Want to birfday but I has the dumb

October 14, 2008 12:28 AM

It's my Kryptonian birthday, and other than destroying Superman, I'm out of ideas for what to do in the Boston area.

I have no local friends and my local family is too busy for nighttime shenanigans due to the recent emergence of my squeaky new nephew. I've made amazing strides over the last several months in pushing through a terrible social phobia, so rather than play the hermit and be miserable and lonely as usual, I'm really in the mood to go out and have some fun, meet people and perhaps get a little tipsy ( or a lot). What are some good, casual non-frat-kid-filled places where I could sit, consume tasty beverages, perhaps (attempt to) chat with random strangers and revel in my advanced agedness on a Tuesday night in the Boston area? Eclectic/eccentric atmospheres are double plus good.

posted by Cat Pie Hurts to food & drink (9 comments total)

I'm an idiot. What does krypton have to do with your birthday?
posted by obiwanwasabi at 2:55 AM on October 14, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I think it means CatPieHurts is turning 36.

If I got it right, do I get a prize?
posted by neblina_matinal at 3:17 AM on October 14, 2008

I recommend Trident. I recommend Trident a lot, for a lot of things, because it is SUPER AWESOME.

It's a bookstore/café with breakfast all day long. They let you peruse books while you eat! I think if you get maple syrup on them, you probably have to buy them, but I've never run into that problem myself. DEFINITELY kid friendly. They serve beer/wine and chatting up strangers about books is pretty easy to do.

It's on Newbury between Hereford and Mass Ave, just around the corner from the Hynes stop on the Green Line.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 4:01 AM on October 14, 2008

RedBones in Davis Square, Somerville. Sit at the bar. Eat Ribs. Talk Baseball. Repeat.
posted by Gungho at 4:35 AM on October 14, 2008

obiwanwasabi: Krypton has a molecular weight of 36, and now I'm 36. That's my attempt at demonstrating my dorkish geektitude, and to add excitement to a fairly boring number.

neblina_matinal: Yes!

grapefruitmoon: I haven't been to the Trident in years. That may be a good choice. Thanks!

Gungho: Ooh...I completely forgot about their bar (does it still have the awesome artwork downstairs?). That's an awesome choice, too. thanks! (but, *gasp*, I'll skip the baseball part ;)
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 5:41 AM on October 14, 2008

So, about this prize...

Kidding. Have a very happy birthday :)
posted by neblina_matinal at 6:12 AM on October 14, 2008

Try Chez Henri. Not the restaurant - the little bar by the entryway. Despite being near Harvard Square, it attracts a very adult clientele; you will see nary an undergrad there, though possible a grad student or two. Friendly bartenders, good drinks, and fabulous Cuban sandwiches that are worth making a pilgrimage for. Even if you don't meet anyone fun and interesting, you'll leave full and satisfied.
posted by googly at 8:00 AM on October 14, 2008

re: underbones art - there are crazy murals and stuff on the walls - not sure if it's the same as in the past though!

Happy Birthday!
posted by o0dano0o at 8:15 AM on October 14, 2008

I've ended up in many a conversation in the bars near Chez Henri. Cambridge Common (argued about the Booker prize, I think. I'm pretty sure I tried to rally a defense of genre lit and got a drink thrown at me), Forest Cafe (something about physics? I threw the drink that time), and West Side Lounge (no drinks thrown, which probably explains the hookup).

If you want a place to fit your tastes but don't get out much and therefore don't have a set taste yet, I'd suggest a reverse Mass Ave Athon from Harvard to Davis. Start in Harvard (Grendel's Den, Charlies Beer Garden, John Harvard) and work your way up Mass Ave towards Porter. You can then swing by Cambridge 1, Cambridge Common, Chez Henri, Westside Lounge, Temple Bar, Forest Cafe, Tavern on the Square (Porter), Christopher's, Newtown Grill, Spirit, and then to Davis for Burren, Red Bones, Joshua Tree, Johnny D's, Orleans, and emergency liver surgery.

There are plenty of fish in the sea, so if you don't like a place move on. Bring a book, one that you'd be happy to talk about, to help tide you over until the liquid refreshment makes you chatty.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:39 AM on October 14, 2008