<p>Interested in recommendations as we are going to visit D in Boston next weekend.</p>
<p>Prefer North End or Cambridge but open to other suggestions. </p>
<p>Not looking for fancy high end - but not dive bar either!</p>
<p>Constraints - 2 of us are allergic to seafood (we can be around it, just can’t eat it) and 1 of us needs to eat gluten-free. But open to multiple cuisines.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I know Cambridge really well. I don’t know the North End quite so well. A few Cambridge suggestions:</p>
<p>Henrietta’s Table (Harvard Square) – really good locavore, whole-foods cooking: [Henrietta’s</a> Table - Supper Menu - honest to goodness New England cooking at the Charles Hotel, Cambridge, MA](<a href=“http://www.henriettastable.com/menus/supper.php]Henrietta’s”>http://www.henriettastable.com/menus/supper.php)
Le’s (Harvard Square) – Vietnamese and one of my favorite Asian restaurants in the area:[Le’s</a> Vietnamese Restaurant Cambridge MA 02138 Order Delivery Online](<a href=“http://lescambridge.com/]Le’s”>http://lescambridge.com/)
Craigie on Main (Central Square) – This is on the pricier end, but it consistently gets reviews as one of the best and most creative restaurants in the area: [Craigie</a> On Main 853 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02139 | tel: 1-617-497-5511](<a href=“Redirect | BentoBox”>http://www.craigieonmain.com/)
The Painted Burro (Davis Square – almost Cambridge) – really good, recently-opened taco-bar/creative Mexican: [THE</a> PAINTED BURRO // MEXICAN KITCHEN & TEQUILA BAR // DAVIS SQUARE, SOMERVILLE](<a href=“http://thepaintedburro.com/]THE”>http://thepaintedburro.com/)
It may not be your kind of thing, but Life Alive is great for food sensitivity issues (and in my opinion delicious. It is vegetarian and very vegetable-focused and healthy, though: [Welcome</a> to Life Alive](<a href=“http://www.lifealive.com/]Welcome”>http://www.lifealive.com/)</p>
<p>If you want good coffee shops, Crema (Harvard Square), Cafe Zing (Porter Square), Flour (Central Square), and 1369 (Central and Inman) are all superb and all have good baked goods. I know that Cafe Zing and Flour offer gluten free items and I think Crema does as well. Crema and Flour have really good soup/sandwich kind of stuff, too.</p>
<p>Cambridge also has a few great homemade ice cream options. My favorite, which is actually in Somerville, but almost Cambridge, is Christina’s in Inman Square, which is attached to a spice shop and has some really creative flavors. There’s also Toscanini’s in Central and JP Licks, which is a local chain and is in Harvard and Davis Squares.</p>
<p>The Friendly Toast is a really popular brunch option in Kendall Square. They have some interesting menu items and kind of crazy retro-hipster decor. They’re popular enough that I’d recommend going or having a long wait: [index_friendly_toast[/url</a>]</p>
<p>I haven’t actually eaten in the North End in a while, so my one suggestion is a recently opened restaurant that I’ve read some very good reviews of: [url=<a href="http://www.5northsquare.com/]Gennaro’s">http://www.5northsquare.com/]Gennaro’s</a> 5 North Square Restaurant| North End](<a href=“http://www.thefriendlytoast.net/]index_friendly_toast[/url”>http://www.thefriendlytoast.net/). I have been meaning to go and try it.</p>
<p>We ate at the Russell House Tavern in Harvard Square and liked the food.</p>
<p>[Russell</a> House Tavern - Harvard Square - Cambridge, MA](<a href=“http://www.yelp.com/biz/russell-house-tavern-cambridge?start=40]Russell”>http://www.yelp.com/biz/russell-house-tavern-cambridge?start=40)</p>
<p>I think it fits your definition of “not fancy yet not a dive bar”. D and her friends give it thumbs up. It was so funny to watch D and her BF research every restaurant to death on Yelp to make sure we would not end up in some “2 yelp star place” :)</p>
<p>For an upscale chain - the cambridge galleria has a cheesecake factory and a pf chang.</p>
<p>Tripadvisor just posted this list. I’ve been to several of these, all good.
[Travelers'</a>; Choice Restaurant Awards - TripAdvisor](<a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-Restaurants-cRestaurants-g60745]Travelers’”>http://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-Restaurants-cRestaurants-g60745)</p>
<p>Ristorante Fiore, Marco and Antico Forno in the North End have gluten free pasta available (check online menus to be sure my info is current).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>They have an AWESOME Sunday brunch!</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>And uh -I can go to a Cheesecake Factory or PF Changs here in Chicago (within 10 min of my home) - I’m not going to Boston to eat at a national chain!</p>
<p>Try the Chowhound.com Boston board. These questions are pretty common there.</p>
<p>Don’t know if you want to venture to Charles Street in Boston or if Thai food is on your doable,list…but The King and I is a great Thai restaurant right near the
Charles street mass general T stop.</p>
<p>Gennaro’s has been around for a while, but the current chef is relatively new. We’ve dined there a couple of times during the past two years and thanks to eireann’s reminder we’ll make reservations for an upcoming trip to Boston.</p>
<p>I’m married to a foodie, so some of these might be pricier than average–but the food is generally quite good and worth the money. (I totally agree with you PG–there are many great options in Boston that aren’t the typical chain restaurants.) </p>
<p>In Cambridge, I’d go to Oleana, Rialto at the Charles Hotel, Harvest, Sandrine’s Bistro, or Craigie on Main (probably too late to get a reservation there). IMO Toscanini’s is the best ice cream in Boston. There’s a Chinese restaurant in Central Square that’s very good–Mary Chung. </p>
<p>I’ve been to Prezza, Mama Maria, and Giacomo in the North End. My favorite Italian is Bistro 5–it’s in Medford (not too far from Tufts). It gets really high ratings in Zagats and while it’s a little off the beaten track, the food is excellent.</p>
<p>If you’re willing to go to Boston’s South End–you can go to some great places. My D and her husband used to live there, so we’d meet them for dinner fairly often. Some of the best in that area: Hammersley’s Bistro, Acquitane, Sibling Rivalry, The Butcher Shop (this is Barbara Lynch’s restaurant–she’s also has Menton and No. 9 Park–really high end spots, which are both good, but not in the South End.) Finally, I’m assuming you have been to Blue Ginger in Wellesley? If not, try it. Very nice Asian/fusion cuisine.</p>
<p>A great site for searching restaurants and making reservations is opentable.com
We found a little place that had awesome food called the Metropolis Cafe…tiny place but the food was incredible
Also, Parrish Cafe on Boylston is great ! The possibilities are just endle
ss in Boston :D</p>
<p>Al Dente on Salem Street, Dolce Vida on Hanover Street.</p>
<p>The Rialto is excellent.</p>
<p>My daughter (the one at Wellesley) and I enjoyed this restaurant in the North End when we ate there a while a go – it is a small spot, bills itself as a melding of Southern Italian and Peruvian cuisine:</p>
<p>[Taranta</a> | Marriage between Southern Italian Cuisine and Peruvian Cuisine | TarantaRist.Com](<a href=“http://tarantarist.com/]Taranta”>http://tarantarist.com/)</p>