Mediocore dining options (Boston, Needham, Maynard: Valentine's day, condo, home)

[Oistrakh]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

Maybe he's only eaten at Papa Ginos.

Nope. Try north end. I ate at a few restaurants there and the food was shockingly bad. At Mother Anna's, the bread is stale and the sauces tasteless (I had the fra diavolo I believe). My friends also thought the same. I also tried piccola Venezia, where I had a similar experience. The pasta in this case was watery and totally devoid of any flavor. For two supposedly well-known and respected restaurants in such a well known Italian neighborhood, the food has been absolutely insipid.

[sponger42]

Well, if I can't get a formal dress code, is there at least a place where people would feel uncomfortable walking in in typical street wear?

When I say "No Italian" I mean no specifically-Italian only restaurants. Italian cuisine evolved from family home cooking. Not to say it isn't good, or have it's place. It's really geared toward feeding many people a lot of food made from local ingredients. That's wonderful for filling comfort food, but it doesn't really translate into fine dining. To give an example; there are Chinese dishes which evolved over thousands of years--delicacies which only the Emperor and royal court would eat--and these can be translated, by a talented chef, into artistic modern dishes worth the extra money. As far as I know, and having spent a few weeks wandering Bologna, Firenze, Roma, and surrounding environs--I could not find this; there are no Italian dishes reserved only for Kings, Dons, Popes, etc. Just good, filling, homestyle cooking. Tasty, sure, but not worth the big bucks.

[edwardsyzzurphands]

Mother Anna's is pretty ****ty, so I agree with you there. Start working your way through this list and let me know how many of them you found terrible. There is a mixture of high to mid range:

- O Ya: o ya restaurant boston
- Craigie on Main: Craigie On Main » 853 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02139 | tel: 1-617-497-5511
- Neptune Oyster: Neptune Oyster - 63 Salem Street, Boston, MA 02110
- Island Creek Oyster Bar: Island Creek Oyster Bar
- Coppa: Coppa – An enoteca by Ken Oringer & Jamie Bissonnette
- Toro: TORO by Ken Oringer | Boston's Premier Tapas
- Shojo: Sh
- Oleana: Oleana
- West Bridge: westbridgerestaurant.com
- Bondir: Bondir | Sustainable Modern American Cuisine
- Area Four: AREA FOUR | COFFEE | BAKERY | BAR | OVEN - Home
- Clio/Uni: Clio Restaurant
- East by Northeast: East by Northeast | Modern Chinese cuisine in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Grill 23: Grill 23 & Bar :: 617.542.2255 :: Celebrating Over 25 Years as Boston's Premier Steakhouse
- Helmand: The Helmand Restaurant in Cambridge MA
- Strip T's: strip t's
- Bergamot: Bergamot | Home
- Journeyman: Journeyman Restaurant


Then there are ton's of ethnic options as well. Area's of strength in Boston is West Indian (Jamaican, Trini, Haitian specifically), Khmer, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Portuguese/Azorean, Brazilian, Cape Verdean, Dominican, Turkish and Armenian.

If you have tried most of the above and hate them, then obviously we have different tastes in food, if not then you havent even scratched the surface of the dining scene here.

[bostonguy1960]

What about the W Hotel's "Market" restaurant, at the corner of Tremont St. at street level? It has large windows but darkened drapes, so it may be missed. It's a "Jean-George Von G__ restaurant, a famous chef nationally (can never pronounce his last name).

Bondir in Cambridge was mentioned; even ch. 5's Chronicle mentioned it this week, as a romantic spot (ugly white painted exterior,though).

Chez Henri in Cambridge, a French-Cuban mix, has been a mainstay for years.

Henrietta's Table at the Charles is also venerable and classy.

Brasserie Joe for French bistro food, near Symphony, may be worth a shot.

Also, consider Davio's, a northern Italian steakhouse, in Park Square, also in Providence.

Maybe NYC still has many formal upscale places, but we don't? Perhaps, but it seems many refined persons manage to enjoy restaurants not necessariy requiring formal attire.

Isn't Menton in the Seaport/Ft. Point area one of the haute spots in town, as mentioned? Read last year it received the highest rating ever in The Boston Globe.

The Boston Harbor Hotel has Meritage, and a nice setting on the adjacent patio in the summer.

Strega's new waterfront spot seems to have local athletes and famous celebs raving, at least according to the Herald's "Inside Track."

Intercontinental Hotel has a nice sushi, as well as martini spot, on the back patio facing the Ft. Point Channel and Children's Museum. Nice spot as the summer sun sets, near the City Water Taxi ramp.

For a cafe, Flour is opening yet another spot, on Clarendon. It was born in Boston. Yeah!

Deux Avenues at the Mass. Ave./Commonwealth Ave. intersection, seems to be nice, befitting its prominent location. Nice to see a nice place at that important corner.

Finally, Liberty Hotel features Lydia Shire's spot called ..., sorry, it's too late and I just blanked out.

[Verseau]

Originally Posted by Oistrakh

Nope. Try north end. I ate at a few restaurants there and the food was shockingly bad. At Mother Anna's, the bread is stale and the sauces tasteless (I had the fra diavolo I believe). My friends also thought the same. I also tried piccola Venezia, where I had a similar experience. The pasta in this case was watery and totally devoid of any flavor. For two supposedly well-known and respected restaurants in such a well known Italian neighborhood, the food has been absolutely insipid.

Just because it's in the North End, doesn't mean it's good Italian food. And who ever told you that Piccola Venezia was good? It has 2.5 stars on yelp, which is pretty bad. Mother Anna's is far from the most highly rated, either.

Try some of the suggestions in this thread. And go to Inman Square or East Boston or other non-touristy neighborhoods for lots of good options.

[BitofEndearment]

Originally Posted by Oistrakh

Nope. Try north end. I ate at a few restaurants there and the food was shockingly bad. At Mother Anna's, the bread is stale and the sauces tasteless (I had the fra diavolo I believe). My friends also thought the same. I also tried piccola Venezia, where I had a similar experience. The pasta in this case was watery and totally devoid of any flavor. For two supposedly well-known and respected restaurants in such a well known Italian neighborhood, the food has been absolutely insipid.

What the F? I've never even heard of that place. I second Trattoria Il Panino, and otherwise Francesca's is good, La Summa is amazing, and you can't go wrong with Regina Pizzeria.

I've never eaten at Clio or Blue Ginger or L'Espalier but I can recommend some good places to eat around Boston:

Angela's in Eastie. Please! I live in Southern California and it's still one of my favorite Mexican restaurants on the planet earth.

Lynwood Cafe in Randolph for pizza

Cafe Assisi in Wrentham for the best Italian food in the Boston area including the North End

Sophia's Grotto in Roslindale Square is really good, that's in Boston...idk who's reading this so just clarifying

Cambridge also has a lot of excellent food

[TAM88]

Rino's Place in East Boston is top notch. Not the flashiest place, but it serves great Italian food and is not that expensive.

[Cantabridgienne]

The North End, for all its charm and history, is full of mediocre restaurants serving mostly the same menus to (largely) tourists and suburbanites looking to immerse themselves in the magic of the neighborhood. Anyone who thinks it's a mecca of great restaurants....well, let's just say I wouldn't trust that person's taste in restaurants. There are some good places, both in the red sauce Italian-American genre and others, but this idea that you can walk in anywhere and have a great meal is incredibly misguided. It's a neighborhood, not a culinary bubble.

Piccola Venezia straight-up sucks. The last time I went there the food was meh, the service was awful and they tried to pad the bill. Not sure who told you to to go there (are there any recent good reviews of the place?) but I'd be suspect of future restaurant recommendations from that person.

[Logs and Dogs]

Originally Posted by Cantabridgienne

The North End, for all its charm and history, is full of mediocre restaurants serving mostly the same menus to (largely) tourists and suburbanites looking to immerse themselves in the magic of the neighborhood. Anyone who thinks it's a mecca of great restaurants....well, let's just say I wouldn't trust that person's taste in restaurants. There are some good places, both in the red sauce Italian-American genre and others, but this idea that you can walk in anywhere and have a great meal is incredibly misguided. It's a neighborhood, not a culinary bubble.

Piccola Venezia straight-up sucks. The last time I went there the food was meh, the service was awful and they tried to pad the bill. Not sure who told you to to go there (are there any recent good reviews of the place?) but I'd be suspect of future restaurant recommendations from that person.

If the OP is savy enough to be on City Data and to come on and trash Boston restaurants I would have through they would have been savy enough to at least check Yelp or something. Seeing as how Piccola Venezia's rocking 2.5 stars on Yelp with over 100 reviews which speaks to the suckification of that joint. Anna's isn't too much better with like 3 or 3.5 stars and spotty reviews at best.

Next time I'm in SF should I put myself through the agony of eating at some of their crappiest joints so I can post reviews on the web that suck? For eff's sake the reason sites like Yelp etc. exist is to keep people from wasting their time and money at sketchy places.....I'd suggest letting your peers be your guide.

[Estate28]

What constitutes "good food" exactly?

I don't dine out a lot but I've rarely been left disappointed in terms of quantity or quality ever.
A lot of pub fare in Boston tends to be "comfort food" which is absolutely awesome even if someone wouldn't say gourmet but I've been to plenty of nice places too and they never disappoint.

I visited a new Tapas place in Brookline lately (not being a fan of Tapas resteraunts in general) and was blow away, 5 dishes between 2 and we were stuffed, excellent food.

I mean these are decent resteraunts, they are hardly serving crap on a plate. So what defines "good" food.... is it just a little snobbery?

And what's with all the threads lately on how Boston is not X city.... of course it's not. Why live in Boston if you want to live in San Fran or somewhere else.