The steak was OK - the accompanying jalapeno mashed potatoes blew it away. But it was cozy and relaxing. This isn't a sprawling area, so try to scope out all your options. To many of us, commercial Allston is first-apartment furniture, futons, cheap rug remnants, and thrift shop finds. All that is still there, but digging deeper will reward those who thumb their nose at Gap hegemony.
Shopping here is a trip both backward and forward in time.
Antique stores still line Harvard Avenue, starting at Cambridge Street, but you can also find shops selling the work of the young and undiscovered. Opportunities to buy used books and old rock records abound, but it's also possible to pick up the latest club music imports. Some 1950s paintings of Paris street scenes were too retro to be tacky. A lot of her stuff is definitely for the serious collector. She sent us to Smash City in the Allston Mall on Brighton Avenue.