mjlyons "...there's eating and whatever you do to get hungry again."

Kumari’s lunch buffet is better than most. The buffet selection is huge, the food tastes good, and it’s very reasonably priced.

The Indian+Nepalese buffet is twice the size as the average Indian buffet. In addition to the usual naan/rice/chicken tikka/tandori chicken, I found some unusual items like goat, mini-eggplant bangan bharta, and dumplings. It’s as if the chef couldn’t make up his/her mind and just cooked everything. I like to try a little of each dish at buffets, but I needed two plates just to fit it all.

Most of the dishes were good by buffet standards though weak if I had ordered them invidually. I wasn’t fond of the the chicken tikka – it was a little too heavy on the cream and not enough on the spice. Everything else was pretty tasty and the tea was great, like an all-you-can-drink chai latte.

The place could use a couple extra waiters. We went on a slow Sunday afternoon, but we had to work to get our bill (and get it back) because the two guys working there were scrambling to keep up. Don’t be afraid to flag down the waiter if you need something, otherwise you’ll be waiting all day.

The buffet was very reasonably priced at $11. I know I got my money’s worth (especially from the tea dispenser). I would definitely come back.

I went to Lala Rokh with my girlfriend, who has been wanted to go for a while. We discovered an nice, intimate restaurant with great food. The prices are reasonable for a nice restaurant – dinners are in the $20 range. The waiter was great too – helpful and prompt, but not doting.

I never had Persian food before, but it seems related to Greek and Indian food. I had a lamb dish but the name now escapes me. It had both sausage-like seasoned ground lamb and a cut of lamb. Both were both delicious. The basmati rice was oddly addictive. I don’t know what they put in it, but it sure was tasty. My girlfriend had a chicken dish, which I nibbled on and approve of. I’m pretty sure she liked it too – she didn’t share much with me.

I would wear something nice (by graduate student standards, at least). Guys, wear something with a collar and nice jeans or khakis. I’m no expert on women’s fashion so I won’t try to make women’s dress recommendations.

It’s also located in Beacon Hill, a nice place for a walk with a date. The Charles River is a few blocks away and the nearby MGH T stop makes getting to Lala Rokh easy to get to.

Just got back from another visit to Grace Garden. My advice here is to reserve a table ahead of time (sometimes they get booked solid) and bring as many people as you can so you can try as many dishes as possible. There’s a few items that you have to order three days ahead, so you might want to peruse their menu early!

There’s two menus – authentic Chinese menu and an Americanized menu. Do yourselves a favor and forget about the General Tso’s, and stick with the first menu. There’s a time and place to try something new. That time is now and the place is Grace Garden.

Also be warned that the place is closed on Sundays.

I’ve had some great gelato, cappuccino, and decaf espresso (I realize this is an oxymoron to most) at Pitango. If I lived nearby, I would probably pick up a cappuccino in the morning and a gelato in the evening. These guys know what they’re doing.

They also have a gelato with espresso, which I’m itching to try. Their hot chocolate looks really tasty too. I’d love to know how it is, but I’m not sure I could part with my cappuccino and find out.

Attman’s delicatessen is the place to get any food involving cuts of meat and bread. I’ve been here a few times and it’s dependably great. The corned beef is perfect, so don’t even bother getting a sandwich without the first time you go.

Today was the second time I’ve been there – the first was so good I decided to walk 15 minutes in the rain rather than visit the Subway across the street.

The line today moved fast but was pretty long for a lazy, rainy Saturday afternoon. Clearly I’m not the only one who likes this place. One of the guys behind the counter was passing out corned beef, so nobody took issue with the wait, anyhow.

The older gentleman in front of me kept bugging the help because he wasn’t satisfied with the cut thickness or some such nonsense. This is the kind of place where they show it if you’re a pain in the ass, but don’t take themselves too seriously to find some humor in the absurdity. It’s clear this is a family run place that’s loved by the neighborhood. The meats seem to be made in house or somewhere nearby, and you can really taste it.

Oh, and if you’re eating in, you can skip the line too.

$8-$10 might seem a little steep for a sandwich, but you are getting sweet, sweet quality meats here. The portions are just right for me, though not the gut-busting heaps of beef you’ll get at Carnegie (although at least one of the signs notes that this can be arranged). The sandwiches seem “just right” in every sense.

Tip: the menu boards overhead (there’s at least ten posted haphazardly) can be a bit intimidating, so I’d recommend just grabbing a takeout paper menu.

Pizza Ring’s motto is “You ring, we bring” but they should just shorten it to “you ring”. I ordered a pizza and chicken strips and it took them over an hour and a phone call reminder to actually show up. I was surprised by this as they are located a few blocks from my apartment and choose to advertise their delivery services over the quality of their pizza.

The pizza would have been alright had it not been sitting out for that mystery hour and was quite cold by the time it arrived. Same goes for the chicken strips.

They are pretty cheap, but it’s not much more expensive to just go to Basta Pasta and get way better pizza.

Just wanted to review some individual dishes… Read my previous review for this restaurant here

Redbones has a great selection of barbecue items. The ribs are great and they have a bunch of sauces worth trying. Portions are pretty big too – I laughed at the waiter when he asked if I wanted dessert. He joked that they don’t really have any, but no one ever calls him on it.

The dark side is that everyone seems to go to Redbones. We went on a Saturday at 8pm and ended up waiting almost 90 min. If they say that there is a 45-60min wait, this just means “it’s more than 45min”. I would recommend making reservations or getting delivery/takeout. There’s no room for waiting, so if you must wait, don’t do it in the winter!

Oh, and be sure to check out the drink menu. There’s lots of good stuff there.

First, John Harvard’s is known for its beer. Since I was having a workday lunch with coworkers, I can’t comment about the beer this time.

Lunch was good and everyone was satisfied. They serve the typical burger, salad, and sandwich fare and do it well. Prices are reasonable.

For lunch, the service was quite slow. It took a while to order, get our food, and get our check. If you’re in a rush during your workday, you should avoid John Harvard’s. However, if you’ve got time to spare, it’s worth visiting.

Granted, there’s not that many Indian restaurants in Northampton, but even if there were more, this would be better.

My family has been going here for almost two decades. Nobody in my family has been disappointed. The owners always seem to be around and are really friendly. They’ll chat it up and enjoy making suggestions (if you want). I’m amazed how they always get the spicyness level exactly right.

Although the place is always busy, I’ve never had to wait more than a few minutes to get in and can’t recall ever having reservations.

There’s really only two choices for Chinese food in Harvard Square: Yenching and Hong Kong Cafe. I’ve never been to the latter, but everyone who has tells me to stay away. So I guess Yenching is good by association.

The food is pretty good. It came out reasonably fast and there wasn’t a wait to get in. There’s a good mix of chinese food and americanized chinese food. Chinese and other nationalities seemed pretty happy.

If you have time to go to Chinatown, there’s better Chinese there. If not, this seems like the best option in Harvard Square