David W. wrote: >I'm visiting Boston early next year and am looking for the top >restaurants, preferably Italian, French, Continental, and Californian >(Nouvelle) cuisines. For my purposes at the moment, please forget >price. Consider food, wine, atmosphere, and service. If you only had >3 meals, where would you eat in Boston or surroundings (10 minute car >ride)? Upstairs at the Hasty Pudding is my all time favorite (I love high ceilings, and everything else is superb). It's near Harvard Square in Cambridge. I guess you'd call it "Continental", although "eclectic" might be a better word. For the other two, I am torn between many selections. The major hotels have some fine restaurants and there are other great restaurants. You might consider Locke Ober, for Lobster Savannah. It is, after all, world famous for that dish. The history of that restaurant *IS* Boston. In general, their food, while *VERY* good, can be beaten by other restaurants, IMHO. Still, if you haven't eaten there, it should be on your list of collectible restaurants, and you might as well add it to your "life list" now. %^D I've found that choosing the "best" restaurants when money isn't an object, can be found by using the AAA Tour Guide Book for the State or Region of interest. I simply restrict the choice to ones with the maximum rating. In the greater Boston Area, that will still involve major decisions. I've given that advice so often in ne.food that people will soon be calling it "Chuck's mantra." %^D Yeah, it won't get me to those "cutting edge" restaurants, but I am *NEVER* disappointed! Chuck Demas Needham, Mass.
Boston, MA
Visit to Boston
David W. wrote: >I'm visiting Boston early next year and am looking for the top >restaurants, preferably Italian, French, Continental, and Californian >(Nouvelle) cuisines. For my purposes at the moment, please forget >price. Consider food, wine, atmosphere, and service. If you only had 3 >meals, where would you eat in Boston or surroundings (10 minute car >ride)? Icarus in the South End for New American Cuisine. My all-time favorite. Rowes Wharf, downtown, for New England Cuisne. Is $42 for Sunday brunch expensive enough? Leave room for the pastry chef's creations. Elephant Walk in Brookline or Somerville for Cambodian and French (I think they do the Cambodian better). Aujourd'Hai, downtown, for French. Expense account time.