Where to Eat at Affiliate Summit East Boston 2008

Posted on August 3rd, 2008 in Affiliate Marketing, Uncategorized

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UPDATE: ASE Boston starts during Restaurant Week in Boston, which means that all the expensive restaurants in the city have special reduced price menus, which is great, but also means you need to make reservations ASAP if you want to even get a seat.

One thing that Nickycakes prides himself on is his experience with eating out in Boston…  Anyhow, having been to many many places in the US, the Cakes has to say, Boston has some of the best food in the country, probably only rivaled by San Fran.  As ASE is just 1 short week away, people are filling up their calendars with dinner and lunch meetings, and have been asking where to eat.  The last thing you want to happen is to get stuck eating at a crappy hotel restaurant (although there are some pretty good hotel restaurants.)

Ok, so Nickycakes is gonna list some of his favorite spots around Boston and the surrounding areas.  Most of these are NOT within short walking distance from the conf hotel, but you can blame that on abysmal location selection, as the hotel is not within walking distance of the majority of the good stuff.  You can easily grab a taxi, or take the T, though.  Ok, here goes (with links to yelp pages):

Higher End Restaurants (dress nice, bring fat wallet):

Top of the Hub - The Cakes recommends anyone who visits Boston should eat here at some point.  The view is unbelievable and the food is really good.  The menu has changed a couple times since the Cakes moved to beantown, but if the clam chowder is still on the menu, you should try it.  Keep in mind when you go there that there are 2 sections.  One is only for small stuff and drinks and one is for dining.  This is where you take cute girls if you want to impress them with something other than just the prices on the menu.  To give you an idea of the view, here’s where you’ll be eating:

Radius -

Radius claims to have the “best burger in the country.”  Although Cakes has never had their burgers, he has had some of the other food there and it is reallllyyyyyy good.  They have this corn soup appetizer with crab meat in it that is off the hoooook.  It’s always fun watching rich people who get dressed up to go to restaurants and stuff, and this is a good place for that.  Goes without saying that there are a ton of Boston hotties there with their rich boyfriends, etc.

KO Prime -

There are a ton of steakhouses in Boston.  In fact, if you just count the “upscale” steakhouses, you’ll probably find more than you can count on your fingers.  This one is a local favorite, and you won’t be disappointed.  It’s right near Boston Common which is convenient if you are hanging out in the city.

Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse - Ok, so Ruth Chris is a chain, and having been to a couple of them around the country, they’re just a really good solid high-end steakhouse.  Good food, good service, can’t go wrong.

Great Restaurants (where you wont spend $100+/person on food):

Ok, so one thing about Boston is there are a lot of Asian and Italian restaurants.  Nickycakes finds Italian food a bit on the boring side for eating out since he cooks it at home so often, so if you want more reviews of those restaurants, go hit up Yelp and check the ratings there.  There are a freakin lot of them in the North End.  Anyway, here’s some good ones that wont make you go broke but have great food:

Cambridge 1 (pizza..kinda) -

It’s made sorta like a regular pizza..it has the dough, and toppings, but it’s unlike any pizza you’ve eaten before.  The dough is crispy and flat, kinda like thin crust but 20 times better.  The toppings are all fresh, and don’t include copious amounts of crappy cheese and bland tomato sauce.  It’s just REALLY REALLY good.  Nickycakes has only been to the one in Harvard Square, but the one in Fenway is supposedly about the same.  There are TV’s to watch the game, a bar, and a nice atmosphere.  It’s not like a loud sports bar, it’s really nice.  Try the steak + cherry tomato pizza or the lobster + corn pizza.

Zen (sushi) -

This little hole-in-the-wall sushi spot is awesome.  It’s pretty small, and nothing fancy inside, but the food and service are really good, especially considering sushi in Boston isn’t generally very good.  It’s right next to Boston Common which makes it really convenient.

Montien (thai) -

One of the Cakes’ two favorite Thai restaurants, he goes there once every week or two for dinner.  They have 2 menus, one for Americans and one for Thai people, so if want a taste of the real deal, ask for the Thai menu which has a much better selection.  Be careful though, because the authentic Thai dishes can be VERY spicy, so don’t be afraid to tell them to tone it down for you.  If you’re looking to try something new, try Nicky’s favorite: Laab Neua, which is like a spicy and sour ground beef salad with rice.  Some of the wait staff are personal friends, so ask for Kae (she goes by Katie sometimes too) as your waitress…she knows the Cakes as Nick, so don’t start talking about Nickycakes or she wont know what the hell you’re smokin.  Also worth noting, one of Nickycakes’ personal life goals is to make the hot bartender girl split with her husband and marry him <3.

Shabu-Zen (japanese hot pot) -

This place is so rad.  It’s very busy usually so you might want to try to get reservations (if they take them).  Each person gets their own little pot of boiling broth, and you order stuff to cook in it.  They have meat, seafood, vegetable platters, and a bunch of other random ass stuff.  It’s a little on the pricy side, but really good.  A great experience for sure.  If you want to go here, though, keep in mind that there are 2 places to sit.  You can sit at the counter, which is like a long bar that wraps around the middle of the restaurant, or you can sit at tables.  The tables, however, are reserved for parties with a minimum of 3 or 4, and sitting at a table is nice unless you’re on a date, which makes sitting at the counter more fun (hard to explain without being there).  Cakes eats here about once a month.

China Pearl (chinese/dim sum) -

Ok, if you’re looking for a lunch spot with a unique atmosphere and food you can’t pronounce or recognize but is extremely cheap and very good, then you want to get some Dim Sum in Chinatown.  You will not leave hungry.  Generally, when Cakes takes his girl there, the bill is less than $20 and he’s completely stuffed.  Probably the best way to find a good Dim Sum place is to see the % of Chinese people eating there, and this one has a very high %.  Try Nicky’s favorite: Pork Bao.

Winsor Dim Sum Cafe (chinese/dim sum) -

After writing this section, Nickycakes is really hungry and wants to try a new Dim Sum place, so he’s gonna hit this one up and see how it is.  The reviews are really good, and it’s not like normal Dim Sum restaurants where they wheel around carts of food to choose from.  They actually make everything for you after you order it which is a plus for some people but takes away some of the fun.