There were two primary ways we ventured from MIT to the House of Roy at 12a Tyler Street in east Boston.  Mostly, we went on the T, Boston’s subway system.  We walked across the MIT campus to Kendall Square, which at the time was at the border between the east campus of MIT and the slums of East Cambridge.  We took the Red Line from Kendall Square to Washington Street (now called Downtown Crossing) and then switched to the Orange Line.  (One of the denizens at Washington Street came up me and my MIT friends in the T station and interjected a famed phrase, “zip, zap, zoop”.) At other times, we arrived by car, whether Joel Berez’s or others.

The House of Roy was a weekly staple of this MIT crowd on weekends.  (Note that the MIT dining system in this time and era did not serve food to students on weekends!) Check out an advert by House of Roy on page 4 of the 13 November 1959 edition of The Tech!  Wow!  I started eating at House of Roy around 1972!

The usual question once we sat down (and we rarely needed to glance at the menu) was: “n or n minus 1?” To translate: do we want to order main course dishes for everyone, or one less?

House of Roy was located on Tyler Street, not far from the infamous (in its time) Combat Zone in downtown Boston.  Boston in the 1970s designated some areas as its red light district, for prostitutes and others, and it was called the Combat Zone.

Since many of our memories of House of Roy are just that, only memories, here are some other memories of House of Roy to help us out here:

• http://criticalpalate.blogspot.com/2008/03/house-of-roymmmm-special.html
• http://www.nesfa.org/History/HouseOfRoy.htm

All that said, this seems to only be a first step in the door to this history. Looking forward to more!

– Rick

This modern and fun French restaurant at 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington DC was a favorite of many, not just us.  This location closed around November 2008 after 15 years.  Two Les Halles locations remain, both in New York City, though we’ve not been to either of them.  The current menu in New York is similar to the menu we enjoyed at the DC location, though some familiar dishes don’t seem to be on it.

Ah, but the memories.  We always looked forward to seeing Aisha and Mehti, waiters and sometimes sommeliers.  Celebrating New Year’s Eve and the new year through noisemakers, hats, and fine meals and drinks… plus the great desserts.  We even participated in one of the waiter’s races that they sponsored and conducted for many years.  We have many photographs to share.

We enjoyed the hanger steak (onglet à l’échalote), the merguez, the choucroute garnie, the pétatou de chèvre, the frisee lardons, and lots of other dishes.  Plus I remember having a special squab of pigeon.  And I always asked for a side of sautéed spinach (not on the menu).

Les Halles, a favorite restaurant where our memories will last forever.

Website: http://leshalles.net/brasserie/

But we find ourselves often heading to the Bertucci’s in Old Town Alexandria at 725 King Street because they’re close and we can eat outside with our dogs, and they’re very friendly and accommodating (like eating outside after the October Army Ten-Miler and the Marine Corps Marathon when it was a bit nippy, and since we brought our dogs).  And the food is wonderful.  We’ve enjoyed the Stella “artisan” pizza and the Silano “classic” pizza and others.

Website: http://www.bertuccis.com/
Alexandria telephone: +1-703-548-8500

Of course, Hard Times has branched out to over a dozen fine locations throughout Virginia and Maryland.  Hmmm… they’re also in old DC in the new Nationals Park!

They actually sell a selection of chili mixes you can use at home.  You can buy their mixes for Texas, Terlingua Red, Cincinnati, or vegetarian chili.  That said, I’m not sure I am worthy of using their chili mix.  It’s always far better when prepared at Hard Times.

On warmer days, we take our favorite dogs to dine outside at Hard Times on the bricked sidewalk right out front.  After your meal, be sure to visit David Martin next door at GoldWorks and discover the fine jewelry that he custom designs and produces.

Website: http://www.hardtimes.com/
Alexandria telephone: +1-703-837-0050

Website: http://www.pilinthairestaurant.com/
Telephone: +1-703-556-9191