OP here, following up. Went to both Legal Harborside and Legal Test Kitchen. Had a decent piece of salmon at LH, but the crust was oversalted. The baked cod at LTK was pretty good, but I should’ve insisted on a spot in the dining room instead of next to the bar, where the noise was deafening. My bad.
I didn’t make it to Row 34, although, re-reading the menu, I really should have. Yankee Lobster was good, and fairly convenient to where I was (Aloft Seaport). I had, well, lobster.
I really wanted some comfort food, and got no recommendations from the board, so I went to Mike’s City Diner on Washington. Had the corned beef hash, which was just OK, and not worth the public transportation PITA.
I went to Mamaleh’s, because I was in the neighborhood (MIT Museum), and really wanted to try the gribenes, as it was something you never see on a menu. They were great – pretty much as I remembered them from childhood. Later I headed to Back Bay and went to an old favorite, Summer Shack. I hadn’t been there for 6 years, and was surprised that there was only one fresh fish on the specials menu – there used to be several each day, but things seem to have changed (apparently Jasper White sold this location in January, and kept the one in Cambridge). The crabcakes, made from Jonah crab, were fine.
BTW, I did try the burnt ends at Larry J’s, and they were terrible – dried out and old-tasting. I suspect I might have ordered the wrong thing.
I went to the Copley Square farmers market, but wasn’t impressed with the quality, or especially, the selection of produce. I guess I’m spoiled, since I frequently visit the farmers markets in San Francisco and Los Angeles, with their much wider selections.
For most days, I didn’t make it very far afield, and got stuck eating at a couple of restaurants in the Westin Waterfront. Predictably mediocre.
Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. Sorry if I sound like a malcontent – things just didn’t quite go as I had hoped/expected.
Apologies for going OT, but on a non-food note, I found Uber very useful and not too expensive for getting around in situations where the T or MBTA in general was sometimes a pain ( too lengthy or too many bus-train changes – for example, just to get to Back Bay from the CC required a bus and two trains). I got seriously long-hauled by a taxi on the way to the Aloft from Logan – he took me on a very circuitous route (via Back Bay!) and charged me over $40. Filed an online complaint with the taxi commission, and followed up with a VM. Zero response. On departure, Uber back to the airport was < $16.