I’ll cross post in another board as well. Kid is taking us on a whirlwind tour of some colleges next week. Can you recommend your fave casual lunch and dinner spots within 10 min drive of: BU, Northeastern, Brown, Dartmouth, UConn, Rensselaer, and Cornell? I believe the first 2 are just a mile-ish from each other.
For the Boston portion of the trip: consider Sweet Cheeks in Fenway (and maybe dessert at Tatte roughly across the street; they do have real food as well) or MIDA on Tremont St.
Pardon my ignorance - in Fenway doesn’t mean inside the sports stadium, does it?
Totally legit question. The neighborhood is called Fenway. The food at the ballpark isn’t worth mentioning. 
https://tattebakery.com/boston/ (Fenway location)
https://midarestaurant.com/mida-boston
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Near Dartmouth: in Hanover itself, Lou’s is a classic. Within 10 minutes: Phnom Penh Sandwich Station has locations in both White River and Lebanon but the Lebanon location has barely any indoor seating (if any). Tuckerbox, also in White River is good Turkish.
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Awesome thanks. I’m actually an alum, but haven’t been back since graduation nearly 30 yrs ago. Lous was there then too. The other places are all new to me, and I’m broken that I can’t take them to EBAs! I did find a source of the portuguese muffins though, and we’ve been powering through those chez moi.
In the Ithaca leg of your trip, Shortstop Deli is a classic Cornell institution with a sandwich lexicon all its own. Get subs (or hot truck- check the dictionary posted on the wall) to go, and eat them near a waterfall such as Ithaca Falls or Buttermilk Falls. Sadly, the few eat-in establishments I remember from my grad school days do not seem to have lasted but Shortstop is forever.
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@Sasha Native Rhode Islander here. I don’t have time now to adequately respond but you will surely eat well in Providence; it’s a quirkier city compared with Boston, only an hour apart but world’s apart. Lots of fun restaurants. Is this the son who overloads on Asian food at home/allergic to nuts?
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Digga those are 2 sons. One is peanut allergic but loves Asian food. The other has no allergies and his Asian tolerance is lower (except for dumplings - he has no bottom for those). Both will be with us. I’m sure RI is wonderful but this is a crazy trip and I don’t think we’ll be in RI for more than 1/2 or 2/3 of a day. So unfortunately no time to really explore. It’s a business trip, and just hoping to secure some eats recs so that we can avoid Subway.
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This article on restaurants on Thayer Street (adjacent to Brown) may help. Any Brown student will spend A LOT of time on Thayer Street.
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Lots of info. Are there favorites among the people who are into food? If it’s anything like our local rag, they uniformly praise anything local, but in fact a lot of our local places are pretty average and only some are standouts.
I don’t know - just as you have not been back to Hanover, I have not been back to Providence in over 30 years. Almost anything would be better than Subway though and seeing what is on offer on Thayer Street might be relevant to your son’s consideration of Brown.
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So true. The older one didn’t really prioritize food when he chose his campus, and has been complaining about the food ever since. I will say the food on campus at Dartmouth was very good, and we had 6 cafeterias to choose from.
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Last time we were in Hanover, a few years ago, Base Camp Cafe, a nepalese place, was very good and fresh. Not a fan of Lou’s. Both husband and son went to Dartmouth, cant say overall the food in the town impresses, but this one is/was good. Sounds crazy but their sauteed seasonal greens were particularly great.
https://basecampcafenh.com/
There is good asian food in Providence, we went to one thai lao place years ago that was excellent. Some suggestions here https://www.rimonthly.com/7-hidden-gem-asian-restaurants-in-rhode-island/
If you happen to be in the pass through the area of RI, south of Providence and W of Newport there is a great diner where you can get Rhode Island Johnny cakes, made from a special local cornmeal variety Jiggers Diner
Good luck on your college visits!
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Might be outside of what you’re looking for but Taberna de Haro (at St. Mary’s, just outside Kenmore) is great for tapas, and India Quality in Kenmore itself, is a classic.
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I don’t eat on Thayer Street these days favoring the west side. But it used to be where I used to hang out when I was in high school and was a punk rocker wannabe. I don’t know where the Brown and RISD kids hang out these days. On that list, I would avoid Andrea’s like the plague. It was never good and I’m not quite sure how it has lasted so long. East side pockets and Kabob and Curry have each been around forever. Nothing earthshaking but reliable for a quick cheap meal. Nearby Westminster Street has some good restaurants and interesting shops (skateboarding shop, cool bookshop), if the kids are into that kind of thing and you have time to spare.
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What place(s) do you like on Westminster? Just looking for casual. I suspect we’ll be there for lunch and probably gone by dinner…
In Providence, Tallulah’s Taqueria, on Ives St just a block or two off Wickendon, has very good tacos/burritos/tortas etc. It’s very casual, order/pickup at at window, sit at picnic tables outside (so not a good option if weather is bad). There is also a location on Sims Ave with indoor seating (I’ve never been to this one), don’t know if that is outside your acceptable area.
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My daughter attended Dartmouth and LOVED Tuk Tuk, a thai restaurant on Main St just off the Dartmouth Green. I’ve eaten there recently and found it quite good. It is in the basement of a building though, so it feels a bit claustrophobic.
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