By Ann Driscoll
Associate Editor
1. Best Convenience Store: Symphony Mart Hemenway/Boylston.
What sets Symphony Mart apart from the rest is the uniformly friendly staff, the cleanliness, the absence of bums, and the quick service. Symphony Mart also goes beyond most convenience stores in providing a selection of essential groceries, including lunchmeat, eggs, cheese, ice cream, toiletries, and frozen dinners. Between Trader Joe’s and Symphony Mart, you’ll never have to make the trek to Shaw’s.
2. Best Cheap Asian Food: Pad Thai Boylston.
You can’t beat $7.25 for a huge noodle dish, from chicken curry to lo mein to its namesake dish. Pad Thai has plenty of room for seating, the staff doesn’t make you feel like an alien, and again, the prices are unbeatable. Teriyaki House has sushi, true, but for all other basic Asian food needs, check out Pad Thai, and steer very very clear of Nan Ling on Mass Ave. I have heard first-hand accounts of extremely unsanitary behavior.
3. Best Indian Lunch Buffet: Bombay Cafe Mass Ave.
Bombay Café is a neighborhood classic, providing an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet from 12 to 5 for just $7. The chicken curry, plentiful nan and rice, not to mention the charm of the two gentlemen who run the place, make this an essential eatery.
4. Best Dessert:The Otherside Mass Ave/Newbury.
The atmosphere of the Otherside may be too stiflingly hipsterish for some, what with the unreliable service (sometimes great, sometimes awful, always surly), loud music, and all the ironic facial hair plastered on the faces of the wait staff. But their desserts are unquestionably and universally regarded as delicious. From their pecan pie to their peanut butter blast, the affordably priced and scrumptious desserts of the Otherside are truly hip.
5. Best Bar: Bukowski’s
Too many of the bars along Boylston are populated by frat boys, nascent yuppies, and bleached-blonde tanorexics. Likewise, TC’s, though conveniently located right across from the 150 building, is straight up creepy, featuring unsavory characters that seem to have walked off the set of a David Lynch movie. So where does the average, fairly pretentious (though not hipster-identified) 21+ Berklee student go to grab a beer? The answer is Bukowski’s, located near King’s bowling alley. The bar features a lengthy draft beer selection, from imported beers to domestic to local, a fun wheel you spin for a random beer, a low-key environment, and most importantly: an enormous $1 hamburger, grilled and prepared fresh on a buttery roll.
6. Best Sushi: Shino aka: Snappy Sushi Newbury St.
Many Newbury eateries are upsettingly overpriced. I can barely set foot on the street without feeling pangs of class envy that ignite a whole host of existential questions, including: Who am I? Why am I at music school, not law or business school? Why will I never be as wantonly rich as that woman with the fur coat shopping at Rugby? Is a beet salad really worth $17? (Stephanie’s). Thankfully, some places fall through the cracks. Shino, located near Dartmouth, is delicious and inexpensively priced—even cheaper than Teriyaki House for their basic rolls. The quality of the sushi and rice is consistently top-notch, and they provide both high-sodium and low-sodium soy sauce. Just make sure the person you’re going with you know really well—or want to know really well; the underground, cavernous East Village-style feel is intimate.
7. Best Place to Buy DVD’s: Newbury Comics Newbury St. (Duh).
The most revered is also the best. The breadth and inexpensiveness of their used DVD collection is unparalleled. I can—and have—spent hours perusing the stacks upon their walls. From Criterion Collections to dramas to new releases to the horror section, Newbury Comics is the best and cheapest way to expand your DVD collection.
8. Best Local Bookstore: Trident Newbury St.
Trident, a restaurant as well as bookstore, features a large selection of paperbacks and magazines, and the best part is, you can hypothetically sit at the bar and read a book or magazine cover to cover for free. However, why not treat yourself to their coffee drinks, shakes, teas, and bizarre health-conscious juices (wheat-grass shots, yum!) while you’re at it? The menu as well as the bookish atmosphere has made the Trident a celebrity hotspot. Giselle, Tom Brady, David Sedaris, Ben Kweller, Hilary Swank, and Breckin Meyer (aka: the stoner from Clueless) have all chilled at the Trident over the past year. Your best chance of having a mellow night-out as well as running into celebs and being one of the bystanders pictured in an US Weekly paparazzi photo is the Trident.
9. Best Bagel Sandwich: Espresso Royale Newbury St./Symphony. The Tequila Sunrise breakfast sandwich with jalapeno cream cheese is perhaps their most famous bagel sandwich, providing a spicy, delicious jolt to start the day. Their turkey avocado club sandwich is also to-die-for. In fact, as long as you arrive early enough in the day before their bagels run out (before 3 pm) any of the bagel sandwiches provide a hearty, filling meal.
10. Best Sit-Down Pizza: Woody’s Bar and Grill Hemenway St. The topic of best pizza-by-the-slice place is quite contentious. Crazy Dough’s, Little Steve’s, Supreme’s, and Cappy’s all have their champions and their detractors. However, if you want to sit down and enjoy a fresh pizza, as opposed to grabbing a quick bite, Woody’s is the best. Boasting an actual neighborhood vibe and wood-fired pizzas, including a chicken sausage and ricotta pie (my favorite), Woody’s is an essential part of the Back Bay milieu.
