Where to Eat in Boston in One Big Fat Weekend
When it comes to restaurants, Boston may not possess the quirky charm of its Portland neighbor to the north or the numbers of its Yankees-loving rival to the south. This is, however, a good thing—we swear. Small enough to conquer in a weekend but sizable enough to support all the modern raw bars, indie coffee shops, and cutting-edge craft breweries that continue to open, the history-filled city sports a modern, laid-back cool that’s very much its own. The best time to take it all in? That would be right about now, while patio season is still in full swing, the Boston Common is lush and green, and Bostonians—North Face fleeces still safely stowed in the closet—are at their most agreeable. Treat this as your manual for eating your way through the city at its most glorious. (Using a Sox hat to shield your eyes from all of the sunshine, however, is purely optional.)
Alex Lau1/11Breakfast on Bolognese
The hottest restaurant opening of the past year, Brookline’s Ribelle also serves Boston’s best weekend brunch. How? By brilliantly repurposing dinnertime’s greatest hits. Case in point: A rich, chile-spiked Bolognese—matched with house-made pappardelle, charred kale, and pork cracklin’s in the evening—becomes the base for a perfect fried egg, grated Parmesan, and a designed-to-soak-it-all-up beef-fat biscuit.
Alex Lau2/11Discover a New Classic
Anyone can find a respectable mayo-drenched lobster roll or adequately clammy clam chowder in these parts. But for something truly memorable, you’ll need to head to the always packed Neptune Oyster for the johnnycake. What’s that? Oh, just a plate-size cornmeal pancake that’s smeared with honey butter and topped with a small tower of smoked trout, crème fraîche, and sturgeon caviar.
Alex Lau3/11Say Prost!
Hit up Somerville’s Bronwyn for massive pretzels, platters of house-made sausages like currywurst, and draft pours of Berliner Weisse in a sweet little backyard biergarten.
Alex Lau4/11Don’t Miss This Burger
Alden & Harlow serves a top contender for Boston’s finest burger: a ground brisket and beef short rib patty, crunchy cheddar frico, anchovy-spiked secret sauce, chopped onions, Little Gem lettuce, and bread-and-butter pickles piled on a toasted Parker House–inspired bun. They make only 30 a night and often sell out by 8 p.m. You have been warned.
Alex Lau5/11The Ultimate Summer Sipper
Start the night with a Carnival cocktail (strawberry-infused vodka, Zwack liqueur, cucumber juice) from the outdoor bar at West Bridge.
Alex Lau6/11A Shucking Good Gift
Buy vintage cookbooks, Birdkage waxed aprons, and slick MKS Design oyster knives at the South End shop Farm & Fable.
Alex Lau7/11Buy the Best Bivalves
You can get Island Creek’s brand of oysters at any local raw bar worth its weight in mignonette. But you will find the Duxbury-based purveyor’s earthier, more complex Row 34 variety (and, of course, many more) at Row 34, its own raw bar and beer palace, in the industrial Fort Point neighborhood.
Boston's Best Beer: Alternate slurps of oysters with sips from a draft of Fort Point Pale Ale from Trillium Brewing Co., whose taproom is a shell’s throw away.
Alex Lau8/11Get Smart Ice Cream
Around the corner from MIT in Cambridge, Toscanini’s crafts the city’s finest—and most cerebral—ice cream. Quirky flavors like bourbon-gingersnap and B3 (a monstrously rich combination of brown butter, brown sugar, and fat chunks of fudge brownie) share freezer-case space with perfect renditions of strawberry and Belgian chocolate.
Alex Lau9/11De-Snob Your Wine
Cambridge wine bar Belly has three things going for it: a very serious wine program, a not-so-serious attitude, and the crunchiest fried chicken in town. Combine this with outdoor seating under a canopy of string lights and you’ve got the rare wine bar that’s actually fun—and delicious.
Still thirsty? In the same Cambridge complex, drink pitchers of Cape Codders at State Park and pints of pilsner at Cambridge Brewing Co.
Alex Lau10/11Bike It Off
Earn your meals with a brisk ride down the Charles River Esplanade, which offers skyline vistas of downtown. Utilize the city’sHubwaysystem, which lets you check bikes in and out from portals all over town (prices start at $6for 24-hour access).
Alex Lau11/11Go Mobile
On Sundays from May through October, more than two dozen food trucks converge for the South End’s SoWa Open Market. The ideal trip here means malted cold brew topped off with farm-fresh whole milk from the Black Magic Coffee Co., an egg, cheddar, and scallion pancake sandwich (a.k.a. the Double Awesome) from the Mei Mei Street Kitchen truck, and spicy dill spears from Grillo’s Pickles.
