Forget about the fancy-schmancy ice cream flavors, though. Go for coffee ice cream for a real New England treat.

The Parker House is a great Boston institution (though I think now it's the Omni Parker House?). Not only did they originate Boston Cream "pie," but also Parker House rolls. And Ho Chi Minh and Malcolm X both worked there as busboys.

designmr...thanks, but I stole it from a Holy Cross site...

Also, a signature dish has to be Lobster Savannah at Locke Ober's. A certified heart attack on a plate. Check it out at:

http://www.locke-ober.com/menu.htm

I love this. You know there's a foodie tradition when people have differing local favorites. So, Parker House for Boston Cream Pie, Union Oyster House for the chowder and oysters and several eateries for ice cream (I too am one of the few people I know who loves ice cream year-round).

Now if I go to Boston, I would definitely hit Cambridge and Harvard Square. Anything must-do or must-taste there?

In Cambridge, the Indian Pudding at Henrietta's in the Charles Hotel. The seafood and/or ribs at East Coast Grill.

Better check whether the Parker House still offers Boston Cream Pie. Just cuz they invented it a million years ago . . .

In Harvard Square, the place to go is Herrell's for ice cream, on Dunster Street, a little side sreet right off Mass Ave in the middle of the Square (near Au Bon Pain).

Back in the 70s, Steve Herrell established Steve's Ice Cream, which popularized the idea of custom mix-ins and resulting crazy flavors mixed on-site. After a few years, he sold the business (including the right to the name), took piano-tuning lessons, and retired out west in Northampton, but later missed it and re-entered the booming Boston ice cream market with Herrell's.

The Boston ice-cream scene was so hot in the 70s, there was actually sabotage among the businesses. A would-be arsonist got killed in an explosion on Beacon Hill's Charles Street when he spread an accellerant in a competitor's establishment, but had left the basement door open for a quick getaway, and the cold air caused the furnace to go on . . .

(Inside info based on dating Steve's roommate and a guy named Walt Kelly, owner of yet another ice cream place around the corner on Cambridge St.)

DON'T BELIEVE THESE HACKS!
Clams are clams, Italian is Italian.
But if you come to Boston and don't go to Mike's Pastry.........You should be ashamed of yourself.

Sorry to the above poster, but there are bakeries in the North End that are authentic and much better than Mike's. They fill cannellonis when you purchase them, and they don't fill them with Cool Whip.

I thought the question was signature food, not best food. Mike's Pastry boxes are recognized all over the country. Get off the plane anywhere with a Mike's box and people will always make a comment about their experience in Boston.

Some time ago a colleague bought us a Boston creme pie from the Omni Parker House. It was very delicious!

Boston's North End is famous for its many fine Italian restaurants and bakeries such as Mike's.

Also, Durgin Park in Quincy Market is worth a visit for the reasonable luncheon menu featuring hearty New England fare and corn bread. For us tea lovers, Tealuxe in Harvard Square and on Newbury Street in Boston is also a must!

and in Harvard sq that chocolate and tea room on Brattle.
Rebecka are you coming to the GTG on Friday?

cigalechanta, you mean Burdick's? Thanks for mentioning the GTG tomorrow. Was not aware of it. Not sure if it is too late to sign up? Can get to Kendall Square okay, but is Legal far from the T stop?

Okay, I'll second bennie's list for sure -- first thought was fried clams (lobstah's gud but we have to share it with Mainiacs).

Re: Ice cream -- you HAVE to have peppermintstick ice cream. Used to be a Howard Johnson's staple, now even Friendly's only stocks it around Christmas. Look for it -- and I don't mean the pink gluey stuff some places (Swensen's) occasionally try to fob off on you; I mean white ice cream with chunks of red-and-white candy laced through it.

Finally, how come no one's mentioning the dreaded New England Boiled Dinner. My mother insisted on serving it from time to time in the name of tradition, and I guess some people love it, but not me: you put corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes all in the same salty water and boil it forever. The resulting mess can be redeemed with enough onions, caraway seeds, celery, mustard and beer, but it still lands on your plate in a white, gray, and brown steaming mess.

rebecca. email [email protected]. and he can have them place another seat. come anyway, even if we sit at the bar nearby no. it's not far from Kendell.

We could meet at kendell I'm at hotmail.com

We recently went to the Park Omni Hotel and we had the Boston Creme Pie, and it was delicious!