narrow, and charming. Cobblestones....the whole shebang.
Can't come to Boston without going to the Common. Skate on the Frog Pond in Winter, wander around, check out the State House and public sculpture. The parking garage underneath the Common is easy to use and surprisingly affordable. Shakespeare on the Common in the summer.
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Boston Common Visitors Center
139 Tremont StCan't come to Boston without going to the Common. Skate on the Frog Pond in Winter, wander around, check out the State House and public sculpture. The parking garage underneath the Common is easy to use and surprisingly affordable. Shakespeare on the Common in the summer.
Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market are classic Boston. You can check out the site of the Boston Massacre from here (just across Congress at State Street). Food in Quincy Market can be an experience, but my pro tip is to wander around here and then head down Congress to the Boston Public Market to eat delicious food all from local farms. Great place to shop for artisan crafts, best coffee evarr from George Howell. In the summer, there are also craft tents on the weekends along the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Street performers congregate at Faneuil Hall like no other place in Boston.
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Faneuil Hall
1 S Market StFaneuil Hall and Quincy Market are classic Boston. You can check out the site of the Boston Massacre from here (just across Congress at State Street). Food in Quincy Market can be an experience, but my pro tip is to wander around here and then head down Congress to the Boston Public Market to eat delicious food all from local farms. Great place to shop for artisan crafts, best coffee evarr from George Howell. In the summer, there are also craft tents on the weekends along the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Street performers congregate at Faneuil Hall like no other place in Boston.
On Saturdays until 2 pm, pay a couple bucks to go up this historic tower (now a hotel). It used to be $2, but don't quote me on that. The view is lower than the Pru/Top of the Hub, but it's right on top of the North End and the water, so it's a unique and excellent one. Totally worthwhile.
Custom House Tower
3 McKinley SquareOn Saturdays until 2 pm, pay a couple bucks to go up this historic tower (now a hotel). It used to be $2, but don't quote me on that. The view is lower than the Pru/Top of the Hub, but it's right on top of the North End and the water, so it's a unique and excellent one. Totally worthwhile.
At the entrance to the North End, Christopher Columbus Park is just a lovely view. Water, great path under an arbor. Near the Aquarium.
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Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park
100 Atlantic AveAt the entrance to the North End, Christopher Columbus Park is just a lovely view. Water, great path under an arbor. Near the Aquarium.
See the ugliest city hall in the country! Government Center is a plaza that is often open, but around the holidays, it transforms into a Holiday Village with a skating path and holiday market.
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Government Center
See the ugliest city hall in the country! Government Center is a plaza that is often open, but around the holidays, it transforms into a Holiday Village with a skating path and holiday market.
Shopping
Ignore the specific address. Newbury Street is Boston's Rodeo Drive or Champs Elysee, I guess. Shopping, people watching. For coffee or a rest, Trident Books. Tom and Gisele have been known to show up for brunch at Sonsie :)
Newbury Street Mens Fashions
Newbury StreetIgnore the specific address. Newbury Street is Boston's Rodeo Drive or Champs Elysee, I guess. Shopping, people watching. For coffee or a rest, Trident Books. Tom and Gisele have been known to show up for brunch at Sonsie :)
Local food, local crafts, indoors, so a good rainy or cold day spot to wander. Free samples abound, food is universally delicious. Places to sit.
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Boston Public Market
100 Hanover StLocal food, local crafts, indoors, so a good rainy or cold day spot to wander. Free samples abound, food is universally delicious. Places to sit.