I don't have suggestions about coffee, but here are a few other ideas:
- Central Bottle & Wine is the other side of Central Square and has interesting things in addition to wine
- I agree about Oleana, and Rendezvous also has tight seating. Green St is a little less upscale but probably more baby friendly
- For the Children's Museum, try Flour, a food truck, or takeout from TR street food, across the street from the Museum. Barrington's has very good coffee near the CM but is totally not child-friendly.
Enjoy!

If you have your 12 year old with you, I'd suggest Area 4. Menu is good, and if rain holds off and you can sit outside, the Area 4 outdoor seating works well. Highland Kitchen also is a nice comfy place in Somerville that is not too hipster.
In Harvard Sq, Bartley's is touristy but fun. On Saturday you could walk around the seaport/Ft Point channel and see the Tea Party boat, and just eat at a food truck...

TR has been open for a few days. I have had the tuna salad as well as the robiola grilled cheese w/ tomato and broccoli rabe, Both were delicious.

I've gone in the past, when it was at the Longwood. I'm not a huge chocolate fan, but there was always lots of good chocolate, and it has definitely been fun. I looked at this year's participants, and there seem to be some really good places - it will be interesting to see what Hungry Mother does, and Petsi Pies is always a winner.

wow - I hadn't heard! I was there about a month ago. It was a great independent place - I'll miss it.

I work in the area and think that Papgayo and Les Zyg are your two best bets. Both are lively, have decent menus, and neither is too long a walk. Blue Dragon is great, but often crowded. If it's before 4pm, Channel Cafe is funky and has nice soups & sandwiches. I still haven't been to Tavern Road yet, so can't comment. Let us know where you end up!

We use a roasted salmon recipe from Epicurious that layers the salmon between thinly sliced red onion, rosemary and thinly sliced lemon. Delicious and easy!

It has been postponed to Sat - the ticket purchase page says that.

Less romantic, but having been a B&W patient, I fondly remember takeout from Matt Murphy's ...

I also know someone who used Biaggio for a rehearsal dinner & thought it worked well.

We tried Daddy Jones this weekend and liked it more than we expected. The new decor looks good, and though the menu is pretty brief, we liked everything we tried. The olives were topped with a bit of feta and served with generous pieces of grilled bread. The phyllo apps were very nice, and the basic salad was good too, with large wedges of cucumber rather than tiny chopped pieces. We tried the mac and cheese sans bacon, and the cheesiness was great. Also ordered fries and beers. Service was just fine - we were there on the early side, so I'm guessing the bar will get much busier. Decided not to get dessert, but good to hear that was worthwhile.

We went to DC a few nights ago. The Taiwanese Eggplant was fabulous, the veggie dumplings were just ok. Also had pan fried noodles w/ veggies which were good, and tasty scallion pancake. There was no line when we arrived around 6, but later on, we walked by GDH and they had a line.

Bumping this thread after a summer dinner at Pasha. It was a mixed experience, some high points and a few "wouldn't try this again." In the former category, the vegetable moussaka was really nice - good seasoning, with a great tomato sauce. We also liked the bread, which was served with a tray of three small dips - oil, a spicy veg mixture and olive. The service was prompt and polite, and the Turkish wines were also tasty. It was nice to have Turkish coffee. In the "not again" the pide (like lahmejun) was excessively salty, and the baklava also seemed salty. Weird. The boureks/sigars were eggroll size and I was expecting something thinner. They tasted ok, just were too big. Overall, we liked it, but not sure when we will go back.

What I expected was the exact opposite of what happened--really liked the food, but was unimpressed by the cocktails (had the Americana and a Scofflaw variation). Fish and chips were very good, though the fries a little salty. Artisanal cheese of the day a nice presentation, and I tried my DC's grilled cheese and tomato soup & liked it. Decor is wonderful - a great place to be on a hot night. Service was good too. Will try it again, but Posto still remains my favorite for best cocktails in Davis Square.

Still haven't managed a tapas Monday but came for a summer dinner earlier this month. We never manage to get beyond the Lemon Buttermilk Pudding for dessert, since it is so delicious. Another perennial favorite is the vegetable antipasto. Scott Holliday had created a fascinating cocktail called the "Armchair Sailor" - Madeira, celery bitters, Creme Yvette and cava. One was enough but it definitely had a "salt air" feel.

Finally made it here a week or so ago, and really liked it. Yes, the chips were a bit oily, but really good, and both DC and I loved the salsa. The griddled queso and avocado taco was new to me, and that was a real high point. Fish taco and tostada were both tasty, but neither really amazed me. Friendly service, good vibe, and a well-made margarita too. Will definitely be back.

I also agree on Area 4 out of these three choices- plus, if the weather is nice, you can eat outside and it gets you to a nice area and they can see the Frank Gehry building. I might also suggest the Blue Room. While it's an old standard on the board, it's pretty solid and entrees are around 25 as long as you don't choose the expensive steaks.
Also think that Legal's Harborside could work nicely.

Your best bet is at a roller rink in Texas! (Grew up with it and loved it then.) Maybe you can sweet-talk the new M3 into including it on their menu? Maybe you'll have better luck finding it when the weather cools down.

Hi TF - I work right near the Intercontinental. I also recommend walking across the bridge to go to Flour for at least one breakfast. And you are also not too far from Drink - a great place for a cocktail.
In Salem, definitely stop by the Peabody Essex Museum - one of their main halls has lots of Colonial art which is beautiful, and very New England-y. Not sure where I'd eat around there though - I stopped into Gulu Gule cafe once and it was pretty nice.
JFK Museum is out on the red line pretty far - maybe other hounds can say whether this can be combined w/ a trip to Sullivan's, which is a classic Boston place for hotdogs.
Your dinner at Teranga could also be combined with a drink or app in the S End - the Gallows is well-liked on this board, and there's also Myers +Chang or you could fit in Coppa.
Have a great trip!

You could eat at Bartley's and have the cocktail at Upstairs on the Square. I like RHT, but think Upstairs' Monday Club/Zebra Room is a neat Cambridge experience, and it can also be great people-watching.

After researching the Chowhound boards, a friend and I had a really nice weekend in Atlanta. I'm a pescatarian, and she eats everything, and we stayed in Buckhead. Friday night we drove by Eclipse di Luna, but it was wildly packed at 8:30. Instead, we ended up at Southern Art Kitchen; the highlight was the fried pickled green tomatoes, with a nice jalapeno jelly. She had a selection from the ham bar, and we split a salad too, which featured some very good beets, plus pecans and other things. The cocktails were ok, but not amazing. For dessert we shared the bourbon ice cream - delicious.

On Sat we went to the Inman Park festival, and had a pleasant lunch at Across the Street. Not amazing Mexican food, but well-executed, friendly service, funky decor, and a nice patio. Wandered around a lot at the festival, but no amazing food trucks really caught our eye. Sat night we went to JCT kitchen. Friend had the duck liver mousse (tried to encourage her to get the angry mussels) and shrimp & grits. I had the vegetable plate, which was very tasty, but more stew-like than I had expected. For dessert, the doughnuts w/ meyer lemon filling were fabulous. Note to those who care - this place is seriously loud! Cocktails were better than the night before.

Sunday we grabbed coffee and baked goods near our hotel, and after a trip to the Atlanta History Center, went to Atlantic Station. Due to very few options there, we ended up @ the Yard House - I had no idea it was a chain until we were seated and looking @ the menu. Once again, it was a pleasant outdoor patio, and service was fine. I ordered tacos, and we split a too fussy salad.

Overall it was a nice visit, but plenty of options left for a return trip!

Tryst is indeed open until at least 11. They have a nice mix of small plates too.

Gordon's in Waltham seems to have quite a bit. There's also Urban Grape in Chestnut Hill - might not be cheap, and they are sold out of our new favorite Chilean --Lanzur. But worth a try. Mall Liquors has an ok selection as well, but the broadest selection is probably the Butcherie.

I'd consider Indian food. It's out of your official boundaries, but a few years ago I ordered from Bollywood Cafe in Lexington and they were great and pretty inexpensive! So I think Guru would be a good bet. Also, maybe you can call Greek Corner in N Cambridge?

We went late-ish on Sat night (9:30), and also had mixed results. We were seated immediately but there was a booming 80s soundtrack. I was a Mexican Cuisine fan in the past so was looking forward to Jim Fahey's menu. The margaritas were great - I loved my watermelon one, though it didn't pack as much heat as I had been expecting. DH had a regular, and pronounced it good. Loved the smoky salsa that came with the chips. We ordered the chile relleno and the baja fish burrito special - both entrees came out lukewarm unfortunately. (we were feeling lazy so didn't flag down the busy server.) Decent portions of rice & beans - I had refried beans and they were good. sauce on the chile relleno was tasty. We'll try again in a few months, but probably on a weeknight!

Yes, I've had the Avery's, but the bartender at Casa B hadn't heard of it,

Can't think of anything in Lex, but try Classic Cafe in Arlington Heights.

Last night, Casa B had a cocktail special - a Blood and Sand. Very nicely done. Also, I noticed a bottle of Batavia Arrack on the bar. The bartender admitted that it doesn't go with the Latin theme, but that he likes to use it to make a sour, and to wash the glass with scotch first. Didn't try it, but might next time.

Finally made it to Dosa Temple and all three of us enjoyed it and will be going back. We were there for dinner, so in order to get a wide range of dishes, we ordered the Thali and Madras tiffin. Also couldn't resist the Gobi 65, but have to admit I like the gobi apps better @ Katmandu Spice and Kabab & Tandoor. The teen ordered the kids version of the cone shape dosa and it was pretty much adult size. She was very happy, and also got an order of noodles that was nice & spicy.
As for the thali, it was mostly N Indian standards, but there was an interesting green bean and coconut dish. Plus there was a lentil donut w/ sambar & rasam.
The tiffin was a great combo - dosa, idli, vada w/ sambar, and an excellent veg uttapam.

As stated above, decor is very minimal, but service was helpful. We'll definitely return!

Sorry to hear this. One extra piece of cocktail info for when you finally get there. The night we went, a person near us had a pisco sour, and I watched the bartender crack and separate the egg right then - no premixed drinks there! The woman who drank it seemed really pleased.