Welcome to Part II of A Hipsters Guide to Allston. (Here’s Part I if you missed it.) Today’s installment looks at Brighton Ave., the Garfunkel to Harvard Ave.’s Simon (the Hutch to his Starsky, the Hootch to his Turner). Brighton Avenue allows Allston to stretch a bit farther east than Harvard. The fun begins at the Brighton Ave./ Packard’s Corner T stop — a gateway to Allston of sorts.

  • As you get off the T you may notice a monstrous Asian market called Super 88. This superstore has miniature versions of all of your favorite Asian restaurants: Thai, Cantonese, Korean, Dim Sum, Indian, even Bubble Tea. When going to dinner in a finicky group, oft times 88 is the place that has a little something for everyone.
  • Attached to the dining area of Super 88 is the Super 88 market. With several varieties of steam-at-home dumplings and frozen Asian takeaway out the Yin Yang (get it?), the market provides delectable alternatives to Swanson frozen dinners. A warning, however, the produce and meat from the Super 88 market looks like it was imported from Asia via cargo ship, and with the number of flies buzzing around all the “fresh” food, I’d suggest sticking to frozen.

A little farther west down Brighton there is a little side street called Fordham Road, which is worthy of note for two reasons:

  • The Computer Loft – a certified and relatively inexpensive Apple Computers retailer, which is much more convenient and helpful than going to the Apple stores themselves. 
  • The second reason I tout Fordham Road is Wing It. With 21 different wing flavors and wings hot enough to strip paint off of walls, Wing It has probably taken several years off of my life. Not to mention, they have the best French fries in the city.
  • Across the street from International Bike is the Hess station. Even though most students in Allston don’t drive cars, I suggest peeping the Hess station’s sign to check the state of gas prices. As of yesterday, the regular price for gas was $2.99, which is the lowest it’s been in a year.
  • Just west of the Hess station is Spike’s Hot Dogs, an Allston staple. Spike’s has several different varieties of Hot Dogs, Fries and a contest: If you can eat more than five dogs in a sitting, you get a Spike’s T-Shirt and your picture on the wall. Spike’s employees, all of them too cool for school, give you the true Allston experience. Inside you could hear music ranging from the Magnetic Fields to Death From Above 1979.
  • The next block boasts a variety of restaurants, many of them are big versions of the types of restaurants you’d find at Super 88, along with the White Horse Tavern. Remember what I said about the Joshua Tree? The White Horse is just as bad. With giant floor to ceiling windows the length of the entire frontage, walking by The White Horse is like taking a trip to the zoo. Chest beating, teeth showing and feces throwing included.
  • Next to the White Horse is the slightly more acceptable Sunset Grill and Tap, which has a huge beer selection and all you can eat ribs on Mondays and Tuesdays.

This brings us to the corner of Brighton and Harvard which I wrote about last week. Herrell’s good, Redneck’s Bad.

  • Continuing west, there is Harpers Ferry, a concert venue that hosts both national and local musicians. Similar to Great Scott only far less cozy, Harper’s is as big as a high school gymnasium. 
  • Across the street from Harpers there is The Kells, another bar along the lines of The White Horse and J-Tree. Ladies get in free Friday night at The Kells. They don’t have to pay to get rubbed up on by blowouts and listen to “Don’t Stop Believing” every 15 minutes.

Farther down Brighton Ave the ethnic restaurants continue. S&I Thai, Burritos on Fire, First Bite Pizza and India Dhaba.

  • Then we come to the Silhouette. A good bar. What makes a good bar? A free popcorn, cheap drinks and darts. The back room of The Sil is a dart area with seven or so boards in a row. The Sil provides an alcohol haven from the general douchebaggery of Allston bars. The TVs are the size of TVs, not automobiles, and not all the music played there was written by Bon Jovi. That’s not to say someone didn’t try to beat me up once, just because I took his picture. On the side of The Sil there is a mural of famous Joes. Piscapo, Pesce, even bazooka Joe, though I’m still trying to figure out what James Dean is doing on there.
  • Continuing west there is a Burger King, if the McDonald’s wasn’t seedy enough for you, and a relatively inexpensive, but huge Laundromat. A laundry emporium, this also provides wash-dry-fold service.

At the next corner, Brighton Ave meets Cambridge Street in a cornucopia of paradoxically good food. Yeah!

  • On the corner, there is Twin Donuts which, if you can believe it, sells donuts. It’s open from 4 pm to 4 am and has the exact type of patronage you’d imagine.
  • Just across Cambridge street there is the vegan corner. TJ Scallywaggle’s, a vegan pizza place touts many fake meats and fake cheeses on its real pizza. In my mind there’s no substitute for cheese, but the smoothies are, thankfully, made of real fruit and real delicious.
  • Next to TJ’s is Grasshopper, a vegan Chinese restaurant which, on every third Sunday of the month, hosts an all-you-can-eat night for just $10. Hipsters, vegans, vegatarians and their friends come out of the wood work to do more than just sample the signature dish called “No Name.” No Name is General’s Chicken without the chicken, deep fried breading in orange sauce. Oh yes, it’s good. Also, the “beef” and kale selection offers the vegans a much-needed dose of iron. It is equally as delicious. It is not rare to see people rolling 14 deep on Grasshopper nights, especially in the colder months, as it has become a monthly Allston holiday – people schedule vacation days around it, and you might just see me there this Sunday.

This has been a brief, and this writer hopes, informative guide to a special corner of the world that is Allston. If anyone discovers a new hotspot, or place to avoid, please, let us know in the comments!