LUNCH "I like places that seem to have some authenticity and sense of place. You can get a great slice of pizza at Pinocchio's in Harvard Square. It's just a tiny walk-in place that's been around forever. They've got great deep-dish and thin-crust pizza. If you're looking for a cheeseburger and fries, the absolute best place to go is Leo's. The double cheeseburger plate there is one of the most sinfully exquisite treats you'll ever know in your life. There's a place called Grendel's Den, whose name was taken from the Beowulf character in English literature, and you get a nice cross section of your academics and your college people. They've got good wings. It's got a medieval tavern kind of vibe. Charlie's Kitchen is a nice divey kind of diner/bar."

BASEBALL
"You'd really be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't go to Fenway Park. It's sort of a holy place in Boston. At least it was to me growing up. It's our local Saint of Lost Causes. It's a beautiful old ballpark. If you go in spring, summer, even in the autumn, the air hangs low and heavy and the whole city seems to slow down and hold its breath to wait and see if the Red Sox can maybe pull one out this year. The ballpark is basically just as it was back in 1918, the last time we won a World Series. Babe Ruth played there before [Red Sox owner] Harry Frazee sold him to the New York Yankees."

SHOPPING
"A good reason to go to Fenway Park is for baseballs and souvenirs. Newbury Street has your upscale shopping and stores and fancier stuff. There's an amazing shop in Cambridge called Nomad. The owner is a woman who buys art in places like Africa and Afghanistan. It's all handcrafted stuff and really beautiful. There's no other place that I know of quite like it. It's one of the little secrets of Boston."