Eats + Drinks

Editors' Picks

By Dig Staff

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Southie pizza

L Street Diner

A category that could be a joke in itself, but the pizza at the L Street Diner in Southie is hard to beat. So long as it's piping fresh and piled with meat (we'd recommend the pepperoni) it's hard to resist the ooey-gooey slurp of a hot slice of their 'za. Often confused with the L Street Tavern (famously featured in Good Will Hunting), the Diner is where you go to get the pizza. For Chuckie Sullivan, head south three blocks. [108 L Street, South Boston. 617.268.1155]

A beer the size of a small child

Roggie's

You simply have not lived until you've had the Budzilla at Roggie's. This is a beer so large, they literally won't serve it unless you have four people at your table. Plus it arrives like a giant pitcher with a spout at the bottom. I know, it sounds like some sort of dream concocted by Anheuser-Busch (er, InBev), but, as Britney would say: "It's really real, y'all." Worth the trek to Cleveland Circle, pair it up with the 25-cent wings from 4pm-7pm, and you're golden. Size matters. [356 Chestnut Hill Ave., Brighton. 617.566.1880. roggies.com]

Voyeuristic food porn

L'Espalier

In 2005, the closure of the Prudential Center's Krispy Kreme triggered much lamentation, not least for the droolworthy display of the Rube Goldberg-esque conveyor-belt glory of extrusion and hot glaze. However, the spectator sport picks up anew with hyper-fancy L'Espalier's kitchen in full view from the mall's new corridor. The bustle of busy cooks should render you mesmerized, but we recommend not tapping on the glass—pity finding yourself at the mercy of sharpened knives. [774 Boylston St., Boston. 617.262.3023. lespalier.com]

Sack of meat

Dom's

When I worked in Malden, people talked lustily while scarfing down these turkey tip subs. "You've got to go to Dom's," they'd say. The next time you tailgate, this is a good look because the turkey tips also come lovingly pre-marinated in a plastic satchel. All you do is rip it open and dump it on the grill. That is to say, before heading to Gillette or Alumni Stadium or, hell, your backyard on a Sunday, "you've got to go to Dom's." [10 Riverside Park, Malden. 781.324.1310. domsausage.com]

Survivor salad

Lucky's Lounge

Despite what you may have heard, there're still plenty of artists in the Fort Point Channel. But the chic restaurants taking the place of some studios cannot step to the chopped salad at Lucky's Lounge. For years, this hideaway has fed many a starving artist, as well as hosted its legendary Sinatra Sundays. And though they just recently unveiled a new fall menu, the filling, and yummy, chopped salad—really just a more civilized way to eat nachos—remains. [355 Congress St., Fort Point, Boston. 617.357.5825. luckyslounge.com]

Unlimited access to stomach-burning spiciness

Picante Mexican Grill's salsa bar

For pepper addicts, the cravings come and go with vengeance. But there's a huge variety among satisfying experiences, from hole-in-the-wall platefuls of jerk to five-star gourmet chili wranglings. When you're feeling the laid-back, no-frills buffet kind of mood, the salsa bar at Picante hits the spot, with multiple punchbowls from which to choose (XXX hot? Verde? Chipotle?) and whole pickled peppers to gnaw for good measure. Capsaicin-induced endorphins, all systems GO. [735 Mass. Ave., Central Sq., Cambridge. 617.576.6394]

Rubbing Elbows with Literati

Grafton Street

Located just steps from the hallowed halls of Harvard, Grafton Street is most certainly a great place to rub elbows with the likes of Al Gore while visiting this now-legendary pub and grill. However, you'll also meet a dizzying array of cocktails served up by some of the most knowledgeable bartending staff this side of the river, a to-the-point menu of eclectic entrées and really great music, especially late night. It may be bombastic to say that this is the place to finish your dissertation while eavesdropping on your table-neighbors, but it's kind of true. [1230 Mass. Ave., Harvard Sq., Cambridge. 617.497.0400. graftonstreetcambridge.com]

So-wrong-it's-right foodstuff

Kickass Cupcakes

Although the Scots have us whupped with their deep-fried Mars Bars, ice cream and pizza (really), I think the last time we felt utter gluttonous glory on a local scale was the deep-fried Twinkie at the late Anthem restaurant. Kickass Cupcakes dries our tears and raises the bar anew with deep-fried cupcakes, only available during the heart-stopping window of Friday to Sunday. Battered and fried to order, these cream-stuffed vanilla homewreckers are our tickets to sweet, sweet purgatory. [378 Highland Ave., Davis Sq., Somerville. 617.628.2877 kickasscupcakes.com]

Sandwich/Salad In One

Cristo's 7 Star Pizza

Much like Churchill once said of Russia, the Chicken Hercules is a riddle wrapped ina mystery inside an enigma. How can you take what on paper looks like the ingredients for a standard Greek salad with chicken, put them on a sub roll and have them magically transform to this hero among heroes? We may never know, but be assured that after one of these, you'll be ready for your own 12 labors. [233 Elm St., Davis Sq., Somerville. 617.628.9090. cristos7starpizza.com]

All-you-can-eat chocolate bar

Langham Hotel's chocolate bar

In these tough economic times, you have to eat like a camel, so you might as well enjoy it with the best buffet in town. In its 20th year, the Langham Hotel's chocolate bar is offering more than 100 different treats in keeping with its "Decades of Decadence" theme, with recipes from the past, present and future. It runs every Saturday (reservations needed), and costs $38 for adults, $20 for kids 5-12 and it's free for any toddlers you feel like treating to a sugar rush and a warped sense of reality (chocolate for brunch? C'mon!). [250 Franklin St., Boston. 617.451.1900. boston.langhamhotels.com]

Selection/Distribution of Brunch Beverages

Sound Bites Café

In moments of desperation, one would hopefully pause before hollering at wait-staff to bring the coffee pot their way. But there are cases of extreme hangover in which the caffeine/hydration-of-any-sort just cannot come fast enough. Sound Bites delivers, with a fully stocked (Vitamin Water, French-roast coffee, teas of every variety) pour-it-yourself beverage bar. They've got soy milk on hand and fresh-squeezed orange juice that we wish they'd sell by the gallon in the cooler. The nonalcoholic selection still not setting you straight? Their actual bar can provide some hair-of-the-dog. Just don't sass the server when ordering. [704 Broadway, Ball Sq., Somerville. 617.623.8338. soundbitesrestaurant.com]

Next Day's Lunch

Greenlight Café

If the hand-drawn signage and witty repartee of its manager weren't enough to make your lunch hour a little sunnier, Greenlight Café, adjacent to Gaslight Brasserie du Coin, will fill your belly and make you the envy of brown baggers office-wide. They offer half-price treats between 4 and 5pm Monday through Friday, so with a little forethought, Greenlight will help keep your wallet full too. That is, if you can exhibit the restraint it takes to wait for the following day. Worst case scenario, you've bought yourself one hell of a dinner on the go. [560 Harrison Ave., South End, Boston. 617.422.0224. gaslight560.com]