Good restaurants in BOSTON area...

 Michael B. wrote:
 >     Sorry for the cross-posting, but I need to get restaurant
 > recomendations, and fast.
 >     I'm looking for recomendations for good places to eat in Boston. I'm
 > looking for something a bit classy, but not black-tie either...
 >     So if you have any ideas, especially, Japanese Steak-Houses and
 > Seafood, please contact me at one of the following.
 > Thanx in advance,
 >
 > Michael Beck                           _Mike_ [email removed]
 > 50 Moulton Street                      Office 2/134
 > Mailstop 2/1D                          Phone 617-873-3947
 > Cambridge, MA 02138                    Fax   617-873-4315

  Here is my Boston file as collected from the net.

 I like the Blue Room for eclectic grilled food at 1 Kendall
 Square in Cambridge.  A little pricey, but wonderful unusual
 lunches and dinners.  They often sell beer made next door
 by the Cambridge Brewing Company; last week I had Pumpkin
 Beer!

 For Korean food, I like the restaurant in Harvard Square
 (I forget it's name, but its right next to Grendel's).
 There's also a pretty good Korean restaurant across from the
 train station in Newton Center, and a very good one
 on the B line right off of Commonweath Ave
 half way between Washington St and Market St (the Bluestone
 Bistro is on the corner, which is a pretty good pizza place).

 Dali's in Cambridge is a Spanish restaurant with excellent
 tapas (Spanish appetizers) and main dishes.  Go there with a
 lot of people and order a variety.  Maybe my favorite
 mid-priced restaurant in town.

 Pampas in Cambridge on Mass Ave betwen Central Sq and
 Harvard Sq is a Brazillian-style Churasqueria (sp?).
 The waiters bring around spits of roasted meat and
 poultry (18 different kinds I think), and you can take
 what you like.  They also have a huge all-you-can-eat
 salad bar with a variety of really good and unusual salads
 (unlimited palm hearts, yum!).  My favorite place to take
 out-of-town visitors.

 My favorite midpriced Italian restaurant is Enzo Ristorante
 in Brookline on Harvard St nr. Coolidge Corner, though the
 quality is occasionally uneven.  The Groceria on Main St
 just off of Mass Ave can be good, and has the advantage of
 being nearby to Toscannini's, my favorite ice cream place
 in Boston.

 For Thai food, my favorite is Sawasdee in Brookline
 Village, but there's a bunch of good Thai and Vietnamese
 restaurants near BU along Commonwealth and Brighton Ave.

 For Persian Food, Rose's nr Watertown Square is very good
 and there's a wondeful Persian bakery across the street
 that sell the richest ice cream I've ever tasted.

   -- Ellis

 From: [email removed] (Andy Perrin)

 My two absolute favorites (in the entire country) are Cottonwood Cafe (2
 locations: Cambridge and Back Bay) and Cornucopia (Downtown).  Both are
 moderate to expensive, Cottonwood being cheaper than Cornucopia.

 Cottonwood is a bit trendy; it's a southwestern restaurant with unfailingly
 interesting and wonderful food.  Cornucopia is more eclectic, with an
 emphasis on fruit and vegetables, but it's by no means vegetarian.

 For cheaper food, try:
 Indian: India Quality Restaurant (Kenmore Square)
 Thai:   Sawasdee (Brookline Village)
 MidEast: Skewers (Harvard Square) or The Middle East (Central Square)

 Have Fun.

 --Andy
 Perrin

 From: [email removed] (James P. Taylor)

    I like the Blue Room for eclectic grilled food at 1 Kendall
    Square in Cambridge.  A little pricey, but wonderful unusual
    lunches and dinners.  They often sell beer made next door
    by the Cambridge Brewing Company; last week I had Pumpkin
    Beer!

 I agree, the Blue Room IS creative and successful.  Lunch is much less
 pricey and, while there is less variety, very representative of their
 cuisine.

 jim taylor  Thinking Machines Corp  Cambridge MA

 From: [email removed] (Francois Souchay)

 I remember a coupe of places:

 Larry's on Mass Ave has some good szechuan , but the real attraction
 is a little bowl of soup called : suan loo chow chow (phonetic).
 Something like wontons floating in a spicy broth poured over tasty
 veggies and a dark sauce. mmmmmmmmmm.

 Sol Azteca in Brookline has an interesting menu. I like the thin pork
 cut with chipotle peppers and orange suace. Sounds odd, but....

 Comments?
 Francois.

 From: [email removed] (Alex Milshteyn)

 Hi:
 No offense intended, but skewers is really BAD
 restaurant.  It is not always clean, they cook
 shawarma and other meats ahead of time and then
 microwave them.

 For midleastern cuisine my choices would be:

 1. Karoun (West Newton, off Mass Pike) - excellent
       armenian food, including terrrrrrrific shish-
       kabobs (I slobber already), shawarma, etc.
       Their shrimp kabob is an event too.
       Do not go for appetizers, though.  Otherwise
       you will not be able to finish your entree.
     Sheap - Top priced plate is about $12.
       *****
       Note: they brew real (real) coffe in ibriks -
       not common in the Boston area - and it is excellent too.

 2. Sabra (Newton Centre) - a little more expensive
       but still good.
 3. Masada (Brookline, Beacon St, off Washington Street.)
       I haven't been there, but heard good things about it.

 There may be more, but I do not know.
 Again, if I had to choose and Skewers were my only
 choice - I would not go.

 ******
 I do not intend to offend the author of the previous posting.
 It is just my own opinion.

 From: [email removed] (Beth Mazur)

 Michele C. wrote:
 >We will be travelling to Boston for a few days, Friday, April 23, to
 >Tuesday, April 27.  I would appreciate any information about the city
 >and area.

 Hey!  How's the 'burgh?  I'm originally from Monroeville...

 >Where to stay - fairly inexpensive

 Hotels in the city are generally big bucks.  There is a place on the
 outskirts of Cambridge that is probably in your price range and is
 walking distance from the Alewife T station (northern end of the red
 line).  It's called the Suisse Chalet; number is 617-661-7800.  Or you
 may prefer to spend a few bucks and stay in Harvard Sq. at the Sheraton;
 number is 617-547-4800.  My company uses the latter for guests.

 Note that you can usually get good deals from the hotels in town on the
 weekend days.  You may want to try there for Friday and Saturday and then
 change to a cheaper place for Sunday and Monday.  Hyatt and Marriott both
 seem to be advertising these kind of specials.

 >How to get from the airport to the city

 Cheapest way is to hop on the free MBTA shuttle outside of the terminal you
 fly into.  Busses 22 and 33 go to the T; 11 just rides around the airport
 terminals.  Get off at the airport T stop, buy a token ($.85) and
 head inbound.  Check a T map to see where you really want to wind up--you
 will be in downtown when you hit the Aquarium, State, and Government Center
 stops on the blue line.  You may wind up changing for the green line (BU, BC)
 at Government Center and then heading to Park St. station where you can
 change for the red line (Harvard, MIT).  Send me email for more specifics.

 >Where to eat

 $$$ - Michaela's, Olives, Biba --all are big bucks gourmet experience; these
       are pretty much 3 of the best 5 restaurants in Boston
 $$  - Legal Sea Food, Hard Rock Cafe, Top of the Hub (mediocre food, but
       the view is the best), Daily Catch (seafood), Porterhouse Cafe (bbq)
 $   - Quincy Market (at Fanueil Hall-lots of little take out places)
       Border Cafe (Tex/Mex in Harvard Sq.), the European (Italian),

 Most of the above are near subway stops.  Send me email if you have more
 questions.

 BTW, you didn't ask, but Boston is now home to a bunch of microbreweries
 that do good beer; all do food as well but the quality is often inconsistent:

       Boston Beerworks (near Kenmore Sq T stop)
       Cambridge Brewery (near Kendall Sq T)
       Commonwealth Brewery (near Haymarket T)
         John Harvard's (in Harvard Sq.)

 >We are thinking of staying outside the city and also visiting the cape
 >cod area.

 Cape Cod is about a 1.5-3 hour drive (1.5 to Falmouth, 3 to Provincetown)
 from Boston.

 >Renting a car.

 I've never needed to rent in town.  If you can't get a cheap recommendation
 from a guidebook, your best bet is to just head back to the airport--that's
 where they keep all the cars anyways.

 Feel free to email me if you have any specific questions.

 Beth Mazur                   "...life is more than a vision.  The sweetest
 [email removed]         part is acting after making a decision."
 ...!                                  -- The Indigo Girls

     Best restaurant I've been to in Boston is Jasper's (off Atlantic Ave.)
     Very pricey ($120.00 for two), but unbelievable food. The basic concept
     is native New England ingredients prepared with uncharacteristic
     (for New England Cooking) emphasis on a sensual result. Wear what you
     want, they don't care. Best atmosphere in my opinion is Dali's in
     Cambridge. Food isn't bad at all, not expensive ($12-$15 per person),
     and for an hour or so, you can forget you're living in Boston. Fun place.