Student Scene!

Hi,

My friend and I will be visiting Boston next August staying at the Doubletree Suites in Cambridge/Boston. One of the reasons I went for this hotel was the proximity to Harvard. We%26#39;re both University students and are looking for studenty places to go in Boston - bars, clubs, parks etc. generally to meet people our age (21) and to chill. If you could recommend anything to us that would be great. Oh and it has to be CHEAP cos we%26#39;re poor students....

Cheers!

Kath

Student Scene!

I don%26#39;t live in Cambridge but, everytime my friends and I head out there we go to Grendel%26#39;s Den. It is always packed with young college students. They have great prices.

Student Scene!

The Hong Kong on Mass Ave. is very popular with students. It%26#39;s a restaurant/bar/dance club.

Central Square, located smack between MIT and Harvard is the center for cheap and cheerful. The Middle East, Phoenix Landing, and the Plough and Stars will all give you a feel for the student population and the local music scene. There%26#39;s also the Cantab Lounge which is a locals hangout but has live blues most nights.

Many of the cheap places in Harvard Square have been forced out for chain stores with chain prices. Charlie%26#39;s and Mr. Bartley%26#39;s are still good burger places that have been around forever. Pinocchio%26#39;s Pizza is still on Winthrop street, and you can get cheap slices there most days.

Harvard Square still has Out of Town News which is always a meeting spot, as well as The Pit - the bricked plaza-like space right around the entrance to the T. I find the cross-section of people who hang there to be amusing if slightly annoying; they%26#39;re mostly bored kids from the %26#39;burbs doing the 20+ year old Punk bit; but some are really homeless who come to panhandle. In the good weather there are lots of musicians and artists demonstrating their scope of talent, and the outdoor terrace at Au Bon Pain is filled in late afternoon with folks.

The Plough and Stars has closed indefinitely (';for renovation,'; but there%26#39;ve been a lot of noise complaints and they may not be back.) Other good haunts between Harvard and Central Squares include The Cellar, People%26#39;s Republik, and The Field. Farther down along Mass. Ave are the Middlesex Lounge, All-Asia, and Miracle of Science. Remember that Boston is the world%26#39;s largest college town, and Cambridge is part of it. There are few places - particularly on weekends - where you wouldn%26#39;t feel comfortable!

The Doubletree is actually not the greatest location, because there%26#39;s literally nothing in the immediate area except for highways and the river. But Harvard Square is only about a 10-15 minute walk upstream, and Central Square is a little less than a mile away via what%26#39;s called River St once you cross the bridge.

A personal favorite hangout - one of many LOL - is River Gods, which is along River St between the Doubletree and Central Square. They have a DJ, and sometimes a DJ ';battle,'; but the real attraction is their awesome menu; even the burgers and fries are worth a trip, as is the funky gothic/medieval atmosphere.

Yet a third fun neighborhood is Allston, south of Harvard Square and between BU and BC. Its main streets are practically wall-to-wall bars, clubs, and restaurants - everything from the Sports Depot with its dozens of flat-screen TV%26#39;s to Brazilian take-out places to a pool hall that stays open until 3 in the morning. The infrequent 64 bus (see mbta.com for schedules) connects Central Square and Allston and has a stop right at the Doubletree.

Then, of course, there%26#39;s Kenmore Square, which is always jumping but never more so than during baseball season. Check out Game On, Jillian%26#39;s, Axis, Bill%26#39;s Bar, and/or Avalon along Lansdowne St, or the Cask %26amp; Flagon (among other spots) on Brookline Ave. Not to mention Quincy Market, the Back Bay...

Thanks, Spensworld, for the note re: The Plough and Stars. I used to work between Harvard and Central and would walk past it every day on the way to the T. But that was many moons ago.....

Thanks guys!

We know that the hotel isn%26#39;t in the best of locations but we don%26#39;t mind walking places (we%26#39;re students, so I walk a mile to get to University on a daily basis, to town to get food etc. - probably 5-6 miles a day). We got such a great price for it though - we paid 拢55 per night in the middle of August (so what...$90 for two of us?). Couldn%26#39;t really turn it down at that price and we were never gonna get anything in town for that price either!

We%26#39;re there for just 4 nights, flying in from Orlando and leaving on the train to New York so yeah...looking forward to it!

One quick question - safety? We%26#39;re two 21-year-old girls with no car so it%26#39;s either gonna be walking (preferable) or public transport (if it comes down to it!). What%26#39;s the area like?

Thank you, nice friendly forum people!

I know this is easy for me to say as a guy, but there shouldn%26#39;t be a problem with safety on the T. The trains and buses are well-lit, but if you want to be extra cautious you can always situate yourselves close by the bus driver or on a train car where there%26#39;s someone in the operator%26#39;s booth. It%26#39;d be wiser, especially late at night (while the T%26#39;s still running) to not walk. Most of the bars and clubs start closing down between 1 and 2 AM, which means hundreds of drunken people - a large majority of them dateless males - are on the streets at once. I%26#39;m not going to pretend that I%26#39;ve been in the shoes of a 21-year-old woman who%26#39;s even remotely attractive when that scenario%26#39;s in effect, but it may not always be pleasant.

When you settle on the neighborhood you want to party in, check out the locations of cab stands first. Taxis will be swarming around them at closing time. You can also flag a cab down on the street.

What I%26#39;m getting at is, you really don%26#39;t want to be walking back to the Doubletree in the wee hours unless you%26#39;re at least somewhat sober and can be 100% sure no one%26#39;s following. There are few pedestrians around that hotel at any time of day or night, and the roads along the river aren%26#39;t illuminated that well. Not that it%26#39;s in a ';bad'; locale by any means, just that there%26#39;s no reason to invite trouble.

Ohhh, I love these questions. Haunts hmmm. Okay, if you%26#39;re into being around the 21 crowd, spend some time in Allston. There are awesome shops, cheap food, low key bars with a variety of nights. Try Love Night at the Commmon Ground in Allston on Thursday, The Pill @ Great Scott on Friday night (for brit pop dance and mod night) Hong Kong Cafe in Harvard Square for giant scorpion bowls and some hiphop upstairs. I would go to Otherside Cafe at the end of Newbury Street (near Urban Outfitters, Virgin, and Newbury Comics--all great places to chill) GREAT coffee--cool clientel and good food too. Great for lunch. I would also say if you want to dance to 80%26#39;s try the Phoenix Landing on a Saturday night, for upscale hang-out--try Zuzu (next to the Middle East--which is a great place to chill at if you%26#39;re into music) For cheap food in huge portions try Allston for Spikes all beef hotdogs, (The bubble tea store next door is AWESOME) Also, I love Sunset Grille for it%26#39;s huge food portions and 100 plus beers. For more cheap places--try The Pour House on Boylston Street or Charlie%26#39;s Kitchen in Harvard Square (awesome on Tuesday for Karaoke-upstairs) Also, I run a night on Wednesday --IPOD DJ night @ The Common Ground. Always cool--chill kids there --great for a less rowdy night with beer and great food. Also if you%26#39;re going to do sightseeing (lots of it) it would be a little cheaper to buy a go boston card.

Oh, and check out the midnight movies at the Coolidge Corner theater--and also, check out the weeklydig.com for info on events and things in Boston.

Keep in mind that there is a bus that runs from Hynes Convention Center downtown through Central Square and I think Harvard Square as well, so you can easily get from Cambridge to Newbury/Boylston Street. I cannot for the life of me remember what number that bus is, maybe someone else knows what I%26#39;m talking about? It lets right off in front of Virgin Records at Hynes. Anyway, the Hynes/Back Bay area is great for students, because there are a ton of colleges there, including Northeastern and Berklee. Some of the fun, cheap things that are popular with studetns in that area are:

Otherside Cosmic Cafe (across from Hynes T) - A previous poster mentioned this, and I totally agree. Cheap, all natural, very good food and smoothies and a great beer list. They have cheap pitchers of imported beers.

Pour House - Bar/restaurant with cheap, pretty good food/drink and two floors.

Crossroads - Another bar/restaurant with two floors. The food is sketch, but it tends to have a good college crowd on weekends and you can dance.

Crazy Dough - Good, small pizza place that sells ridiculously cheap beer pitchers ($4/Coors Light pitchers, I think).

An Tua Nua - Cheap, excellent food and $2.00 drafts. This place is one of the best values in Boston. I recommend looking at their web site too, as they have theme nights on weekdays that may interest you.

Bukowski%26#39;s - Cheap dive. I%26#39;ve never been, but I understand they have a $1.00 food menu at happy hour and an enormous beer selection.

TC%26#39;s Lounge - Neighborhood bar. Cheap, popular with students.

Who%26#39;s on First - Extremely popular with students for drinking and dancing. It%26#39;s a meat market on weekend nights (we used to call it ';Who%26#39;s on Who';), but it just depends on the type of scene you%26#39;re looking for. I think they still have $2.00 drafts. They do have a dress code on weekends.

Our House - Near Boston University. It%26#39;s a bar, but you can play board games there too and relax on couches. Very casual, decent food.

Thanks guys,

I think if we go partying it%26#39;ll probably be relatively close to our hotel, probably in the Harvard area rather than venturing into town so we%26#39;ll just get a cab back - would rather pay $10 than walk by ourselves...

I think the plan is: sightsee in the city in the day; party near Harvard at night!

And maybe a daytrip to Salem....

horses