Boston College Class of 2011 Forum

[ImACuckoo]

So while we're kind of on the topic of food (at least I was), does anyone wanna give those of us who don't know Boston that well a breakdown of best places to eat and/or best bars to go to in the Allston/Brighton/Brookline/Cleveland Circle/whatever else is in that area area? For what it's worth I'm not a "clubbing" type guy, but a regular bar lover. Then again, maybe some other people are interested in clubs, so whatever works.

[scoutfinch80]

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[ImACuckoo]

Wow, thanks for the info. I always thought that Brighton was a little more grad school students than undergrad, is that the wrong perception? People told me to stay away from Allston, but that Brighton/Brookline were fine. Anyone else have some good eats/drinks? I really will probably end up writing all of these down so that I have some sense of where I'm going when I get there. Also, I'm going to be going up to Boston sometime in June to look for a place, so I might get to check some places out before then.

[Dana821]

hey yeah that's definitely the wrong impression. brighton is full of bc undergrad students, allston is full of bu students (and bc-ers some nights of the week) and brookline is usually young professionals and grad students. just a general breakdown. if you're talking about housing, as long as you're not riiight on the T in brighton, like you may need a car to get there, then you'll be away from most undergrads. they tend to cluster on the T b/c very few BC undergrads have cars. also just ask your real estate agent for places away from undergrads, they'll understand and will show you places for young professionals/grad students. some of building owners/managers don't want undergrads living in their buildings, so they will show you those.

don't forget anna's taqueria on beacon street. dirt cheap casual quesadillas/burritos & stuff like that. seriously its like 2 dollars. i plan to go there this weekend when im visiting. i miss it.

in cleveland circle you got eagles deli (good), prestos & pinos pizza (both good, people tend to pick one and become cult-ish about it), Roggies is pretty good, lots of beers on tap, decent food (& they deliver, handy at 1:30am on friday nights), there's also another roggies down comm ave closer to allston. cityside is fine, ok food, decent older crowd for happy hour, gets filled with undergrads later at night. our house is a decent bar (comm ave in allston), white horse as well (harvard ave, allston)

bars in the area are fine, but usually at least one night a week is populated by undergrad students. for example, thursday night is bc undergrad night at white horse (at least it was beginning of this year, it changes periodically), and the kells is wednesday night (another bar/club right near white horse in allston on harvard ave.) so basically just avoid those places those nights and you should be fine.

[BCLegalEagle]

Hey guys, this is my inaugural post. After months of stalking this crack-like site, I decided to jump in and join my future fellow legal eagles (super clever screen name I got huh?).

Anyways, I'm quitting my job at the end of June, leaving the country for July and will have alllll of August to do diddly...Anyone here going to be in the area who golfs? There are some great local courses for cheap M-F with a student ID.

[Dana821]

haha i love your screen name

[BCLegalEagle]

Let's just say that BC probably didn't admit me on the premise that I was going to bring loads of creativity to the classroom.

[ImACuckoo]

I'm not really opposed to going to bars where some undergrads are. After all, I'm just finishing up my undergrad right now and I haven't really become a snobby law school student yet. I still have some friends who are sophomores/juniors on campus now so I don't really think it's that big of a deal to make friends with some undergrads. My main concern is finding a place that won't be having a house party next door every weekend.

As far as golfing is concerned, I'm not a golfer but I realize that I need to be one soon. Way too many people have been telling me about how I need to get into it and so I'll probably try picking it up on the side sometime soon.

[ImACuckoo]

don't forget anna's taqueria on beacon street. dirt cheap casual quesadillas/burritos & stuff like that. seriously its like 2 dollars. i plan to go there this weekend when im visiting. i miss it.

Sounds like a good late night place if it's open. What time do liquor stores stop selling alcohol and what time is bar time in the area? Don't worry I'm really not an alcoholic and I realize I'm going to have to work a ton in school. Still, this is the sort of thing that you can't really ask the BC staff. I'm sure I'll get everything I need to know about the school from them.

[Undecided83]

This is quoted from the booklet that BC sent to me "A Law Student´s Guide to Boston".

"Package (liquor) stores close at 11:00 p.m. Some choose to close on Sundays. A few supermarkets in the area sell beer, wine and liquor."

[Dana821]

Sounds like a good late night place if it's open. What time do liquor stores stop selling alcohol and what time is bar time in the area? Don't worry I'm really not an alcoholic and I realize I'm going to have to work a ton in school. Still, this is the sort of thing that you can't really ask the BC staff. I'm sure I'll get everything I need to know about the school from them.

bars close at 2am, so people head out around 10 usually. i don't think anna's taqueria is open late night, lots of places around bar areas are though. and I believe liquor stores stop selling at 10pm.

for housing, just tell the realtor exactly that, that you don't want to live right near lots of undergrads. they'll show you some good places. Steer clear of living in the area immediately around BC main campus, and also stay away from cleveland circle (beacon st, orkney, lower sutherland, etc) those places get loud and annoying.

Let's just say that BC probably didn't admit me on the premise that I was going to bring loads of creativity to the classroom.

So do we have any golfers in the building?! I went to undergrad in the area and currently live in the city (let's just say my alma mater isn't the most successful Beanpot participant of the 4...ohhh a little Boston trivia for you out-of-towners) so I'm close by.

so that means you either went to northeastern or harvard, hmm...

and i golf, but usually only with my dad, and i've only played at one course my whole life, and i use his clubs (don't have my own), so that might get in the way of golfing up there...he has about a billion clubs though so i can probably scrap together a set from his & my moms leftovers haha

[Dana821]

oh, 11pm. i didn't remember & that was posted before i finished my monster length post.

and be warned, some liquor stores only accept in-state IDs. really really dumb rule but i'm from New York and ive been screwed over a few times. also, they won't sell to a person with a mass. id if they come into the store with someone from out of state. that's happened to me before too. super lame.

[MMW]

I think Massachusetts has this law that says that grocery store chains can only sell liquor at three locations. The Trader Joe's in Coolidge Corner is the only grocer in the area that I know that sells alcohol. The Boston area tried to pass a law a year or so ago that would allow convince stores like 7-11 to sell alcohol. They put it on an election ballot and it failed. Right before the election it was weird because all the local liquor stores has signs up saying vote no for proposition such and such. I have never seen liquor stores so politically active.

[Dana821]

yeah that election was funny. it really pit liquor stores against grocery stores in the area.
it sucks that it failed though, it would have been handy.

oh well, we always went to marty's liquors in allston for our supplies (we had a car senior year). it's a bit of a hike from campus without one. they also have rules about how much you can transport at one time in a car. i believe it is 7 cases of beer, or an equivalent (such as 7 handles, etc.)

[MMW]

and be warned, some liquor stores only accept in-state IDs. really really dumb rule but i'm from New York and ive been screwed over a few times. also, they won't sell to a person with a mass. id if they come into the store with someone from out of state. that's happened to me before too. super lame.

I have lived in Mass for two years and still use my Ill drivers license. Only one person has ever not accepted it, and this was after I got in a small argument with the owner over something unrelated. The next day the cashier said that I needed an instate license.

[ImACuckoo]

Some won't take out of state IDs? That is one of the dumbest liquor rules I have ever heard. Especially for a place like Boston where so many people are from out of state.... it makes no sense to me. Learn how to check ID's and get an ID book if you're that scared of fakes.

[Dana821]

yeah it is really dumb. ive only come across this a handful of times, but the bigger places most frequented by students are fine. its more the smaller ones off the beaten path that have these rules.

[BCLegalEagle]

Well I've got another BC 0L and now Dana821 so it's looking like a Boston tee party. Oh, and don't worry about skill level (I'm not very good myself, but looking to change that). Plus there's always some good ol' putt-putt. I just don't know what I'm going to do with an entire month off.

Speaking of which. What are people's summer plans?! "They" say to just relax and enjoy yourself, but I'm thinking of getting a jump start on the learning. Might dive into some con law, maybe a lil civ pro...



...I'm so kidding it hurts. But seriously, plans?

[Dana821]

i plan to move up there august 1, and since i went to ugrad there, i still have a lot of friends in the area, and i plan to chill out for a month and party as much as possible before such activities are severely limited by good ol' law school.

there will be zero book learnin on my part for the summer.

[MMW]

...

[ImACuckoo]

I'm sticking around my UG for most of the summer and doing some traveling as well. Hopefully I'll be moving to Boston sometime in August and not have to worry about starting off with a Sept. 1 move in. We'll see if I can find a place that let's me do that. I have no desire to do any sort of intensive studying before law school. So yea, relaxation is the plan.

[ImACuckoo]

OK, so for those of you who are still putting up with my incessant questions, I've got some more. I can't believe I forgot to ask about this, but when do we sign up for football tickets? That's something I definitely want in on. I'd be interested in basketball and hockey as well, but I just don't think I'd realistically have time for that. Is it very difficult/expensive to get tickets to big games? I'm assuming grad students still go out for sporting events and haven't gone completely boring.

[JoshStein]

If you're looking for good foreign food, there's a bunch of it in Allston- especially around Harvard Ave and Brighton Ave. Check out the Reef Cafe for great Lebanese food! The guy behind the counter will probably try to sell you some blue jeans, which is weird, but the food is great. You should also try S&I Thai and India Dhabab, however it's spelled, right down the street from there. They're takeout places, but they're all cheap and delicious.

I thought out of state IDs were only restricted in certain cases- like buying a keg? I could be totally wrong about that, though. When the law was enacted, I was a BU undergrad and never had a problem with a Delaware ID. The closest I came was being turned down because the cashier was convinced that Delaware isn't a state, but I managed to talk my way out of that one.

As for golf... wouldn't a more full-contact sport be a better law school stress relief? Boxing comes immediately to mind, but that kills too many braincells. I was thinking of taking up fencing. I have never held a sword in my life, but I've been to a few fencing matches and they are absolutely terrifying. When you think about it, golf and fencing are fairly similar- you're just swinging at something else and there's less walking involved in the latter. If anyone's interested, I'd love to make a fool of myself in good company.

[Dana821]

i went to bc law this weekend! found an apartment, bought everything in the bookstore (basically), and went to anna's taqueria. it was excelente.

[GoodnessMe]

what area did you find an apt in? and good call on the bookstore... you seem to really be on top of things!