The Best of Boston

We are coming to Boston for the first time in 2 weeks and would love the to enjoy the ';best of Boston'; while we are there - not meaning the most expensive - but the most authentic. I would love feedback on the best local place for lobster, place for italian food in North Boston, wine bars, and ';authentic'; cant leave without going to... restaurant or more importantly pubs. Also like to hear about places in Harvard Square that are worth going to!!

Thanks in advance!!

The Best of Boston

This one%26#39;s sure to get lots of responses so I%26#39;ll stick to just a couple:

Pubs: Mr. Dooley%26#39;s on Broad Street

Wine Bars: No real wine bars per se, but a nice restaurant with a cozy bar to have a glass of wine? No. 9 Park next to the Boston Common

Harvard Square: John Harvard%26#39;s Brew House, Mr. Bartley%26#39;s Burger Cottage

Also, a point of clarification: there%26#39;s no section known as ';North Boston.'; It%26#39;s the ';North End.';

The Best of Boston

If you%26#39;ve ever read the childen%26#39;s classic book called ';Make Way for Ducklings'; than a swan boat ride is a must .... short, sweet and inexpensive, and as far as I know ... unique to Boston.

Hi - there is a good wine bar/restaurant called Bin Enoteca on Beacon Hill - here%26#39;s a link:

http://www.bin26.com/

Whenever I want to show people Boston, here are the places I take them - these are not necessarily the ';top'; tourist locations (other than Fenway)

Fenway Park - tons of good bars nearby for visiting and soaking up local flavor. A favorite is the Cask and Flagon - known as ';The Cask';

For culture - The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, a true Boston original, www.gardnermuseum.org

The Boston Public Library - the restored wing%26#39;s museum and architecture are worth a visit. Also, there is a nice restaurant. www.bpl.org

Jamaica Plain - esp. Centre St. for restaurants

http://www.massmenus.com/JamaicaPlain.htm and Jamaica Pond. Also check out Doyle%26#39;s - a great pub.here%26#39;s the link:http://www.doyles-cafe.com/

Take a walk up Commonwealth Ave.(Comm. Ave in local speak) from the Public Garden to Kenmore Square. Check out all the statues and memorials along the way - you will get a great sense of Boston history. Just a few suggestions.

oops, didn%26#39;t mean ';museum'; in the BPL - meant to say ';murals';

Strong seconds for Mr Dooleys and No. 9 Park, though the cocktails at the latter are the real draw for me as opposed to the wine.

An area you have to visit is Beacon Hill. Walk up Charles Street which is very unique, old brownstones, shops, great restaurants and a very popular pub ';The Sevens';. It%26#39;s a real local hangout. Take walk around Beacon Hill, walk up Pinckney Street to Louisburg Square, go to Acorn street and then back to Charles Street and find a nice place for dinner or lunch, or just coffee. The Paramount is a restaurant which has been around since 1937 (I think it is). The Hungry I (a bit on the pricey side) is a unique restaurant with an outside patio which is adorable.

Near Charles Street you will also find the Liberty Hotel which opened last fall and is the %26#39;in%26#39; place to go. It is a very cool building, an old jail which they have renovated and it now has two bars (Clink and Alibi), and restaurants as well. Great wines in the upstairs bar.

Another restaurant in that area with a great (not big) bar is Scollay Square. If the weather is nice you can enjoy your wine outside.

You can walk from Charles Street through the Public Garden (where you will find the Swan Boats and the ducklings) and walk over to Newbury Street which is shopping street of Boston. For people watching and sitting outside, Stephanie%26#39;s can be fun.

As a previous person said, there will probably be lots of responders to this post so I will stop here.

Have fun! It%26#39;s a great city!

Oh, if you have a car, go to Woodman%26#39;s in Essex - that%26#39;s truly unique and they have great lobsters. VERY low key and VERY casual but a special New England experience. There are other similar places but this is the one I usually go to.

Bricco is a nice bar in the North End.

To me, the highlights of Boston (and Cambridge) include:

- The Gardner Museum

- Harvard Square

- Fenway Park (the tour to see where the games are played that we watch on TV - the people who actually attend the games these days are mostly tourists from the UK)

- the Constitution

- the Aquarium

- Quincy Market

- the North End

We don%26#39;t have a favorite restaurant in the North End - my wife is an Italian citizen so we don%26#39;t often go out to eat Italian food, but we know the owner at Lucia:

http://www.luciaboston.com/

very much the stuff we eat at home and in Italy.

the place I always want to go to for food in Boston is Jacob Wirth%26#39;s:

http://www.jacobwirth.com/

because they have Hofbrauhaus beer on tap, and I can get Sauerbratten there. we don%26#39;t eat a lot of german food at home. :-)

Boston must eats:

-A Boiled Lobster dinner with steamers

-New England Clam Chowder (I like Legal Seafood)

-Fried Seafood Platter with whole belly fried clams (Paper plates, plastic forks, not great service, good fried seafood at the ';No Name';)

-Lobster roll on a grilled roll

-Eating in the North End for Italian Food but I do NOT recommend Pagliuca%26#39;s Ristorante Italinao

-Have a cannoli at Mike%26#39;s Pastry, Modern Pastry or Maria%26#39;s Pastry Shop

-Chinese food in Chinatown

Historical eating establishments:

-The Oyster House- have a drink or Oysters at the bar

-The Omni Parker House- The original Boston Creme Pie

-Durgin Park- New England Boiled Dinner, Yankee Pot Roast or New England Clambake but notorious known for ';rude yankee'; wait-staff

Restaurants with a view of Boston-

-The Top of the Hub

-Harbor Cruise dinner or lunch aboard The Odyssey, The Spirit of Boston or (a new edition to Boston)- The Star-Ship Cruise

Enjoy!