Thanks to everybody for great posts, keep them coming. We will compile all the lists from the different sources over the next few weeks and post them here and update on a regular basis. Hopefully it will be a good discussion starting point for everybody who lives or visits Boston
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Is New Haven style similar to Napolitanean style ?
I would recommend Sarma in Somerville, turkish (ish) small plates.
We prefer the bar, but get there early for that. Reservations accepted for small parties.
http://www.sarmarestaurant.com/
The Helmund in Cambridge for Afghan. Go for the bread alone.
http://www.helmandrestaurantcambridge.com/
The Greek Corner in Cambridge is not fancy but it serves one of the better avgolemono soups around.
http://greekcorner.us/menu/
In Woburn there is Pintxo Pincho for pretty good Spanish Tapas.
Their website is gone but here is a tripadvisor link.
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I believe that’s the origin/inspiration (Pepe’s full name is “Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana”, established in 1925), though New Haven style pizza has become its own thing since then. I often stop there or at Modern, another “apizza” joint, for dinner when driving home from NYC. (Despite having grown up in NJ I don’t like NYC style pizza.)
Unrelated but the post above reminded me that Gustazo in Waltham does interesting Cuban small plates and tapas with a good vegetarian selection.
(Cross-posted from Chowhound.) Great list so far. I’ll add Walnut Grille in Newton Highlands to the suggestion of Red Lentil for vegetarian. True Bistro in Somerville is a nice vegan place.
For takeout sandwiches, Dave’s Fresh Pasta in Somerville has a terrific selection. I sometimes get the sandwiches to go unpressed and finish pressing it at home. Domenic’s (not the sausage place!) in Waltham also has terrific panini. They bake the ciabatta daily. The melanzane, a marinated eggplant with smoked mozz and basil is a favorite.
For quick takeout or delivery, Fiorello’s Express in Belmont is a decent option. An added bonus, it’s byob. Its an order-at-the-counter takeout place so it’s a somewhat busy and bright atmosphere, but it’s pleasant and the people are super nice.
For Indian/Nepali, we like Masala in Teele Sq., Somerville.
Welcome to town!
For a fun cocktail experience, visit Loyal Nine when Fred Yarm is on the bar.
Courthouse Seafood on Cambridge St in Cambridge is my favorite no nonsense fried seafood lunch place. (The fish market next door is excellent too.)
But on a nice day, getting takeout from Sullivan’s and walking around Castle Island in South Boston is as Boston as it gets.
There’s also the north-of-Boston clam shack/ice cream crawl. You head north, start at the coast in Ipswich/Essex, then head inland on Rt. 133, taking notes on the various fried clams your family is sampling, followed up by sampling the several ice cream stands you’ll pass, including Benson’s in W. Boxford, which uses fresh local fruit in season for some of its ice cream. You’ll come to Rt 125, which will take you to Rt 93 South, to head back toward Boston. Lines can be very long on nice days so it’s best to stick to 2-5 pm on weekdays, or go when the weather isn’t nice.
Before all that, you might want to visit Peabody-Essex Museum (pem.org) in Salem. It’s America’s oldest museum. Though it’s not overwhelmingly large, it has a great variety of permanent and special exhibits, including kid-friendly ones.
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What other cocktail places do you like ? There are many things we are looking forward but we heard much about the great cocktail scene in Boston and definitely want to explore them in depth. (It doesn’t have to be a restaurant with good cocktails as we often in San Diego first a good dinner and than explore 1-2 cocktail bars)
That sounds like a really interesting crawl. In addition what are good ice creal/gelato places in general in Boston (ice creal might be our favorite dessert at all and we drive for it a long time)
Thanks - I know the problem of having to post now between three different boards as you never know who posts where
Morano gelato in Chestnut Hill gets raves, I haven’t tried it.
Two indo ice cream shops in Cambridge are Toscanini’s and Christina’s (which is owned by the same guy as the Christina’s spices half a block away).
I second Capone’s in Union Square, Somerville (not far from Inman Square Cambridge where Christina’s is) for fresh and frozen housemade pasta and entrees, sauces, and a nice selection of imported dry and jarred goods (mustards, olive oils, vinegars, peppers, etc.), cheeses, and charcuterie as well as housemade cannoli, ricotta, and excellent cured green olives. Sandwiches (only one type each day) on weekdays, housemade pizzas and empanadas, dried mushrooms, pine nuts, etc. Very reasonable prices. Next to Union Square donuts. Smaller, more focused, and less crowded than Dave’s Fresh Pasta in Somerville, where there is a huge variety of made to order sandwiches, cheese, gourmet goods of all kinds.
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Richardson’s Ice Cream is a large, popular venue including other activities (http://www.richardsonsicecream.com/), with a satellite within the Jordan’s Furniture/IMAX Theater complex in Reading. But there are also many local indie ice cream stands which use Richardson’s ice cream bases to make their own offerings; these places usually advertise that they are making their ice cream from Richardson’s products. Kimball’s (main location Westford) is another huge venue with several other locations also bearing the Kimball’s name.
Oh, what’s the third board?
FTC for LA and SD related discussions
Oh, right. HO seems to be the alternative place for Boston discussion, so FTC is off my radar.
Are any ice cream shops are open in the winter ? We tend to eat ice cream year round even in the winter (I am talking about German winters which are considerably colder than San Diego winters)
I wish HO and FTC would merge - it would make everything easier and would create one board with serious traffic instead of two boards with limited traffic
Yeah, and potentially increase the visibility of both boards.
Massachusetts eats the most ice cream per capita of all the states so most of the places with heat and insulation are open year-round.
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Oh yeah. It’s also not unusual to see iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts at any time during the year, including during a blizzard. 
Crescent Ridge in Sharon, MA is a SUPERB ice cream place that is open year-round.
Here’s a list of various ice cream spots closer to Boston proper and a few outskirt locations that might be helpful:
