Wanted: good restaurants in Boston

 Eric H. wrote:

    Someone wrote:
    : In article , [email removed]
    Madhubonti M. wrote:

    : >Hi, I'm a student at MIT and have been looking for cool restaurants to
    : >eat at around Boston.  They need to be accessible by public
    : >transportation
    : >(since we don't have access to a car), reasonably priced, and in a SAFE
                                              ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    : >area.  If anyone has any suggestions, they can email me.  Thanks!

    : You might want to try the Blue Diner for late night chow. As far as good
    : restaurants, I like Olives as well as Biba. Unfortunately, getting to
    : Olives is a bit dicey via public transportation.  If you're in the mood
    : for tapas, check out Dali in Somerville. Tuscano's on Charles is okay.
    : And, as you might know already, you can find a lot of aggressive
    : socializing and good food at Sonsie on Newbury. Good luck.

    I thought Biba was one of the best all-around restaurant experiences
    I have ever had. super extra bueno good.

 IMO, both of the previous posters mentioned some restaurants with hefty
 reputations, and also hefty price tags, which sort of goes against one of
 the more important requirements for a student.  I don't think you can call
 Olives, Biba, OR the Blue Diner a good value: Olives and Biba are
 expensive, period; the Blue Diner is less so in absolute terms, but I
 think the quality of what you get there is only worth a fraction of the
 prices they charge.

 To the original poster: if you're an MIT student, you will discover the
 numerous cheap and good Indian restaurants in Central Square soon enough.
 Central Square also has some decent (but not outstanding) Chinese
 restaurants: the Royal East is pretty good, Pu Pu Hot Pot is VERY good if
 a little more downscale -- menu's more creative, though -- and rumor has
 it Mary Chung will be reopening soon.  The Mandarin and Larry's are
 Chinese versions of a hash house: cheap, filling, nothing to write home
 about.  I know a lot of people who are fond of Mom's, but it never did
 much for me.  Avoid both the Miracle of Science and the Blue Room -- I
 know a lot of people will disagree with me, esp. the Blue Room partisans,
 but I think they're overpriced chi chi foo foo places.  Up the street a
 bit, Picante is a bit pricier than the average taco stand, but the food's
 better.  If you are going out to dinner and you're in an extremely
 carnivorous mood, keep going until you get to Pampas for all-you-can-eat
 churrascuria.  Further up the street, Roka is okay but not great Japanese
 food.

 Over in Kendall Square, Goemon's an okay rendition of Japanese noodles.
 You'll get a more authentic version, and somewhat cheaper too, at the
 stalls in Porter Exchange.  Also in Kendall Square is...um...right.  A
 deli whose name eludes me.  If all you want is a sandwich and you're not
 too fussy, you can get it cheaper elsewhere, but if you want deli and are
 willing to pay a little more, this place is pretty good.  I'm fond of
 their turkey knishes.

 I could go on and on and ON, but you get the idea.  You're in the midst of
 a lot of cheap good restaurants.  Once you start roaming around, the
 Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants in Chinatown are an excellent bet --
 probably the best value to be had in any restaurants -- and some of the
 pizzerias in the North End, especially Giorgio's.

 Happy hunting,