<p>this spawns from the housing thread: </p>
<p>For those of you familiar with the area at/around MIT, what are the best/your favorite places to eat?</p>
<p>Anna's Taqueria - I couldn't believe they had Mexican food that good on the east coast. It is right in the Student Center.</p>
<p>Well, for those going on financial aid with tight budgets - where are the cheapest places to get food? Besides the lunch trucks?</p>
<p>The food trucks are pretty cheap. (And delicious, too!)</p>
<p>Any sort of MIT-affiliated food (Lobdell, Baker Dining, Next Dining, etc) is not cheap. Anti-cheap, perhaps. There is a Star Market up Massachusetts Avenue right behind Random Hall. It's probably a good bet for anyone on a tight budget to learn how to cook.</p>
<p>That said, Thailand Cafe has excellent Thai food, and they almost always deliver in about 10 minutes.</p>
<p>Haha, just to hammer the anti-cheap fact home, the cost of food at the convenience stores is pretty steep. Sometimes downright outrageous. (Prices more than double what you would pay at the grocery stores.) If you are buying a lot of food, definitely go to Star Market.</p>
<p>oh yes. laverde's is the devil's work, and something i just found out: for milk, star is a bit expensive too. hit up the gas station convenience store on the corner next to random (aka munchies, for being 24/7) or the 7-11 in kendall square, if you're going that way, their milk is much cheaper. don't expect it to last as long, tho. for fresh produce, jaunting down to haymarket is worth it; v. cheap, lots of variety, lots of quantity, which makes up for sometimes spotty quality (which you can get around, by shopping carefully). and it's a fun field trip, too, especially with friends :)</p>
<p>other favorites of mine (not necessarily cheap, but good):
- anna's taqueria is good, and newly convenient. for those of us who like calories, it's grand.
- toscanini's makes the best. ice cream. evar. my newest fave: basil, tried some on sunday. pricy, but it's ok to splurge sometimes.
- cinderella's (cindy's), next to tosci's (but they deliver, usually obscenely quickly, like half an hour, ish) i'm inordinately fond of their calzones, which are ~$6 for a make-your-own, 4-ingredient 8-inch (i think, maybe 9) meal of goodness.
- mary chung's, in central (don't deliver, unfortunately) is favored for dinner mobs and just whenever you have a hankering for chinese, college staple that it is.</p>
<p>but yes, your best general bet is star.</p>
<p>any good pho places near MIT? I know there's a ton in Boston and one (maybe two) in Harvard Square.</p>
<p>Check out campusfood.com if you want something delivered. They have a lot of MIT area places listed and I find it's easier than calling in orders on the phone. Some of the places I like are Pu Pu Hot Pot, Beauty's Pizza, and Wing-it (best Honey BBQ boneless wings I've ever had). For going out to eat, I like Mary Chung's (Central Sq) and Bartley's Burgers (Harvard Sq.), but both those places are cash only (no credit cards).</p>
<p>I totally agree with everyone above about going to Star Market in Central for groceries -- LaVerde's is way too expensive. Cambridge West SafeRide stops right at Star Market and Cambridge East stops at Random Hall, so it's not too hard to get to. Make sure you get one of their orange frequent shopper cards to take advantage of sale prices (if you don't like the privacy implications, just sign up with a phony name/address).</p>
<p>I heart Emma's pizza</p>
<p>Best Chinese food in Cambridge is, in my opinion, at Royal East. Mary Chung's is pretty good too. Of course, if you're willing to go into Boston Chinatown, there's no comparison, but if you just want to stay local, those are the 2 best spots.</p>
<p>How much does it cost to have food delivered?</p>
<p>delivery tends to be free with a minimum amount of order; the only one i know for sure is $8 for cindy's. royal east is pretty good but marginally over my budget, tho we have a good number of team dinners there and bertucci's, which is also pretty tasty-but-pricy.</p>
<p>a more extensive listing of local and boston-area dining options can be found in the restaurant section of HowToGAMIT, which you'll receive when you get here, and there's also a compendium of vaguely current menus for popular joints hosted by an alum whose name escapes me now; ask around, and someone will probably have the relevant link.</p>
<p>I heard that Domino's pizza is the only off-MIT-campus food place that'll let you use your student id to charge?</p>
<p>Also, where do most of you go for breakfast?</p>
<p>According to the website, Polcari's will also take TechCash. It's in Kendall Square right next to campus, but it's fairly new so I know nothing about it. That and Domino's are the only two listed.</p>
<p>Um, I go to the grocery store for breakfast. Cereal and milk all the way.</p>
<p>LaVerde's and Alpine Bagel both serve breakfast sandwiches/bagels/muffins. The Stata Center has a place that serves Starbucks. But as for the pancake/bacon/eggs kind of breakfast, if you want it on a daily basis, you will have to make it yourself!</p>
<p>Polcaris is bloody expensive(however it is good),it is good , there arent really any places to get breakfast(in the pancakes and eggs sense of the word) at MIT, i guess there is little demand.</p>
<p>cereal and milk all the way. even at 1pm.</p>
<p>(no, i had work at 10 am, but didn't have time to eat first. breakfast is valid at any time of day, tho.)</p>
<p>how near to MIT is Sunny's Diner?</p>
<p>Sunny's Diner is right near Star Market, on the same block as Random (5 min from campus). I was very disappointed there, however, the one time I went for lunch. I ordered the "Super Chicken Salad Sandwich" because I'm a sucker for any food with a positive adjective in its name. Unfortunately it should have been named the "Mediocre Chicken Salad Sandwich". :-/</p>
<p>In other news I happened to still be awake at 7am last Tuesday so I checked out the Miracle of Science (10 min walk from campus) for breakfast. Had excellent steak and eggs! Definitely recommended, though a bit pricey (~$8/person).</p>
<p>Also, if you're going for something high brow I suggest getting tapas at the Dali Restaurant in Somerville, just outside Harvard Square. Excellent atmosphere and delicious food. Expect to pay ~$50 per person without alcohol.</p>
<p>Cheaper than that but still a really nice place to take a date is Typhoon in Boston. Actually some of the best food in the area is Asian, IMO. Anyway, Typhoon is very good fusion and traditional Asian (one of those huge menu places with all sorts of cultures represented). Nice atmosphere. Ridiculously slow both times I was there. ~$20-25/person sans alcohol.</p>
<p>So really the best way to eat at MIT daily is... well I haven't figured that out yet. Eating at the student center everyday sure gets repetitive. There's plenty of nice restaurants in the area, but you can't do fancy all the time (time, money..). Cooking for yourself is ideal, but time and grocery shopping becomes an issue then... if you're lazy I suggest mixing your menu of student center food with occasional microwave meals. Also, Alpine bagel sandwiches are actually rather good, and Star Market has a nice a la cart section if you have time to walk over there.</p>
<p>Also, look into investing in some appliances while you're here. The electric kettle is a great invention. Tea, ramen, instant oatmeal... it does everything ^^;;</p>