Restaurant Guide
Coffee / Grab and Go
Bagelsaurus
Bagels made in-house with plenty of different cream cheeses and
toppings, and good coffee as well. Open until 3pm or whenever they run
out, which sometimes happens earlier. It can be hard to find a place
to sit during breakfast hours —
1796 Massachusetts Ave.
Bourbon Coffee
Coffee, creative espresso drinks, tea. Pastries are available for
breakfast, as are sandwiches and salads. Plenty of room to sit
down —
1815
Massachusetts Ave.
Star Market
Large grocery store offering hot bar, salad bar, and bulk dried fruit,
as well as all the other things one might expect a grocery store to
have. The quality of their pre-made sandwiches can vary. Closes at
midnight —
Porter
Square Shopping Center.
Panera
Breakfast, lunch and dinner options. Large basement seating area; good
for bigger groups —
Porter
Square Shopping Center.
Porter Square Books
Bookstore cafe offers coffee drinks, tea, and light snacks. The Vietnamese soft rolls are quite good. It can be hard to find a place to sit down here sometimes —
Porter Square Shopping Center, next to Michael’s.
Restaurants
Rod Dee Thai
Large Thai rice plates, curry and noodles. Vegetarian options
galore. Good for large groups because tables can be easily pushed
together —
1906
Massachusetts Ave.
Sugar and Spice
Also Thai. A little more expensive than Rod Dee, but also slightly
higher quality. Vegetarian friendly —
1933 Massachusetts Ave.
Passage to India
Vegetarian friendly food with a wide variety of options from north and
south India. Good for groups of any size —
1900 Massachusetts
Ave.
Anna’s Taqueria
Branch of a counter serve local chain with plenty of customizable taco
and burrito options. Also serves breakfast. Vegetarian friendly —
822 Somerville Ave.
Christopher’s
BIDA dancers often go to this pub after our Sunday dances. Burgers,
sandwiches, salads, pub snacks, and a large beer menu. (They also
serve cult favorite soda Moxie.) Vegetarian friendly. Good for large
groups —
1920
Massachusetts Ave.
Yume Wo Katare
Counter serve ramen in large portions. This is kind of an experience:
the restaurant’s name translates to “express your dream,” and if you
eat here, you’ll be asked if you want to share your dream with the
rest of the diners. (That’s optional.) You’re also asked to not use
your phones inside the restaurant. Not vegetarian friendly, no
takeout, cash only —
1923
Massachusetts Ave.
Porter Exchange
There are a few small Japanese restaurants in the back of the Porter
Exchange building. Sapporo Ramen offers generous portions of noodle
soup. Tampopo and Cafe Mami both offer Japanese home cooking, with $7
lunch specials. Yume Ga Arukara is the sister restaurant to Yume Wo
Katare, and it only serves udon noodles. Like at Yume Wo Katare,
diners are asked not to use their phones. Most of these are cash only,
and veggie options are scarce. (Sapporo is the exception; it has
vegetarian ramen and takes cards.) —
1815
Massachusetts Ave.
Upper Crust Pizzeria
Local chain, offering pizza by the slice or the pie. Vegetarian
friendly. Gluten free pizzas available, but the cooking environment is
not gluten free —
1782
Massachusetts Ave.