Weekend in Boston (Cambridge, Brockton, Plymouth: hotel, house, restaurants)

[pman]

So I have a weekend in Boston, staying downtown, where's the best place to get chowder? and anything else that's a must see or do

[xS☺B☺s]

Originally Posted by pman

So I have a weekend in Boston, staying downtown, where's the best place to get chowder? and anything else that's a must see or do

The Oyster House is the place to go.

[CityGirl52]

I just heard on another site about James Hook Lobster's take out counter. It's been the big rage all summer long, if you're in the Financial District heading toward the waterfront, check it out! They had a fire a few years ago but the guys sons are still there and they are doing very well supposedly, racking it in with their awesome lobster rolls.

You know they were the Champions for chowder two years when they won the Boston Chowder Fest. I bet there "chowda" is still awesome. So remember to go by if you're around the corner from the Intercontinental Hotel at all, it's not far from there at all or even the Boston Harbor Hotel, it's right around the corner heading toward the Seaport district.

[nate14ri]

just follow the freedom trail......or take a duck boat tour

Fenway, North End, Fanuel Hall, Boston Commons/Public Gardens, Newbury St, Harvard Sq are all definates.

[shiver]

I'm not a big chowder person but...

Ned Devine's in Faneuil Hall apparently won Chowdafest this year. (Although I consider it more of a bar than a restaurant and I don't know how stiff the competition was).

Legal Seafoods has a famous chowder (many locations, but my favorite is the one on Long Wharf on the waterfront). It's apparently been served at Presidential inauguration balls for the last 30 years.

As Bostonian08 mentioned, Union Oyster House also has a famous chowder. The place is the the oldest continously running restaurant in the country.

Many locals though will say that the The Oyster House and Legals are cliched and perhaps no longer the best chowder. However, both restaurants are Boston institutions so I think either is definitely worth a visit.

I've heard great things about the chowder at Neptune Oyster in the North End.

All these places aren't too far from one another. You could do a chowda-crawl if you wanted.

In terms of what else is worth seeing, it depends on what your interests are.

[pman]

thanks. I certainly don't mind eating chowda in a bar. I'd like to do the freedom trail and a buddy of mine recomended the littlest bar in boston as a stop. I usually like to mix some off the beaten path things like www.easternstate.org
I don't know how I feel about a duck tour, since they kind of annoy me roaming around Philly though, no matter what I'd like to think, I will be a tourist. other than chowder, any must eat food institutions or pubs? shows or other things to do? anything that's not in a guidebook, basically?

[missionhill]

I wouldn't shortchange the guidebooks, they can be pretty comprehensive. For ex, when Let's Go first came out with a guide to Boston, they included Roxbury sights like Dudley Station, John Eliot Square, and the Museum of the National Center of Afro American Art on Walnut Ave. They dropped Roxbury in later editions--apparently too far off the beaten path for most tourists. Still, it's hard to imagine what anyone could come up with that hasn't been covered in Let's Go or Time Out Boston...

[maggiekate]

Visit the Parker House and dine in style, and ride the t or take a bus tour of outside the city!
The Plymouth and Brockton line goes to Cape Cod and Baxters etc are good. Cambridge would be nice to see also!