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Union Square Allston
Rating Details »
Category: Local Flavor [Edit]
Neighborhood: Allston/BrightonCambridge St and Brighton Ave
Allston, MA 02134
- Nearest Transit:
-
Harvard Avenue (Green)
- Good for Kids:
- No
6 reviews for Union Square Allston
Everyone likes to crap on Allston but really the problems with it are aesthetic and ephemeral. OK, *yes,* there are some rats. However, I have noticed a huge improvement in the area--last year I would see rats the size of small children at least three times a week; this year, I haven't seen a single one. Also, there's no denying that the storefronts are a bit dingy, the streets a bit run-down. Beacon Hill it ain't.
But for all that, Allston maintains its independent vibe and Union square reflects this in its eclectic mix of restaurants, dive bars, ethnic grocery stores and used clothing/furniture stores. It's a place that embraces and provides options for people who are different, who are poor, and/or who like to get drunk.
You won't find boring chain stores stifling this area. What you will find is a dizzying array of restaurants, from Chinese, Japanese, Nepalese, Burmese, Vegan (two!), Lebanese, Thai and Brazilian. You can get your shoes repaired, your nails painted, and your hair did all on the cheap.
OK, it's not a place to come visit if you're a tourist, but it's a great place to live. It's urban, but still mostly safe (just avoid Linden Street after 1am...) and has plenty to offer its residents.
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Maybe you're from Milton or maybe even po-dunk New Hampshire if you are afraid of a few rats. And you clearly have not been to downtown Boston or Back Bay if you think Allston is infested with them. Go home country kid, but not before spending your parents' well-earned money in "Rock City". Allston is the place where the rent is cheap and the basements are deep. There are live bands playing every night of the week in some dive bar or dirty basement and it's the perpetual haunt of rockers, artists, the painfully hip and the overly tattooed. (It's also the seasonal home of BU and BC college kids- so don't forget the mace.)
If you are seeking something slightly more sophisticated than the "Sil" or the rock DJ's at the Model head to Deep Ellum (across from the firehouse) or spend your cash in the many "upscale" consignment boutiques of Union Square. Eat in Allston, too. The restaurants look like holes in the wall, but these are the gems of the city.
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I know that Allston has a reputation of being "rat city", but to be honest I've never actually seen a rat there! Despite it's setbacks and the crappier parts of its reputation, and the fact that you have to take the hideously slow and irritating B line to get there and back (by T anyway)... and the fact that it's really frustrating trying to find parking on a weekend night along Brighton Ave (and seriously, where else can you park?! Someone please tell me!) I've really grown to love Allston lately.
Tons of variety and things to catch my interest and keep me happy in the area, such as: Shabu Zen, Urban Renewals, What Once Was Vintage, Suvarnabhumi Kiri, S&I Thai, Nile Lounge, Super 88, Privus Lounge, Deep Ellum, Reef Cafe, Yo Ma, Punjab Palace... all places I love and in no particular order. And some more that have been sitting on my "must check out" list, including JoJo Taipei and Do Re Mi.
Allston, I never expected it but you came along and swept me up - just never let me see a cat-sized-rat here and I'll be forever grateful. And yeah, it's got its bad sides here and there but there are too many things I've grown to love about this area to keep me away. Definitely grows on me more and more, the more I explore and discover what it has to offer, and honestly whoever knocks it needs to just do a little wandering. Because it's pretty cool actually, and I can't stop coming back.
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What's not to love? Sure, Boston area newbies often find themselves lost here thanks to the MBTAs website (yup there's another Union Square - in Somerville) but this mini neighborhood on the outskirts of Allston is home to many a fine and dandy thing - and I"m not just talking about kitty-sized rats, vegans and bike messengers.
In this one little niche one can find a bevy of ethnic restaurants (Brazilian, Burmese, Indian), dive bars, small vintage and specialty shops and businesses along with Allston's "vegan row" (TJs, Grasshopper, etc...). For music fans the ICC church (small and national acts) and Do Re Mi (DIY rockstardom) are close by.
Also a hub for public transportation - the 66, 64, and 57 all come through here making the escape from Allston back towards the "real Union Square" all the easier. GTFO bitches.
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A seeping pilonidal cyst on the coccyx of Allston, Union Square is the terminus of the x-axis cathetus if you draw out a right triangle consisting of points at Harvard/Comm Ave (y-axis terminus), Harvard/Brighton Ave and Brighton Ave/Cambridge St. (Union).
Woe ye who venture through this Bermuda-esque Triangle of doom and despair - make the appropriate preparations beforehand (e.g., write out a will), travel in a sturdy, lead reinforced vehicle (preferably something military grade), and wear a hazmat suit at all time, or you're untimely disappearance and eventual demise is all but guaranteed.
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Maybe I'm biased because I live nearby, but man, there aren't many places that have more character than Allston's Union Square.
All the international restaurants/grocery stores/fabric shops you could possibly want. Several thrift stores (even if they aren't that thrifty). TWO VEGAN restaurants RIGHT next to each other. Dive bars galore. And the smell of yummy yummy donuts wafting through the air to reinvigorate you aaaaaall niiiiiiiiight looooooong.
Also, not that complicated to get to. About 75 buses go through (alright, maybe only 3), and the Green Line ain't that far away. So quityerbitchin.
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