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Big shout out to Kendall Square. Just started working here. Tangential but curious, any peeps who work at Kendall Square have any good food trucks, restaurants,

Big shout out to Kendall Square. Just started working here. Tangential but curious, any peeps who work at Kendall Square have any good food trucks, restaurants, meetup's nearby to try out? I like Clover/Chipotle, Sebastian's is too expensive and co-op food court is still shut-down :( Are there any cool meetup's to check out at Microsoft NERD center or at CIC? Or any ideas about the hack/reduce, enterprise data science hacker-space vs. the one in central square which seems to be more DIY. Also any cool talk series/clubs I should check out at MIT, the only one I know is the 2600 meetup and also their computational biology talks at STATA. And has anyone been to the Kendall Sq. ice rink or any art-house film meetup's at Kendall Sq. Cinema or other recreational stuff nearby? EDIT: re: original post, I agree largely with the author's impression of the local scene not heavily invested in "progressive consumer-tech" and want to keep it that way! The Bay Area isn't for everybody and it isn't certainly for me, so I hope that not every city try to emulate that and try to find their niche.

cheshireoctopus 12y ago
If you enjoy beer, check out Cambridge Brewing Company. > The Bay Area isn't for everybody and it isn't certainly for me, so I hope that not every city try to emulate that and try to find their niche. Good point.
mattl 12y ago
I mostly work from home, and travel to the Bay Area about 4-6 times a year. There's definitely a lot of meetups around here, I used to go to a lot more of them than I do now. Unfortunately, it can be hard to get people to come from Cambridge into Boston and vice-versa. I'm talking about stuff in January at Akamai's office in Kendall -- http://www.meetup.com/desktop-linux-users-group/events/217495612/ http://www.meetup.com/desktop-linux-users-group/events/21749...
csixty4 12y ago
The Friendly Toast isn't right in the heart of Kendall Sq. but it's good for when you're craving diner food. Fun place, friendly staff, and boozy frappes. As for meetups...what kind of things interest you?
SloopJon 12y ago
Boca Grande near the mall is okay. MIT has a cafe near Mass. Ave. with slightly better burritos. Best pizza is at Emma's near Draper Labs. Downtown, Central, and Harvard are close enough for a lunch break. I got a season pass for kayak rentals a few years back. Kind of fun to eat a sandwich on the river. I also like to take a lunch to the ice rink for the Berklee summer concerts. The local IEEE and ACM chapters sponsor a fair number of talks. I saw Bruce Schneier after work earlier this year. Welcome to the neighborhood.
praccu 12y ago
Momogoose for life. There are a bunch of food trucks behind the T stop. Also, check out Aceituna.
- smeyer 12y ago
  Yes, this. Momogoose is fantastic. They have a truck by the T stop and a stand by the mall.
  - jkestner 12y ago
    Oh, have they started making good food? I've had pieces of plastic fork in my food, which itself was actually bitter tasting. When they got the order right. They rebranded with a hip paint job to keep up with Clover when it showed up and stole all the customers. Friendly Toast/Cambridge Brewing Company is a nice spot. Area IV could be awesome. Flour and Miracle of Science are the best.
    - smeyer 12y ago
      Yeah, I have heard the occasional horror story like year, but they seem to have things mostly under control. I haven't been eating there all that long, but word on the street is it's definitely better than back in the day. Definite second to all of your other suggestions as well. I'm glad to see HNers by and large seem to have good taste in Kendall area food joints.
      - praccu 12y ago
        Jumping (back) onto the Kendall food comment train: Other places I haven't seen mentioned: -- Squeaky Beaker -- Boca Grande -- Take-out from Similans Also, what happened to the MIT food court and when is it coming back? I want terrible Chinese food again.
        smeyer 12y ago
        I'm not big on Boca Grande (snobby Californian checking in) but am a big fan of Squeaky Beaker (and the related Second Street Cafe). If you really want terrible Chinese food, there are a couple of options in the Cambridgeside Galleria food court.
EthanHeilman 12y ago
I recommend Kendall House of Pizza (K-HOP)[0]. I used to eat there all the time when I worked at a datacenter in Kendall. Right across the street from K-HOP there is a great Greek place Desfina[1] (more of a dinner option but they do serve lunch). If you are willing to walk a little Skampa[2] has excellent Roast Beef Sandwiches. [0]: http://kendallhouseofpizza.com/ http://kendallhouseofpizza.com/ [1]: http://www.desfina.com/ http://www.desfina.com/ [2]: http://www.yelp.com/biz/skampa-cambridge http://www.yelp.com/biz/skampa-cambridge

cheshireoctopus 12y ago

If you enjoy beer, check out Cambridge Brewing Company. > The Bay Area isn't for everybody and it isn't certainly for me, so I hope that not every city try to emulate that and try to find their niche. Good point.

mattl 12y ago

I mostly work from home, and travel to the Bay Area about 4-6 times a year. There's definitely a lot of meetups around here, I used to go to a lot more of them than I do now. Unfortunately, it can be hard to get people to come from Cambridge into Boston and vice-versa. I'm talking about stuff in January at Akamai's office in Kendall -- http://www.meetup.com/desktop-linux-users-group/events/217495612/ http://www.meetup.com/desktop-linux-users-group/events/21749...

csixty4 12y ago

The Friendly Toast isn't right in the heart of Kendall Sq. but it's good for when you're craving diner food. Fun place, friendly staff, and boozy frappes. As for meetups...what kind of things interest you?

SloopJon 12y ago

Boca Grande near the mall is okay. MIT has a cafe near Mass. Ave. with slightly better burritos. Best pizza is at Emma's near Draper Labs. Downtown, Central, and Harvard are close enough for a lunch break. I got a season pass for kayak rentals a few years back. Kind of fun to eat a sandwich on the river. I also like to take a lunch to the ice rink for the Berklee summer concerts. The local IEEE and ACM chapters sponsor a fair number of talks. I saw Bruce Schneier after work earlier this year. Welcome to the neighborhood.

praccu 12y ago

Momogoose for life. There are a bunch of food trucks behind the T stop. Also, check out Aceituna.

smeyer 12y ago
Yes, this. Momogoose is fantastic. They have a truck by the T stop and a stand by the mall.
- jkestner 12y ago
  Oh, have they started making good food? I've had pieces of plastic fork in my food, which itself was actually bitter tasting. When they got the order right. They rebranded with a hip paint job to keep up with Clover when it showed up and stole all the customers. Friendly Toast/Cambridge Brewing Company is a nice spot. Area IV could be awesome. Flour and Miracle of Science are the best.
  - smeyer 12y ago
    Yeah, I have heard the occasional horror story like year, but they seem to have things mostly under control. I haven't been eating there all that long, but word on the street is it's definitely better than back in the day. Definite second to all of your other suggestions as well. I'm glad to see HNers by and large seem to have good taste in Kendall area food joints.
    - praccu 12y ago
      Jumping (back) onto the Kendall food comment train: Other places I haven't seen mentioned: -- Squeaky Beaker -- Boca Grande -- Take-out from Similans Also, what happened to the MIT food court and when is it coming back? I want terrible Chinese food again.
      - smeyer 12y ago
        I'm not big on Boca Grande (snobby Californian checking in) but am a big fan of Squeaky Beaker (and the related Second Street Cafe). If you really want terrible Chinese food, there are a couple of options in the Cambridgeside Galleria food court.

EthanHeilman 12y ago

I recommend Kendall House of Pizza (K-HOP)[0]. I used to eat there all the time when I worked at a datacenter in Kendall. Right across the street from K-HOP there is a great Greek place Desfina[1] (more of a dinner option but they do serve lunch). If you are willing to walk a little Skampa[2] has excellent Roast Beef Sandwiches. [0]: http://kendallhouseofpizza.com/ http://kendallhouseofpizza.com/ [1]: http://www.desfina.com/ http://www.desfina.com/ [2]: http://www.yelp.com/biz/skampa-cambridge http://www.yelp.com/biz/skampa-cambridge