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1369 Coffee House
If you were looking for a coffee shop where people linger for hours, you might be unnerved by the 1369, where it seems that some folks stay for years. Countless term papers and novels have been written at the small tables, though some come for the free board games. There's a sister café at 757 Massachusetts Ave.
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21st Amendment
A quintessential tavern, this basement-level spot has been an ever-popular haunt for overeducated and underpaid statehouse workers to bitch about the wheels of government. The place feels especially cozy in the winter, when you'll feel pretty good about yourself as you drink a stout near the copper-hooded fireplace.
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Abbey Lounge
Inman Sq's nastiest lovable dive doubles as a venue where a lot of local bands get their first gigs. Expect zero frills, cheap beer and some regulars who either should be in recovery or are cheating in their recovery efforts.
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Algiers Coffee House
Proceed to the second story of this charming café to find a pleasant wood-paneled room with a mirror-lined octagon cut into the floor, allowing voyeurs to peak into the goings-on below. On offer are Turkish coffee, mint chocolate frappes, beer and port. If not busy, it's a fantastic place to read.
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Alley Cat Lounge
Part owned by Boston Celtic Paul Pierce, the Alley Cat might be faux-sophisticated in the ways you'd expect a populist nightclub to be, but they've got a pretty sweet karaoke setup complete with music videos and a captive audience who won't run away from you since the line outside is probably too long to bother renavigating.
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AMC Fenway 13
This Loews is one of the only multiplexes that has a decent student discount - which is great, unless you don't want to be surrounded by students, who sometimes interrupt viewings with lame witticisms. The place has all the bells and whistles, including superior sound and reclining stadium seats.
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AMC Loews Boston Common 19
For first-run blockbusters, this generic megaplex offers big screens, plush seats and a central location opposite the Common. Though it has large theaters and 19 screens, popular weekend shows can sell out hours early. Should you need a stiff one to help you through Step Up, there's a bar on site.
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American Repertory Theater
For Tony award-winning experimental theater, this company packs their small house at Harvard's contemporary Loeb Drama Center. Set designs are generally creative, and even if you do see something of traditional appeal such as Romeo & Juliet or Carmen, it will be staged and performed with care and intelligence.
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Axis
The black, white, grey and red color palette and painting scheme feels very dated (think 1994), but they've got stripper poles and sometimes hire professional dancers (clothed ones) to use them. Thanks to the smoking ban, the lack of cigarette odor reveals that the place smells like feet, even when empty. There's a large floor and complicated light arrangements to make you feel glamorous.
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B-Side Lounge
Sliding into a booth at the B-Side feels like sitting in the back of a 1962 Cadillac - a really nice one that someone took great care of. The place makes good mint juleps, plays rockabilly and is casually stylish.
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Bank Of America Pavilion
This white sail-like summertime tent with sweeping harbor views hosts nationally known pop, rock and jazz performers. Shuttle buses run from South Station before and after shows.
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Bell In Hand
With a tourist-trail location and plaque proclaiming its status as 'the oldest tavern in the US', this sport no longer recalls the days of Jimmy Wilson. At night, expect to see a meat market bridge-and-tunnel crowd.
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Berklee Performance Center
For high energy jazz recitals, smoky throated vocalists and oddball sets by keyboard playing guys that look like dungeon masters, the performance hall at this notable music college marks an eclectic spot on Boston's musical landscape. Depending on the night, you'll hear student recitals (ranging from awful to excellent), the Ultra Sonic Rock Orchestra, invited musicians or instructors from the college.
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Big Easy
This club splices together iconic emblems from the great southern city in a superficial pastiche that has caused it to be ridiculously successful. It's hard to tell whether the place is mocking New Orleans, but come inside anyway to experience knock-off wrought iron balconies that overlook the dance floor, huge open spaces and oversized cocktails (hurricanes, of course). The music is usually pop DJs, with the occasional lame cover band.
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Boston Beer Works
With sixteen microbrews on tap, this somewhat slick modern room uses blond-wood tones and simple trim stools to create a design effect better than most sports bars. Scads of televisions form a ring that wraps around the bar, and the place is directly across the street from Fenway Park. You can also cheer on the Sox, Celtics and Bruins at the other Beer Works, at 112 Canal St, near North Station.
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Boston Center For The Arts
The BCA serves as a nexus for excellent small theatre productions. The playwrights represented reflect the edgy, contemporary minds and times of the diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds found throughout the region. Each year over 20 companies present more than 45 separate productions ranging from comedies to drama and modern dance to musicals.
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Boston Lyric Opera
Another longstanding company, the BLO is often featured on NPR and stages classic performances, such as a popular outdoor production of Carmen in the Boston Common. Their usual house is the Shubert Theatre, where you'll see Madama Butterfly, or The Barber of Seville.
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Boston Pops
Playing out of the audibly and visually delightful Symphony Hall, the Pops arranges crowd pleasers for the orchestra to tackle. Usually this means seasonal fare such as Christmas carols, movie scores and thematic mischief. The business is conducted by the dashing Keith Lockhart, making Boston hearts swoon since 1995. Tickets sell out far in advance, especially during the winter holidays.
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Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conductor James Levine leads a masterful orchestra through Schoenberg, Beethoven, Vaughan Williams and Shostakovich with great finesse. Though occasionally playing outdoors at the Hatch Schell on the Esplanade, their usual home, the breathtaking Symphony Hall, is a beauty with an ornamental high relief ceiling where most in the crowd will be dressed in their finest.
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Brattle Theatre
From thriller double features of Psycho and Death Trance to screenings of film noir, movies for children that don't suck (eg Dark Crystal or the 5000 Fingers of Dr T ) to the work of the Italian masters, the legendary old Brattle has been satisfying Harvard Sq for decades.
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Brendan Behan Pub
A top-notch Irish pub, candle lit tables, stained glass and old liquor cabinets combine to make a cozy den full of regulars of all ages and sexual orientations. On Tuesdays, watch underground movies taken from an independent video store across the street.
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Bukowski Tavern
This sweet-ass bar lies inside a parking garage next to the canyon of the Mass Pike. Expect sticky wooden tables, loud rock, lots of black hoodies and more than a 100 kinds of beer.
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Café Pamplona
The lack of background music and simple black-and-white interior at this spare and unassuming coffee shop will either quiet your mind or leave you edgy. The coffee is cheap and the reading material trends esoteric. Waiters match the decor.
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Cafe Paradiso
The Saturday morning regulars are so dedicated that some painstakingly organize their business calendars so they don't miss their spot at the counter. As he has for years, Luigi masterfully attends to the espresso machine and pours neat cognacs with efficient and understated flourish. It's a good spot to watch overseas soccer matches. Excellent desserts.
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Caffe Dello Sport
An informal shorts and tee-shirt crowd of tourists and thick accented guys from the hood sit at glass-topped tables and drink coffee and Campari. The relic of sign out front portrays a 70s looking soccer player about to strike in faded glory.
