I have a friend who's going to be presenting at an upcoming conference (CROI: the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections
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It sounds like a joke, but Boston is one of the most expensive cities to hotel in. There's the hostel on Hemenway (bostonhostel.org), that's the best you can do and even that can tip up towards $100 for a private room. It has an advantage of being very close to the Hynes (I checked).
Cheap places to eat, cheap for Boston anyway, is there any niceness level required? Chili Duck is nice and right across from the Hynes (although at basement level). It's Thai. There's any number of fancy pub-grubs in the area. Cafe Jaffa is great for lunch, it's Mediterranean fare (Israeli, specifically); it's on Gloucester, just off of Boylston, right across from Hynes. Vinny Testa's (I think it's Vinny T's now) is also a nice place to go, it's a little chainy, but if you're not a Bostonian, you don't need to know.
Clubs... that's the right area for them, actually, assuming it's the *thunka*thunka*thunka* type of club she's looking for. Landsdowne Street, bordering on Fenway Stadium has a glut of them. An Tua Nua on Beacon Street also has a lively night life on the weekends, although it may be mostly a BU crowd. There's also a handful in Allston/Brighton, but whatever is trendy and therefore lively changes often; go check out the craigslist missed connections to see which club is getting all the mentions and that's the one you're looking for. If the club style she wants is more about drinking and/or rock music, then she'll need to head over the river, up Mass Ave (take the #1 bus) to Central Square.
If she's not tied too closely to the convention and is there on a weekend, definitely do the Dim Sum at China Pearl (in Chinatown). There may be a crowd, but the line moves faster than you'd imagine (that said, getting there earlier is better). If she finds herself up by MIT or Harvard, Punjabi Dhaba is a divey but very very tasty Indian place (get a chaat). Most of the restaurants I'd mention are "divey but very very tasty" though. If she wants to try Ethiopian, there's Addis Red Sea... that's... somewhere in Boston proper. There's also the very tasty Afghani restaurant, Helmand, in Cambridge near the Galleria, but that's near impossible to find.
I second Helmand. I haven't been back to Boston in 4 years but the next time I go, I'm going to Helmand. Also, I second Punjabi Dhaba. If she's as obsesses with ice cream as I am, she should try JP Licks (on Newbury St, among other places, I think).
My favorite restaurant to go to was India Samraat at 51 Mass Ave (on the Boston Side). Not too dive-y, and if I remember right, their Peshawari Paratha is amazing.
Also, if she's into folky, mellow, coffee-house music, Club Passim in Harvard Square usually books really good acts (often famous ones, as well, and if so, get there early.)
It sounds like a joke, but Boston is one of the most expensive cities to hotel in. There's the hostel on Hemenway (bostonhostel.org), that's the best you can do and even that can tip up towards $100 for a private room. It has an advantage of being very close to the Hynes (I checked).
Cheap places to eat, cheap for Boston anyway, is there any niceness level required? Chili Duck is nice and right across from the Hynes (although at basement level). It's Thai. There's any number of fancy pub-grubs in the area. Cafe Jaffa is great for lunch, it's Mediterranean fare (Israeli, specifically); it's on Gloucester, just off of Boylston, right across from Hynes. Vinny Testa's (I think it's Vinny T's now) is also a nice place to go, it's a little chainy, but if you're not a Bostonian, you don't need to know.
Clubs... that's the right area for them, actually, assuming it's the *thunka*thunka*thunka* type of club she's looking for. Landsdowne Street, bordering on Fenway Stadium has a glut of them. An Tua Nua on Beacon Street also has a lively night life on the weekends, although it may be mostly a BU crowd. There's also a handful in Allston/Brighton, but whatever is trendy and therefore lively changes often; go check out the craigslist missed connections to see which club is getting all the mentions and that's the one you're looking for. If the club style she wants is more about drinking and/or rock music, then she'll need to head over the river, up Mass Ave (take the #1 bus) to Central Square.
If she's not tied too closely to the convention and is there on a weekend, definitely do the Dim Sum at China Pearl (in Chinatown). There may be a crowd, but the line moves faster than you'd imagine (that said, getting there earlier is better). If she finds herself up by MIT or Harvard, Punjabi Dhaba is a divey but very very tasty Indian place (get a chaat). Most of the restaurants I'd mention are "divey but very very tasty" though. If she wants to try Ethiopian, there's Addis Red Sea... that's... somewhere in Boston proper. There's also the very tasty Afghani restaurant, Helmand, in Cambridge near the Galleria, but that's near impossible to find.
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My favorite restaurant to go to was India Samraat at 51 Mass Ave (on the Boston Side). Not too dive-y, and if I remember right, their Peshawari Paratha is amazing.
Also, if she's into folky, mellow, coffee-house music, Club Passim in Harvard Square usually books really good acts (often famous ones, as well, and if so, get there early.)
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