Near the Holiday Inn on Beacon Street
Jae's Grill , 1223 Beacon St. 11:30 am to 10:30 pm-Japanese/Korean chefs, great lunchboxes, nice dinner place also. David describes it as directly across Beacon St from the Holiday Inn, creative fusion type restaurant, very good.
Coolidge Corner (on the green C line)
Rani Indian Bistro , 1353 Beacon St.Usually don't need reservations but it is very popular on weekends. Our favorite Indian food in Brookline. Features a good buffet every lunchtime. 11:30 am to 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm to 10:30 pm.
Gourmet India , 1335 Beacon St. 11:30 am to 10:00 pm, Indian cafeteria about half the price of Rani's; also more spicy than Rani's and has afternoon buffet.
Anna's Taqueria , 1412 Beacon St. Excellent Mexican food. Don't let the neon TO GO sign fool you. They knocked out a wall and now have enough seating.
Upper Crust , 286 Harvard St., Hours vary. Great thin crust pizza and salads. By the slice or whole pie.
Zaftigs Delicatessen , 335 Harvard St.Great rubens and bagels. Might need to make reservations or wait a bit to be seated.
Michael's Deli, 256 Harvard St (to the left when getting off the T going outbound), 617-738-3354, Just as good as Zaftigs but with very little seating. Good for sandwiches to go.
Pho Lemongrass , my favorite Thai restaurant. Pad thai is very good., also to the left of the T,
239 Harvard St.
Brookline Village (on the green D line)
Village Smokehouse , 6-9 Harvard St. Great ribs but we're going to get some for the party anyway.
Pomodoro , 24 Harvard St., 617-566-4455, more expensive, came over from the North End. We haven't tried it yet but heard it is good.
Village Fish , 22 Harvard St, 617-566-3474, next door to Pomodoro. My favorite fish place; I like it better than Legal Sea Food. All kinds of fish and a raw bar. Reservations recommended.
Matt Murphy's Pub , 14 Harvard St., 617-232-0188, Red Speckled Hen on tap, Everyone who serves you is Irish though the cooks speak Spanish. Great pub food like steak and kidney pie and fish and chips. One serving can be enough for two.
Family Restaurant , around the corner from Matt Murphy's. It is a Turkish restaurant getting rave reviews. Everyone who serves you and cooks is Turkish. They inherited the name from the former owners. Menu is Turkish and American.
Near B.U.
Campus Trolley . 665 Comm. Ave. Outdoor eating on campus-provided seats. Excellent kabobs, hummus and fallafal.
Noodle Street . 627 Comm Ave. Thai food.
Beijing Café. 728 Comm Ave. Chinese.
University Grill and Pizza. 712 Comm Ave. Grinders, pizza by the slice and salads.
Nud Pob. 708 Comm. Ave. Thai counter service with tables. Hectic but it has the advantage of offering a wide variety of vegetarian/vegan offerings.
Boston University Food Court. In the George Sherman Union.
Aesop's Bagels and Starbuck's Coffee.Opens 7:00 AM daily;closes at 10:00 PM; 9:00 AM-9:00 PM Saturday, 11:00 AM-10:00 PM Sunday (We will have coffee and pastries at the meetings on Friday and Saturday mornings)
The cafeteria which opens at 11:00 AM and closes at 10:00 PM (some spots close at 8:00) features salads, turkey and rotiserie chicken, Mexican food, pizza, a Burger King, sushi and a D'Angelo's sandwich shop. (We will have lunch for participants on Friday)
On Beacon Street (St. Mary's T stop, Green C line)
Elephant Walk. 900 Beacon (Cambodian/French). Expensive at night, it is very affordable at lunchtime. Excellent. http://www.elephantwalk.com/ & http://www.elephantwalk.com/CAMBRIDGE/
Chef Chang's. 1006 Beacon . The best Chinese around. Super cheap at lunch and not expensive at night. Try the hot and sour soup.
Busy Bee. 1046 Beacon . Classic diner. (Note from Gretchen: Yvette Scheven once described the atmosphere as "just like being in Duffy's Tavern." If you are old enough to remember that radio show....."Where the elite meet ta eat".)
From Ed Bustin's list:
Near Kenmore Square/Fenway
Boston Beer Works 61 Brookline Ave., Boston, 617-536-2337 (BU) $1/2
One of the city's first brewpubs, this vast reconverted industrial space across from Fenway Park offers a large and changing selection of beers, from cask-conditioned ales to fruit-accented novelties. The menu is hearty and simple, but includes such specialties as mako-shark skewers. http://www.beerworks.net/html/locations_fenway.html
Cornwall's Restaurant and Oyster Bar 564, Commonwealth Avenue (Kenmore Sq.), Boston (BU) $1/2
Eighteen (or more) special beers on tap, and many more bottled brands, but the food is also worth the trip: the owner cooks it as a labor of love, and you can tell! Next to the BU Bookstore (Barnes & Noble, actually), and a great favorite of the BU crowd, as well as of the baseball fans (Fenway Park is across the square). http://www.cornwalls.com/
Great Bay 500 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston (Kenmore Square) 617-532-5300 (BU) $$$$
A brand-new addition to the newly gentrified Kenmore Square, housed in the equally new Hotel Commonwealth (BU's entry in the league of university-backed hotels for well-heeled parents inaugurated by Harvard and MIT). The restaurant, run by the people who brought us “Radius” and “Via Matta”, emphasizes seafood, but (needless to say) also offers steaks for the fearless parents. Elsewhere in the hotel are a self-styled “authentic French bistro” (a breakfast place, it seems. http://www.hotelcommonwealth.com/dining /
Maluken 645, Beacon Street, Boston (Buckminster Hotel, Kenmore Square), 617-859-8828 (BU) $
Good, no-nonsense Japanese restaurant, recently re-decorated and re-opened. Good “Bento Box” lunches.
Petit Robert Bistro 468 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, 617-375-0699 (BB/BU) $$$
Not named after the popular French dictionary, but genealogically descended from the now defunct “Maison Robert”, this small and elegant French restaurant located in a semi-basement close to Kenmore Square is co-owned by chef Jacky Robert (son of Lucien), and by manager Loïc le Garrec. The dinner menu features regional specialties such as Duck Confit and Armagnac Sausage with Braised Cabbage, Tripes Provençales or Lamb Cassoulet with Grilled Garlic Saucisson. The lunch menu is more in the bistro tradition, with Croque-Monsieurs (and also burgers!), but with some interesting items such as Leek Vinaigrette with Smoked Duck Breast. Also features a separate Pastry Bar. The well-chosen wine list consists in almost equal parts of French and California vintages. http://www.petitrobertbistro.com/
Taberna de Haro 999 Beacon St., Brookline, 617-277-8272 (KS) $$1/2
The most modern Spanish tapas place in the city may also be the most authentic: there really are no dinners per se, and the food is tuned salty and small to complement the dry sherries of Spain. A great evening if you like this kind of eating, and better if you connect early and often with the grilled asparagus, boquerones (white anchovies), pollo en pepitoria , gambas al ajillo , or the platter of Spanish cheeses. Paella is available, but spy it first on someone else's table to see if it meets your standards…