A Boston University student and Allston-Brighton resident for the past 2 years, Vitor tells us about the stereotypes surrounding Allston-Brighton (they’re mostly true!).

Can you describe this neighborhood for folks that have never been here before?

It’s very lively, you see a lot of different people. It can be pretty dirty in some aspects, but it’s pretty nice. I like living here.

I feel like some of the neighborhoods around here—Cambridge and Brookline, even down in Kenmore—they’re classier neighborhoods, more family populated. It’s more college students here in Allston.

There’s a lot of trash. A lot of homeless people. There are always electricity cars, people in the man holes fixing the electricity that never gets solved. I’ve been here two years and they do that every day.

The outside view of houses are not very well kept. They’ve taken a beating over the years. Most buildings look old.

How would you describe the types of people that live here?

[Laughs] Hipsters, a lot of hipsters. You have the college students too. Also immigrants, familes too.

It’s pretty diverse, since it’s a college town and so close to BU where there are people from all over the world. You see people from different countries and different backgrounds.

Is this your ideal neighborhood? Why or why not?

I wouldn’t raise a family here, but for right now it’s ideal. It’s close to both school and work, brings them all together. It’s pretty much all I need right now.

Are there any myths or stereotypes about your nabe you’d like to dispel?

Oh my god. Alright stereotypes, it’s filled with hipsters: absolutely true. It’s dirty: yes, that’s true. People say it’s sketchy. It’s highly recommended not to walk around at night alone, especially if you’re a girl. I’ve heard cases of mugging and stabbings. Two people got stabbed two blocks from me, within three months. I always walk in defense mode.

What’s your favorite part about this neighborhood?

Being so close to Boston and Boston’s such a great city. There’s so many good things to go and see. I can bike down there. The nightlife is really good, it just sucks that bars close at 2 a.m.

Is there anything about this neighborhood that you’d like to change?

Yes, douchebags. Definitely less douchebags. There’s too many douchebags. You got your hipster douchebags, you got your preppy douchebags. People are too full of themselves, they want attention.

What’s the best part of your neighborhood to live in?

I’d say right here, on Brighton Ave close to BU.

Are there any bad areas in your neighborhood?

Yeah. Ashford Street or these back streets over here (Pratt, Gardner). There are a lot of drunk kids during the week.

What’s the real estate like here?

It’s mostly rent and it’s pretty expensive because it’s so close to Boston. You can find cheaper places the farther away you get from the city.

If you were forced to leave this neighborhood, what neighborhood would you move to?

Probably Brookline, it’s pretty nice and clean and so close to everything. It’s a little more expensive because  it’s so nice.

Are there neighborhoods in this city that you would never live in? What are they?

I wouldn’t want to go down to Dorchester or Roxbury. There’s a lot of gang violence and violence in general there. It’s a terrible place, you pick up a newspaper and most shootings and crimes of that nature are happening in those areas.

Do you have any advice for folks thinking about moving to your neighborhood?

You gotta like to a party at least a little bit if you want to live in Allston. ‘Cuz there’s always stuff going on in Allston and if you’re here and you don’t like to party, you’re gonna feel out of place.

Luke O'Neil

Plus, “You can learn a lot about a neighborhood from its dive bar, who goes there and what goes on,” according to Boston nightlife writer, Luke O’Neil who wrote Boston’s Best Dive Bars: Drinking and Diving in Beantown. The book is a compilation of 90 dive bar reviews, divided by neighborhood and ranked on a scale of one (fun for the whole family) to five (a wretched hive of scum and villainy) beer bottles.

There are the fratty, college dives like Punter’s Pub in Mission Hill, a college nabe where Northeastern and Wentworth kids hit up Punter’s to get wasted on the cheap.

Then there are the truly gritty ones, like BK’s in Roslindale, which O’Neil writes “practically has a glowing neon sign that says ‘ex-cons welcome,’ flashing in the window.” While Roslindale is improving and has a strong community feel, BK’s is a remnant of the seedier parts.

The Silhouette

And of course, there are the hipster hangouts like The Silhouette in Allston.  On any given night, Allston townies will be mixing with tattooed, nose-ringed 20-somethings, sharing cigs in the fenced-off smoking area or throwing darts and sipping on PBR pitchers.

Like Boston’s neighborhoods, many of the city’s dive bars could once be drawn along racial or cultural lines, say O’Neil. The lines are smudged today, but a bar like Riverside Pizza in Cambridge, which has a predominantly African-American crowd, still shows its cultural past.

“Relocate this bar into any other neighborhood, maybe even a few blocks over, and it would look much like literally any other dive you’ll find in Cambridge. But demographics, and history, have a way of transforming the makeup of a crowd,” O’Neil writes in the review.

It’s also a place where neighborhood family values run strong.

“A three-generation deep family is eating next to me at the bar, granddad on down,” O’Neil writes. “If you stay here drinking late enough the owners will bring over a few free pies at the end of the night. Family. Generosity. Community.”

Riverside Pizza

Geography is significant in defining dive bar and neighborhood characteristics too. Dives like Eddie C’s in East Boston, separated from the rest of the city by the harbor, have a diverse immigrant population and like much of Eastie, can be resistant to outsiders.

According to O’Neil, a dive bar is “a place that sort of feels like it’s been lived in and that’s been there forever and you can’t really imagine it changing.”

Which also makes dive bars a surprisingly excellent standard to measure how much a neighborhood has changed.

In his review of Ace’s High in Columbus Park/Andrew Square (an industrial nabe that is morphing into a more residential, hip area) O’Neil describes how this eyesore dive sits directly across from a new luxury condo development.

“This is the type of bar where you can feel the push and pull of the opposing forces working on it from either end. On the one hand, it’s a total dive’s dive,” he writes in the review. “On the other, it’s a fairly popular spot among the younger area crowd on weekends.”

And as other nabes like Charlestown and South Boston continue to gentrify, more dive bars continue to close.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if in the next 10 years half the places I wrote about are gone,” says O’Neil.

Not to fear though. If you’re searching for the cream of the dive bar crop, you don’t have to look too far, says O’Neil.

“The best dive bar in the world is the one on your block.”  What does your local dive bar tell you about your neighborhood?

A Jamaica Plain resident for 18 years (her whole life!) Michelle loves her diverse and authentic community.

How would you describe the types of people that live here?

There’s a lot of not tourists, but a lot of people from Boston who are starting to move in. There are a lot of Hispanic people. It’s kind of mix, there’s a bunch of different kinds of people here.

Is this your ideal neighborhood? Why or why not?

Not when I get older. I want to stay in Boston, I want to see new places. But I think it’s a nice neighborhood, there’s a lot of different people, nice people

Are there any myths or stereotypes about your nabe you’d like to dispel?

I think that people think that this is where the gay population lives, which is true. And there’s a lot of Spanish people and some nasty names, like Jamaica Spain. But the stereotype would be gay and Spanish people, but it’s everybody really.

What’s your favorite part about this neighborhood?

I like Centre Street because it’s a bunch of restaurants, a bunch of little stores, cool vintage shops, and all on one street. There are a lot of people who are regulars, but a lot of new faces too. A lot of people come here just for Centre Street and that’s definitely my favorite part.

What’s the best part of your neighborhood to live in?

By Jamaica Pond is gorgeous, nice houses, really nice. That’s definitely the best place to live.

Are there any bad areas in your neighborhood? If not, which street/block would you not want to live on?

I kind of live in a bad area. I live right on South Street and it’s right next to South Street Projects. But if you’re in the neighborhood, you shouldn’t have too many problems with it. I don’t see any unnecessary violence against innocent civilians or anything.

Are there any disputes or new developments happening in your neighborhood? Can you talk about the recent Whole Foods debate? (In which Jamaica Plains residents are resisting a Whole Foods store replacing the local Hispanic food market, Hi-Lo Foods).

Oh yea, there’s a big dispute. Because Hi-Lo used to be there and it’s more reasonable than Whole Foods.  I think Hi-Lo is probably more suited to the neighborhood than Whole Foods. But that’s all I can really think about, but it’s crazy there are riots and everything.

Are there neighborhoods in this city that you would never live in? What are they?

Probably Mattapan and Roxbury, because there are a lot of gangs. But that’s about it. I mean, Charlestown isn’t that great, unless you’re from there.

How is this neighborhood different from Cambridge, which is also diverse and has a lot of artists and young people?

Cambridge is really in the city, and [Jamaica Plain] isn’t really like that. It’s like it’s own little city.

Do you have any advice for folks thinking about moving to your neighborhood?

Just to check out Centre Street, because it has something for everyone.

A lifelong City Point resident and owner of Clair Anne’s Flower Shop, Clair tells us about the highlights of City Point.

How much has the neighborhood changed in the past few decades?

It’s unbelievable. When I was your age and I worked at Gillette, they didn’t like South Boston. They thought we were living in the slums. Now those very executives couldn’t afford to come and live here. It’s funny how it turns.

So it’s a positive change.

Oh definitely. I’ve met so many nice young people, it’s fabulous.

What do other people think of South Boston?

I think they love it. They can’t get in here fast enough. We don’t have enough apartments for them—everybody loves it! Everyone loves Southie, they all want to move here. That’s what I hear anyway.

What is living here like?

It’s good. It’s close to everything, close to downtown. You know I live close to my house, so I don’t have a big commute.

What are some secrets of South Boston?

The beach, but that was a secret until ’76 when the tall ships came in and after that it gradually became more populated. You have people coming in from everywhere. As far as Reading, the North Shore, they come down here just to go to the beach and Castle Island.

What is the best part of the neighborhood to live in? Are there some areas that are nicer than others?

No. When I was younger, there were places that were kept more nicely, but that’s not true anymore. Condos are everywhere, they all over place. Well, Farragut Road, that’s right on the beach. Columbia Road, that’s another beautiful road. Or near the Yacht Club, that’d be a nice place to live.

Is there anything you wish you could change about the neighborhood?

The parking, absolutely. But I don’t think that’s ever gonna change, as long as there are multiple people in apartments renting. I heard they were going to build a parking garage across the street here, but someone put an end to it. That would be nice, because then people could rent parking space. Sometimes I find myself not going out at night because I’ll say, “Oh what time will I get back, it won’t be until 9, I’ll have to walk from the beach in pitch black.”

How does parking work here?

It’s all on the street, it’s all resident parking. Unless you have a garage, which is very rare, or a driveway.

What do you like to do for fun?

Everything—there’s all kinds of restaurants, there are a few new ones coming soon. I love the beach, walking down around the whole island and having a cheeseburger. And the parks too.

Do you have any advice you would want to give people who are moving here!

Behave yourself! No fires in the backyard. We have new people next to me where I live and they started lighting these pots meant for the beach.

Sue, a stay at home mom and long time Back Bay residents (11 years!) tells us why she’s so happy with Back Bay and offers some good moving advice.

How long have you lived here?

11 years.

What are the first three words that come to mind when you think of Back Bay?

I would say beautiful, historic and walkable.

What did you think living here would be like before you moved here?

I really didn’t know because I never envisioned myself living in the city, I thought I would always live in the suburbs because that’s where I grew up and in Boston it seemed really hard to meet people, and it was at first, until I had a baby.

What is living in Back Bay actually like?

It’s great, we don’t even have a car right now, we just walk everywhere and take the T, which is great. You can go anywhere from your doorstep.

Are there any myths or stereotypes about Back Bay that you would want to dispel?

A lot of people think that it’s all stuck up, snotty rich people and it’s definitely not. And if you walk around you’ll see that there is a lot of nasty student housing and stuff like that, so it can be very mixed economically. There are a lot of wealthy people here, but there’s a real disparity too.

Is there a best area of the neighborhood to live in?

I think a lot of people like Commonwealth Avenue because you can look out onto the mall and the mall is great. I would pick that or Marlborough Street.

Are there any areas you wouldn’t want to live in?

I wouldn’t want to live close to Storrow Drive, just because of the traffic. But other than that, I would say it’s all pretty good.

What is your favorite thing to do for fun in the area?

I have a few favorite restaurants. I love Mexican food, I love just walking around the neighborhood and hanging out.

Do you have any advice for people who would want to move here?

Oh, make sure your furniture can fit up the stairways. It’s so narrow, especially the older buildings, so it can be very tricky to get furniture up.

What are the first three words that come to mind when you think about your nabe?

Crowded, fun—every time that there’s a game—and well connected. The T is out there and the bus comes right here. I don’t walk to school because I’m too lazy, even though it’s down the street.

What is living here like?

It’s a nice neighborhood, I like my apartment, there are decent people and not too many break-ins.

What’s the best-kept secret about your neighborhood?

Well the liquor store right there [on Queensbury Street, pictured in photo] is pretty good. No one knows about it out there, they go to the one on Boylston Street and it’s much more expensive.

What are people surprised by when they move here?

That it’s really quiet, at least from the main road onwards. They don’t know that they can go jogging around here and there’s actually a big playground over there where you can go jogging and play soccer. I didn’t know about it and I was very happy when I found it because I always play soccer and I have a lot of friends who will come down and play.

What’s the best part of your neighborhood to live in?

Right near Shaw’s. I never run out of food and it’s 24 hours and it’s quiet and my apartment faces the alley so I can mix my music.

Are there any bad areas in your neighborhood?

There have been a lot of break-in reports lately. One day my apartment was robbed and there were five other places that were broken into. That was around Peterborough Street and Queensbury. That’s the most scary, but otherwise not too much. I like this place. I used to live down near Boylston and that was a lot worse.

What’s the best thing to do for fun here?

The bars down [on Lansdowne Street] are a lot of fun. There are a lot of young people who go there. Plus the playground down here.

How insane is it on Red Sox game days?

It is crazy, to the point that I change my route to walk to college sometimes because there are so many people around. It’s a big family event so there are tons of people walking around and you can’t walk down there. So I just go all the way around to avoid it. Otherwise it’s nice seeing so many people and listening to all the noise. Like the day before yesterday, Back Street Boys performed and I could hear it—it was much louder than any of the games!

Do you have any advice for folks thinking about moving to your neighborhood?

Secure your apartment, but that’s about it. It’s a nice neighborhood to live in.

While the company offers several tour routes, I chose Back Bay’s Newbury Street: Boston’s very own 5^th Avenue, complete with perfectly manicured sidewalks and some of the city’s most well preserved brownstones. I was sure this tour would please my palette and my love of Boston.

The tour meanders down Newbury Street, providing a glimpse of  the sweet sensations it has to offer…

O & Co 161 Newbury Street: This first stop on the tour and probably the most puzzling since it’s a store specializing in olive oil.

• The chocolate: A nutella-like olive oil, hazelnut spread.
• The verdict: Creamy, delicious and downright addicting (I left with two jars)

Teuscher 230 Newbury Street: The holy land of chocolate, the pinnacle of confection: a Swiss chocolatier and the highlight of the tour, in my opinion.

• The chocolate: A champagne truffle made with chocolate flown in from Switzerland and filled with mousse made from Dom Perignon
• The verdict: The chocolate is amazingly fresh despite the 3000 mile journey and the mousse is sinfully decadent yet light and fluffy. In other words, the best truffle you can get your hands on in Boston. Yes, that good. A veritable chocolate awakening.

J.P Licks 352 Newbury Street: Now, all of you Bostonians out there are thinking this is an ice cream shop, not a chocolate shop. But really, what’s better than chocolate ice cream? I know, two different kinds!

• The chocolate: Brownie batter ice cream and chocolate ice cream
• The verdict: The brownie batter has delicious, chewy chunks of batter with a rich, dark chocolate taste while the plain chocolate ice cream has a milder, smoother taste. I prefer the plain chocolate because of its out-of-this-world creaminess!

Lindt 704 Boylston Street: We’ve all heard of Lindt and grocery store shelves are lined with it so I was somewhat disappointed this was included on the tour, but…

• The chocolate: So many flavors!  Ex: white chocolate vanilla, dark dark chocolate with sea salt
• The verdict: The dark chocolate with sea salt marries the perfect amount of sweet with just enough savory: 100% satisfying. The best part: the founders of Lindt were the first ones to take chocolate from liquid form to bar form-serious kudos to them!

The complete chocolate verdict? Newbury Street’s home to some pretty serious cocoa confections.

Los Angeles: Neighborhood Spotlight on Silver Lake

Seattle: Neighborhood Spotlight on Columbia Cit

San Francisco: Neighborhood Spotlight on Forest Hill

Chicago: Neighborhood Spotlight on Oak Park

Boston: Neighborhood Spotlight on Fenway

Austin: Neighborhood Spotlight on RMMA

The gastropub phenomenon is striking Brookline full force, bringing with it an abundance of gourmet fare and changing the way the nabe thinks of boring old pub grub.

I know, those of you who frequent traditional pubs and have actually been brave enough to eat the food are thinking I’m pretty crazy right about now, but believe me, this so called “pub food” will change your mind. So here it is, a delectable tour of the culinary craze striking Brookline. Brookline natives and visitors alike: dig in.

Bar Bites

My advice, as a seasoned purveyor of these fine establishments, is to start your culinary adventure off at The Abbey (1657 Beacon Street, Brookline MA), the newest of said hot spots.  Unlike its more robust neighboring establishments, The Abbey offers some light “little plates” to kick off the gourmet pub crawl. The menu includes up-to-date classics such as deviled eggs and bacon, and a local favorite, cod fritters.  The real gourmet kicker on the menu? The truffle fries.  Yeah, yeah, you can get them everywhere these days but these aren’t your average greasy pile of fries.  With their robust truffle flavor that explodes in your mouth and delicate dusting of parmesan, these truffle fries are sure to make a gourmand out of you.

Appetizers

Head down the street to the Washington Square Tavern (714 Washington St, Brookline MA) where you can continue your nibbling, and my recommendation is to nibble on the lamb lollipops.  Now, I’m not much of a lamb eater but I ordered these on a lark one day (ok, I ordered them after several beers) and have been a lamb convert ever since.  The bite size “lollipop” chops have a goat cheese brulee and are drizzled with mint oil and aged balsamic that cuts through the rich cheesy goodness.  Whether you’re a lamb eater or not, these, my friends, are truly not to be missed.

Main Course

Publick House (1648 Beacon Street, Brookline MA), Brookline’s original gastro pub extraordinaire, boasts fare like braised short ribs, house made bratwurst and mac and cheese that you can fancify with lobster, sausage and truffle cream.  Publick House is sure to make your belly a happy place and puts any old fish and chips to shame (although they’re fish and chips are really good).

Meanwhile, next door at American Craft (1700 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA), Publick House’s more family friendly gastropub, there are more tables, less bar stools and fewer, how shall I say… over served patrons.  American Craft serves up hearty fare with a New England influence such as baked cod, roasted chicken breast and fried oysters. Their burgers are also phenomenal and can be topped with any number of delicious topping including foie gras butter and truffle cheese (yes, I really like truffles).

So there you have it! This gourmet pub wonderland is easily accessed from the Washington Street or Tappan Street T stops on the C line. You’ll be sure to walk away with a bit of a buzz and a super-satisfied stomach.

Bukowski's Tavern is sandwiched between a parking garage and a bridge over the Mass Turnpike. Their burgers will change your life forever.

Like a burgeoning mushroom patch stumbled upon by a wandering hobbit, Bukowski’s Tavern is a  treasure-trove of delights growing–of all places–out of the side of a parking garage in Boston’s Prudential nabe.  Named after poet and writer Charles Bukowski, a man Time Magazine called “laureate of American lowlife,” the place is all things divey. Stop there on your way home from work for a pint of painstakingly selected draft beer. They’ve got mostly local, seasonal stuff as well as the requisite $1 schwill, so folks with both refined palates and duct taped wallets can find their frosty-glassed bliss at this hole in the wall joint.

What else can you expect to encounter at Bukowskis?

The Beer Wheel and somebody's baby. This place is full of contradictions.

-$5 Burgers that don’t just stop at bun-meat-bun; they up the ante with fixin’s like fried egg.

- A beer wheel that will choose an obscure, indie, high-alcohol-percentage brew for you.

- Angsty bartenders wielding just the right amount of  defiance and playing early punk from their own ipods.

- A leopard-print bathroom.

Next time you’re in the nabe of the Prudential, or Symphony, seek out Bukowski’s Tavern on Dalton Street. Find a dark corner–there are a lot of those–order a pint, and read the poetry on the walls. Embrace the dive and feed your latent lowlife.