Welcome to Boston, the Athens of America. Many of you are new to town, or haven't been back since long-ago grad school days, so this is a good opportunity to dispell some misconceptions you probably have about dining out in the Hub of the Universe.

First of all, Boston-area cuisine is far more than clam chowda (with cream, and no tomato, thank you), pot roast, and baked beans with brown bread. You certainly can enjoy these fine regional delicacies, especially in places catering to tourists, but Boston's restaurant scene simply has exploded in the past decade to encompass a wide variety of foods and dining experiences. Indeed, Boston's reputation as insular and hidebound, while well-deserved in matters like sex, politics, and the Red Sox, no longer extends to food. You want nouvelle cuisine? Regional American? Japanese? Malaysian? Ethiopian? Mexican?! You got it—though, remember, this is Boston, not Austin.

And don't worry about service. Despite what you've heard, we Bostonians aren't really rude to strangers—except when we drive. Besides, most of the restaurant staff you'll encounter are transplanted New Yorkers enrolled at the Berklee School of Music, so any lousy service isn't our fault. Just sit back and enjoy the attitude. We do.

Above all, dining out in Boston these days is an exciting and pleasurable experience, especially if on someone else's expense account. If not, there still are plenty of reasonably-priced places to suit your fancy, though what strikes us East Coast city folks as “reasonable” may not exactly meet your definition.