Burlington, MA Questions
 

I will be attending a conference in October at the Burlington Marriott and will be flying into Logan. Should I rent a car or is there subway access? What restaurants/shopping is in the area and what do you recommend. I love seafood, steak, Italian, and Mexican food but my per diem only allows $50 per day for 3 meals. Any help is appreciated.

I don't think you can get from Logan to Burlington on any subway or public transport. Check with the hotel in case that has changed.

MALLS/EATING: Just down the street from the Marriott is the Burlington Mall which is a really nice and fairly large mall.

They have a GREAT fast food Indian place in the food court (Gourmet India). Just across from the mall (behind Long's Jewerly store) is the Macaroni Grille for Italian (good and very popular).

The Marriott is on Mall Road which has the Burlington Mall and some other smaller strip malls with shops and eateries. Burlington as a location is very nice.

Thanks Jaya. Are there any reasonably priced not to miss local retaurants?

Jaya, I'm not familiar with Burlington Mall. Is it walkable from the Marriott to the mall?

THe Burlington Mall is a LONG walk from the Marriott but doable. There is very little going on in Burlington, however, right at the Marriott is SummerWinter which is a fantastic restaurant (in my opinion, the only don't miss restaurant in the area and lucky for you right in your hotel). It is owned by the guys that own Arrows in Ogunquit and they have won all sorts of culinary awards. It isn't owned or run by the Marriott so don't fear that it will be bland hotel food. They have little plates and it will allow you to stay within your per diem.

If you want to take a little drive you can go down to Wellesley to Ming Tsai's place Blue Ginger. It isn't that far and is one of the country's best restaurants.

you can google both of these places to get more info.

As others have mentioned Burlington is more than a subway ride from Logan.

The mall is sort of walkable from the Marriott IF you like to walk a mile or so. It is on the same road and there are sidewalks. Otherwise, I'd drive from the hotel to the mall.

Across the street from the Burlington Mall is a strip mall with smaller eateries like Fanagle a Bagel. They have bagles and a lot of bagle sandwiches. Theres a Taco Bell too. The Burlington mall has a food court with several options. There is also a Cheesecake Factory next to Macy's (not part of the food court). There's a Starbucks on Mall Road too.

Once you get to the Burlington Mall you will see all the places I'm referring too.

There's a Legal Seafoods inside Burlington Mall. Also Border Cafe, a Mexican restaurant, is just down the street from the mall. And I agree with Jaya about Gourmet India in the food court. It's very good and while the ambience is mall food court you can easily eat there for $10.

Another really good resaurant in Burlington is L'andana, although you will probably exceed your per diem allowance for that meal alone. It has Boston prices in a suburban setting.

Check at www.mbta.com; I'm pretty sure there's a bus from the Alewife subway station, at the end of the subway's Red Line, to the Burlington Mall.

I live close to Burlington. The only transportation I'm aware of is taking the Logan express bus from Logan to Woburn and then a taxi from there to the hotel. I think the bus is around $12 and the taxi is about $5/mile. I did this once and discovered it was about the same amount of money to take a cab directly from Logan.

I think the walk to the Burlington Mall is a bit long. If you do end up renting a car, it is pretty much a straight shot to mall. Not too far from the Marriott, you can head down 3A south to the Wayside Mall--it has Not Your Average Joes, Fresh City and a sushi place--all should fit in your price range.

Wow!! Thanks for all the great information. I think a rental car is the best transportation option. Any other restaurant recs?

I know the area vey well. You absolutely need a car to get around for starters. There are alot of good restaurant suggesitons already above. What are you looking for? After rush hour you can drive about 30 minutes and be in Boston, or 20 minutes north and you will be in New Hampshie where there is no sales tax if you are looking for shopping (You'll save 6.5% on MA tax).
My faves in the area that are mid-priced are Macaroni Grille, Border Cafe, Cheesecake Factory (in the Burlington Mall) and Legal Seafoods (also in the Mall). Fine dining has L'andana and Capital Grille.

L'Andana is probably one of the best restaurants in that area.

Is Logan the closest airport? Are there other airport options that I should consider?

p.s. L'Andana is probably above your budget if you order a la carte, but it does offer a $35 3-course prix fixe dinner Sunday through Friday. Here's a link to a sample prix fixe menu:
http://www.landanagrill.com/~landanamenus/pfixe.pdf

Logan is definitely the closest, at under 30 miles to Burlington. But Manchester is only about 45. if you got a very good deal, it wouldn't be bad.

you absolutely want a car. its the suburbs.

There used to be a really good Indian restaurant in the Burlington Mall. Oh wait, I see Jaya has already mentioned it. It is surprisingly good. Also, The Lemon Tree is good Thai in Burlington.

The Lemon Tree is only a few minutes from where you're staying. It's a small place and you could miss it. Ask the hotel for directions.

While Logan is a bit closer to the Burlington Marriott, be sure to check prices on flights to Manchester, NH, especially if you can fly Southwest. Check car rental prices at Logan and Manchester also. You'll likely find fares/rates considerably less for Manchester. And, though a bit farther than Logan, it's an easier drive.

Rental cars are pricey so I was wondering if anyone could recommend a shuttle service from Logan to Burlington and the approximate price for a round trip.

Thanks djkbooks. I chose Logan because I want to do some sightseeing in Boston. I'm not familiar with the area and need to know if Manchester's proximity is conducive to both Burlington and Boston?

If your target area is Burlington and Boston, then fly into Boston.

For future reference, Manchester, NH airport is a delight among airports and has super easy highway access. It would be about 45 minutes from Manchester to Burlington once you're on the highway.

It's usually only the price that makes us skip on Manchester and fly out of Boston.