| If you're going to a show in one of Boston's | | | | down-home goodness with sophisticated tastes. Try |
| downtown theaters or comedy clubs, be sure to plan | | | | the braised pork shank with mashed sweet |
| a gala pre-curtain dinner or a post-theater drink and | | | | potatoes... or maybe a small plate of truffled deviled |
| dessert at one of Boston's Theatre District | | | | eggs, or some chicken Milanese. |
| restaurants . Here are suggestions for three of the | | | | For an after-theater treat, stop by Teatro for a |
| best - plus a nearby food court where you can grab | | | | glass of Italian wine or perhaps espresso, and one of |
| a fast bite if you're running so late that you're about | | | | their fabulous desserts. Try their chocolate |
| to miss the opening act. | | | | semifreddo with crisp meringue and salted caramel |
| Jacob Wirth (31-37 Stuart Street, Boston) has been | | | | expresso sauc ...or the vanilla bean panna cotta with |
| serving hearty German food and great beer to | | | | strawberries...or the homemade, out-of-this-world |
| Bostonians since 1868. Like many other restaurants | | | | gelato. |
| started around the same time, Jacob Wirth was | | | | Erbaluce (69 Church Street), near the Charles |
| opened by German immigrants who served up | | | | Playhouse theater and Improv Asylum comedy club, |
| specialties like sauerbraten and wiener schnitzel. | | | | features Piedmontese-influenced contemporary dishes |
| Although American favorites like burgers, fish and | | | | starring fresh fish, organic meats, and lots of veggies |
| chips, sweet potato fries, sandwiches, and mac and | | | | and herbs. Chef/owner Charles Draghi has been |
| cheese are now now equally popular, one thing hasn't | | | | receiving acclaim for his unusual offerings such as wild |
| changed during the last 140 years: the great beer. | | | | boar. Desserts get high marks here as well. |
| The restaurant's Jake's Bar features an excellent | | | | City Place Food Court (ground floor of the |
| selection of German and Belgium beers, but you can | | | | Massachusetts Transportation Building at the |
| also order plenty of other European and American | | | | intersection of Stuart, Charles, and Boylston Streets) |
| labels. | | | | doesn't compete with Theatre District restaurants |
| Because Jacob Wirth is right in the middle of Boston's | | | | like Jacob Wirth, Teatro, or Erbaluce for cuisine--in |
| Theatre District, lots of theater goers and local | | | | fact, it offers basically what you'd find in any |
| regulars gather here every night. Jake's is a special | | | | shopping mall food court. But for those times when |
| destination on Fridays, when a live piano player, song | | | | despite your best intentions, your schedule slips and |
| books, and enthusiastic singers carry on a old | | | | you're about to miss the first act, it's a good option |
| tradition of conviviality that carries forward into the | | | | as well as an attractive space. |
| 21st century. Great food, reasonable prices, and of | | | | One of Boston's premier architecture firms, Goody, |
| course, the best beer in Boston make this a winner. | | | | Clancy & Associates designed the |
| Teatro (177 Tremont Street), on the edge of the | | | | Transportation Building back in the 1980s, and food |
| Boston Theatre District, has a spectacular setting | | | | court is in the middle of a soaring atrium that opens |
| overlooking Boston Common. Inside, the arched | | | | to the upper parts of the building. When you leave, |
| mosaic ceiling and celebrity chef/owner Jamie | | | | go out through "The Alley" toward Boylston Street |
| Mammamo's open kitchen provide drama of their | | | | and take note of the nightspots that you'll pass, in |
| own. The mostly Italian, always yummy cuisine can | | | | case you want to return later for an after-theater |
| be served as small plates or full portions and mixes | | | | drink. |