davis_square | (no subject)

first off congrats on going to my alma mater! which programs are you two going into?

Davis is a fun little area, there are 3 great coffee shops (see previous post in davis_square), the somerville theatre gets some great live shows, Anna's is great for cheap burritos and a little further down elm street (ok a lot farther) is tacos lupitas, one of the best hole in the wall el salvadorian/tex mex places around. And of course the redline T is right there, so quick access to the city. I don't really go to the Burren, but if its anything like their other irish pub, its going to be good. And if you like candlepin bowling, there is a candlepin bowling/pool place that I used to go to every once in a while. Fun, and it used to be very much a local hang out as opposed to a Tufts one (though that may have changed in the 5 years since I've been there)...davis square electrology and laser (or skin care, whatever its called) has a very good masseuse (and an excellent laser person), and of course Johnny d's for live music and sunday brunch (cheap and one of the best in boston).

oh and Redbones for ribs and beer. And I don't even like beer (they have great lemonade as well).

Into the Drama dept - I'm in the MA program and my boyfriend is in the PhD program.

thanks for the info! I'm so glad I'm moving there in the summer, just so I can have plenty of time and nice weather to check out these places.

awesome! You will have a lot of fun. Are you new to Boston or just davis square?

I know cool people in the drama dept. And at least one cool person in my dept who might be taking Lawrence Senelick's class in the fall. Congrats!

New to Boston completely.

then welcome to Boston. The best thing about Davis is the T stop. The redline hits a lot of great areas that are best explored on foot (porter square, harvard square, kendall, charles, park, downtown, etc). As hokey as it sounds, I'd also recommend walking the freedom trail, it helps give you the layout of the city a little, plus you do pass a few pubs and get to walk in the north end (great italian food and, more importantly, canolis!).

My fave places to hang out are The Diesel Cafe (I harbor a secret fantasy of owning the place someday!), Namaskar (yummy Indian restaurant), and the Somerville Theatre (movies for $6 and they have concerts there as well!)

Thanks :)
I love cafes, Indian food, and cheap movies.

I tend to think of Davis as a great place to live and hang out for its general atmosphere. When I lived in JP, I felt little need to go there (except for bowling!)

So I don't really think I could pick a "favorite thing" so much as just saying it's one of my favorite places

Grabbing an ice cream at JP Licks, and taking it (because they allow it!) into the somerville theatre to watch a movie all by myself where no one can bother me.

diesel

dollar stores

The Sligo.

Well, eat :) Namaskar, Red Bones, the Blue Shirt Cafe, Christo's . . . among others. Diesel for coffee and the amazing chocolate-mint brownies (they buy them from an outside bakery).

I'm also way too fond of the Goodwill.

Does the goodwill have a large selection of stuff?

They have a TON of clothes, on two levels. I've been less impressed with housewares, but that's because I generally go looking for something specific, and don't always find what I'm looking for. But I've done well in the clothing department.

From Tufts, you're even closer to Ball Square (a "suburb" of Davis) where we have a funky coffeehouse called True Grounds, and two fantastic breakfast places -- SoundBites and Kelly's. And a new Mexican place which I haven't tried. It's a great lazy day square.

Soundbites has the best breakfasts in the whole area. It's not in davis, but it kicks the butt of any of the davis breakfasts.

where is it?

redbones, the burren, the diesel cafe, jp licks. (or the someday cafe if there's nowhere to sit in the diesel.) china sun has good chinese takeout and anna's has really excellent cheap burritos.

McIntyre and Moore, the used books store.

Also, Downtown Wine and Spirits easily has the most varied beer selection of any liquor store I've ever been to in the Boston area. One of my favorite things to do is find a beer style I'm not familiar with and pick up a few examples of that style. And drink them!

i second the comment about the mint brownies at diesel... they are totally sinful! and i don't even like brownies! :)

let's see, what do i do in the square?? brunch and live evening shows at johnny d's... hanging at diesel (they have 2 pool tables there, so you can drink coffee AND people-watch AND shoot pool)... the somerville arts festival (an outdoor craft/music/food festival) is fun... JP licks on a warm night 'cause sometimes there's someone busking right there in the little bench area... sangria with the girls at sauce... cheap movies at the somerville theatre.

When is the arts festival?

here's the address with the info:

http://www.somervilleartscouncil.org/programs/artbeat/

Cheapie cheap pedicures at Davis Sq nails (never a wait) and peanut butter smoothies next door from Blue Shirt, plus a nice sunny-day stroll on the bike path either up toward Lexington Park past the community gardens or the other way toward Arlington. aah...

I love pedicures. Do they do waxing there as well?

I was unimpressed with their pedicure. But I haven't found one I am impressed with around here, though. But the spa place across from Mario's salon (which is the best haircut in davis!) does a good job with waxing.

Yes, yes, great no frills waxing, I only go there.

Martsa, the Tibetian restaurant, has really yummy food at a reasonable price. Getting ice cream from JP Licks (*sigh*--I miss Denise's) and sitting out at a table in the square to eat and talk to all the people you find you know who pass by. Especially on a summer night. Art Beat (June sometime.) Open Studios (next weekend!!!!)

And MacIntyre and Moore, the used bookstore, is pure crack. Open to 11pm every night, with more bookshelf space than I'll ever have, they have a huge selection of non-fiction and academic books at really good prices. Crack, I tell you. Stay away. (The fewer people to compete with me over those things I want...) They do philosophy discussion evenings once a month.

I am obsessed with used bookstores. Obsessed.

I miss Denise's, too. Chocolate malt ice cream, hear my cry!

I also miss that JP fired (or so I'm told) Denise's employees. And their ice cream cakes are not as good. I think JP is trying to emulate Starbucks, but for ice cream, and it makes me suspicious of them.

I just wanted to thank everyone for their quick and informative replies. I can't WAIT to move to Boston - only another month to go!

I AM SO ENVIOUS OF YOU.

I've wanted to move to Davis for YEARS -- ever since I first visited my best friend at Tufts her freshman year. And I had to turn down admission at BU because the program at another school was just better for what I wanted to do. It killed me.

*cries*

Davis is just awesome. Everyone else has covered much of what goes on. I'm a big fan of the Burren and Joshua Tree.

enjoy it for me. :)

an ideal day in Davis:
brunch at Johnny D's
Diesel for a floofy coffee drink and mint (or, occasionally, peanut butter) brownie... am also really fond of Tosci's ice cream with espresso poured over the top.
shopping at McIntyre and Moore and Poor Little Rich Girl
fast, cheap, yummy dinner at Blue Shirt Cafe or Anna's Taqueria, or sit-down dinner at Namaskar, Martsa's on Elm, or Redbones
ice cream at JP Licks [though i still miss Denise's]
movie/show at the Somerville Theatre or show at Johnny D's
fancy drinks at Gargoyles or Orleans

[and in Ball Square -- get an chocolate-dipped almond cookie-thing and hang out in Powderhouse Park eating it. True Grounds, Soundbites, and Kelly's are also indeed wonderfu.]

[i also recommend House of Tibet in Teele Square]

Oh, and not to start a latte war, but really, the Someday is so much less self-conscious than Diesel. Maybe it's just that I like to root for the underdog...also, Someday's CHAI is homemade--best I've had anywhere.

I'm a Diesel fan myself, but even in my fandom, I will agree with you. I don't know how many Foucaudians are reading this, but the Diesel has been called "the lesbian panopticon" and I think the name suits. I love it for that, but I can imagine not everyone would!

Why is it the lesbian panopticon?

Sligo pub rules