Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TUNISIAN
Baraka Café
Ginza Japanese Restaurant
(Chinatown, $$$, p. 119)
TEX-MEX
Border Café (Cambridge, $$, p. 133)
Fajitas & 'Ritas (Downtown
Crossing, $, p. 117)
THAI
Bangkok City
(Cambridge, $$,
p. 136)
VEGETARIAN/VIETNAMESE
Buddha's Delight
(Chinatown, $,
p. 121)
WINE BARS
Les Zygomates (Financial
District, $$$, p. 115)
Troquet
(Back Bay, $$,
p. 127)
(Theater District, $$$$,
p. 119)
3 The Waterfront
EXPENSIVE
Legal Sea Foods
SEAFOOD Out-of-towners sometimes react suspiciously
when I recommend Legal's—they're expecting a secret insider tip, and I'm suggesting
a place they've already heard of. Just remember that this family-owned business enjoys
an international reputation for serving only the freshest, best-quality fish and shellfish,
which it processes at its own state-of-the-art plant. The menu includes regular selec-
tions (scrod, haddock, bluefish, salmon, shrimp, calamari, and lobster, among others)
plus whatever was at the market that morning, prepared in every imaginable way, and
it's all splendid. The clam chowder is great, the fish chowder lighter but equally good.
Entrees run the gamut from grilled fish served plain or with Cajun spices (try the arc-
tic char) to seafood fra diavolo on fresh linguine to salmon baked in parchment with
vegetables and white wine. Or go the luxurious route and order a mammoth lobster.
The classic dessert is ice cream bonbons, but the Boston cream pie is so good that you
might come back just for that. And the wide-ranging, reasonably priced wine list is
exceptional—a friend who makes his living as a wine writer tells me it's the best restau-
rant-chain wine list in the country.
My favorite branch is at Long Wharf, tantalizingly close to the fish at the New Eng-
land Aquarium. A close runner-up is the location in the Prudential Center, 800 Boyl-
ston St. (
&
617/266-6800;
T: Green Line B, C, or D to Hynes Convention Center,
or E to Prudential). Other Boston branches are at 26 Park Square, between Colum-
bus Avenue and Stuart Street (
&
617/426-4444;
T: Green Line to Arlington); at
Copley Place, 2nd level (
&
617/266-7775;
T: Orange Line to Back Bay or Green
Line to Copley); and in the three domestic terminals at Logan Airport. In Cambridge,
branches are in the courtyard of the Charles Hotel, 20 University Rd. (
&
617/491-
9400;
T: Red Line to Harvard); and at 5 Cambridge Center (
&
617/864-3400;
T: Red Line to Kendall/MIT).
255 State St.
&
617/742-5300.
www.legalseafoods.com. Reservations recommended. Main courses $11-$19 at
lunch, $14-$35 at dinner; lobster market price. AE, DC, DISC, MC, V. Mon-Thurs 11am-10pm; Fri-Sun 11am-11pm.
T: Blue Line to Aquarium.
Sel de la Terre
FRENCH A stone's throw from Boston Harbor, Sel de la Terre
is a peaceful slice of southern France. The kitchen uses fresh local ingredients in its
subtly flavorful food: scallops handled so gently that they're still sweet, skillet-roasted
duck atop jewel-toned winter vegetables, luscious salmon with French lentils and
