A few weeks back, I ran into my friend Andre '08 on the T (that is, the Boston subway). Andre, who is on campus this summer working on the MIT iGEM team, was on his way to eat with some friends at a new (for him) restaurant. Summer is a time where students find even more time to explore Boston and try yummy restaurants. Inspired by my conversation with Andre, here is a good summer list of restaurants for students (and campus visitors!) to try. They're many of my favorite places!

• Cafe Baraka: A wonderful, hole-in-the-wall Tunisian restaurant. Tell Chef Alia I said hello =)
  80 1/2 Pearl St.
  Cambridge, MA
  T: Red Line to Central Square

• Punjabi Dhaba: Probably the best, cheapest, and most authentic Indian food in all of Boston.
  225 Hampshire St
  Cambridge, MA
  T: Red Line to Central Square; #83 or #91 bus

• Addis Red Sea: Great Ethiopian food and an excuse to eat with your hands.
  544 Tremont St.
  Boston, MA
  T: Orange Line to Back Bay

• Redbones: Among the better barbecue/Southern food in Boston, with a lot of culture and attitude.
  55 Chester St
  Somerville, MA
  T: Red line to Davis Square

• Johnny D's: Great jazz brunches on the weekends, and half-price (cheap!) dinners before 6pm on weekdays.
  17 Holland St
  Somerville, MA
  T: Red Line to Davis Square

• Trident Cafe: This bookstore cafe on trendy Newbury Street has all-day breakfast and lots of vegetarian, vegan, and other healthy options.
  338 Newbury Street
  Boston, MA
  T: #1 bus to Hynes

• Fugakyu: One of many great sushi places in the Boston area, and a great excuse to visit the very cool Coolidge Corner neighborhood.
  1280 Beacon St
  Brookline, MA
  T: Green Line C train to Coolidge Corner

• Rubin's Kosher: Yummy Kosher deli/restaurant. It really hits the spot.
  500 Harvard Street
  Brookline, MA
  T: Green Line B train to Harvard Ave

• Flour Bakery & Cafe: Yummy pastries, but also great brunch & dinner. The best of its kind around.
  1595 Washington St
  Boston, MA
  T: #1 bus to Washington Street

• The Helmand: Delicious Afghani food. Don't miss the Kaddo (pumpkin), it's to die for.
  143 1st St
  Cambridge, MA
  T: CambridgeSide Galleria shuttle

• Taiwan Cafe: One of many great places in Chinatown. I love their soup dumplings.
  34 Oxford St
  Boston, MA
  T: Red Line to Downtown Crossing or South Station

Bon appetit!

(Feel free to leave other recommendations in the comments)

Comments (Closed after 30 days to reduce spam)

Now you've really come up with a reason to apply to MIT. One of my favorite activities on business trips around the country is eating at ethnic restaurants, and you've just named some in Cambridge or Boston I'd love to visit.



Best wishes for a great summer. It's still a few years away before the guys on the math team I coach start making their college applications, but if you happen to be in my part of the country the next few times that MIT has an info session here, I'll attend just to say hello.

Posted by: tokenadult on July 14, 2006

I miss Redbones...



And Matt seems to have completely disregarded the North End, the mecca of Italian dining. Everyone will tell you to go get a cannoli at Mike's, Modern, or Bova's (and of the three, I vote for Modern, although Bova's is 24 hours), but the real place to get the best cannoli is to go to Ricardo's Ristorante. It's a sit-down place and the cannoli will be a little more expensive, but they actually make the filling when you order it instead of letting it sit in a bakery display all day. Sooooo good. And their risotto and tiramisu is top notch too.

Posted by: errhode on July 14, 2006

omg indian food. omg INDIAN FOOD.

Do you know of any other really good vegetarian/vegan restaurants in the area? I've heard the options on campus aren't all that great.

Posted by: JKim on July 14, 2006

sry to comment on the wrong post...the july omnibus comment box is closed....



i had given my sat 1 this june...scored 2190 ( national percentile of 97 and 98...writing section score - 690)... is it good enough or should i attempt sat 1 again?



thanx for all the info on AP... but i guess its too late for me now...i am seeking admission for spring 2007...

Posted by: Anshuman on July 15, 2006

I also scored a 690 on the Writing section of the test... It does fall in the middle 50% of accepted writing section scores in 2006 admissions (670-760). And SAT scores are not going to make or break your application. In fact they say very little about how you will thrive in and contribute to MIT, when compared with the rest of your application.



If you're applying for 2007 admission, you should spend your time working on the rest of the application (which comes out this month) instead of worrying about the SAT and studying for it.

Posted by: Daniel on July 15, 2006

Helmand's is amazing! I went there with my Freshman advising group (so it was free too...highly recommended). The Turkish coffee is heavenly, and I'm Turkish, so hopefully that says a lot.



...and my mom ordered me a birthday cake from Flour Bakery in my freshman year and it was one of the best I've ever had. Good recommendations, Matt! I'll have the check out some of the other places in the next two years.

Posted by: Melis on July 15, 2006

Daniel, the problem is I am from india where competition is very tough and intense...so i really want to leave no stone unturned in my application...in fact i want to appear for CLEP or AP but i guess that's not possible here in Kolkaya,India now...

Posted by: Anshuman on July 16, 2006

That's an impressive list. I would like to add the 'Tanjore' restaurant in Harvard Square. They serve some really great tasting south indian food. Be prepared for long waits during weekends.

Posted by: Ram on July 16, 2006

Mr. McGann, how could you have left off Bartley's Burgers in Harvard Square? SO GOOD. Amazing burgers. Delicious onion rings. The decor is also amusing

Posted by: Jenny on July 16, 2006

Ethnic foods are wonderful.



Ditto on JKim about vegetarian/vegan options though - especially when we're on campus, where would you say the best place to go for food would be when we're feeling too lazy to cook?

Posted by: cemilyd on July 16, 2006

no love for the truck vendors it seems...

Posted by: Jon on July 16, 2006

All of the MIT-run food places on campus have vegetarian (and usually vegan) options every day. There are lots of vegetarians at MIT!



Whether the options are great... well, they're about as good as they are for the omnivores.



For the record, I think the best place for veggie options is Steam Cafe (http://steamcafe.mit.edu/).

Posted by: Mollie on July 16, 2006

yay for vegetarians. :D

Posted by: Christine on July 17, 2006

Veggie Planet (http://www.veggieplanet.net/veggieplanet.htm) in Harvard Square is a tiny hole-in-the-wall that a lot of people miss, but it has some great veggie options. I'm partial to their "Lunch for Henry".

Posted by: Vicki on July 17, 2006

not too many choices around the campus for cheap and quick dinner though. recommend using campusfood.com. you can order and they will deliver.

Posted by: hungry grad student on July 20, 2006

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