We have tix for the BSO next week, Wednesday night. Any Onions had any of the food options they offer ? Recs for around Symphony Hall lighter fare ? Not looking for a fine dining experience. One of us eats just about everything, the other not so much. TIA !
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That’s a tough one. Been years since I dined near symphony hall, and while the options weren’t great then it seems there are fewer options now. Prudential Center is not too far away along Huntington Ave, and Eataly has excellent options for lighter fare.
Personally I think Boston deserves a new, better symphony hall. Contrast the concert halls in LA, Miami, Akron OH (!)…
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Thank you, Max. Yes, a tough one which is why I turned to the onions. Last night I found two spots close by Symphony Hall - The Westland and Ichiban Yakitori - . They both are possibilities. Ichiban the more exciting and fun. Again, any onions been ?
I just looked back at my post when we last went to Symphony Hall for a daytime Pops concert (Sept 2023). We drove in from Arlington and stopped in Kendall Square to have lunch at mex. The other place we considered is a Korean place, Omi, with barbecuing at the tables which we thought Spring Onion would enjoy, but it looks to be all you can eat, which would be a bit of a waste on us.
I think we also considered Westland, but have not tried it nor have we tried Ichiban.
Good luck with your search. Please let us know if you find anything decent. We’re going back to Symphony Hall in May for the 50th anniversary of Jaws.
Several years back we ate at SRV before a concert and I don’t remember the walk being too bad. I do remember enjoying the food.
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SRV is a good recommendation. The walk is very short (just a few blocks).
Lucy’s Ethiopian Cafe is right across the street, but not sure how that will fly with the picky eater.
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Haven’t eaten directly in that immediate neighborhood for a while too. But South End looks very walkable, with a lot of options that are 5-15 minute walk away if that isn’t daunting. In addition to those already mentioned there is Petit Robert Bistro, which looks about 10-15 away.
Just amending to say that Yunnan Kitchen is a 16min walk, per Google Maps. I have tried their food, and really enjoyed the few meals we’ve had there. A lot of regional dishes you don’t see on many local Chinese restaurants. For your picky eater, MMV. 
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Thank you, all. Interesting suggestions. I’d enjoy all of them. Will post afterwards.
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haven’t been to westland in a couple of years — doesn’t look as though the menu’s changed much.
it’s solid —can recommend the westland burger and short ribs.
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Well, The Westland it was, primarily because of convenience. Yes, the burger is still solid and thoroughly enjoyed with truffle fries. Shared a fried calamari app - reasonable portion larger calamari than I prefer. Smaller, fresher calamari are sweeter, less dense to the bite. I quibble but we ate it. I went with the Tuna Poke Bowl. It was good, the tuna served with ponzu, both black & white sesame seeds. Bowl included shredded carrots, seaweed salad, avocado, mango, both cucumber & radish slices with a siracha aioli over cold sushi rice.
Hard to fault a place trying their best with minimum staff. Some pre-dinner prepping was done as rice was a bit dried out and the burger came out faster than expected. But it was medium rare, juicy and devoured.
All in all a pleasant night with a sweet waitress covering many tables. Would return if going to Symphony Hall again. Hopefully not wading through an entry area packed with Northeastern Engineering seniors celebrating completion of their senior projects.
And, we were thrilled with the BSO event we attended with WGBH, PBS & Ken Burns previewing outtakes of “The American Revolution”, a panel discussion and phenomenal musicians.
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Wow! That event was truly your main course that evening.
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I attended the same thing - was a nice event. Unfortunately, our pre-dinner wasn’t so successful. We decided to try LUCIE, the restaurant that now occupies the former Brasserie Jo space on Huntington. We were huge Brasserie Jo fans back in the day and haven’t been in the space since. Alas, LUCIE is a bit of a joke comparatively.
The space has been turned into something significantly more minimal than before (i.e. much less comfortable and much less nice; no tablecloths on the tables at this point), the menu is all over the place trying too hard to be globally influenced, and service is extremely lackluster. Basically just a really crappy hotel restaurant at this point.
My spouse and I both opted for the roast salmon entree, which was supposed to be “maple glazed” and instead came out with a 1/8" thick layer of chewy caramel on top. (Think candy apple coating.) I guess I can give the kitchen credit for its creativity; I’ve never before had a fish dish even remotely like that.
While on the topic of Basserie Jo downgrades: Apparently starch is verboten at LUCIE. There was no form of bread service, and the salmon was served on top of some braised cabbage, with zero carb aside from the sticky caramel topping. Which to me made it feel a bit more like an oversized starter than an entree.
Anyway, I highly recommend avoiding that place 
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So sad! Brasserie Jo was so great back in the day!
