The other afternoon, out of seemingly nowhere, I started thinking about this late-night diner I would occasionally go to back when I lived in Somerville, right out of college. It was called Dolly’s and it was on Highland Ave. If I remember correctly, I didn’t even open until 11:00 or 11:30 PM. It was where we’d get coffee and French fries, or sometimes eggs. After a quick Internet search I found a blog post (scroll to #44) and an article about this establishment.

My mind then started to wander to all the other places I frequented circa 1997-1998. It was a great time to live in Boston, and Cambridge/Somerville in particular. Utne Reader had named Somerville “The Paris of the 90s,” a moniker we loved to bring up. 

Always having been a huge diner fan, I also remember Sunday mornings at Rosebud. They had amazing pancakes!!! Drew and I went there more than a few times when we first started dating.

I also remember a Mexican place called Picante — this was long before Chipotle was a thing — and they had amazing bean burritos. Other Davis Square restaurants I loved were Joshua Tree and Redbones. 

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention The Burren. Oh, The Burren! Every Wednesday I’d meet up with a few friends from UMass who were living in the area and we’d slog down pints of freshly-pulled Guinness and munch on fries with malt vinegar.

Oh! And Someday Café! I spent so much time sipping lattes there and grabbing coffees to go on my way into work. It had such a cool vibe. 

I also remember there was some discount chain book store — Books-a-Million or something like that. I can’t really remember. But Drew and I bought Christmas stockings there because they were so cheap. They were these cozy knit stockings and mine had an angel and his had a toy soldier. We still put them up every holiday to this day!

I also would occasionally go to the Somerville Theatre. I remember seeing The Sweet Hereafter there one afternoon. Davis Square was really this neat little community, and because Tufts is nearby it still had that college feel I enjoyed in Amherst. I think it made the transition from college to “real life” easier in that regard. I also had a great apartment that I shared with the friend of a college friend. It was like right in Davis Square so I can only imagine how much the rent must be now… so much has changed there (just like everywhere else I guess). 

I definitely feel lucky to have had that experience though and as you can tell I have lots of fuzzy feelings for Boston. The last few times we were out that way last year, Drew and I pretty much stuck around Boston itself (though we did walk around Harvard Square on one trip). Next time I’d like to take the T out just a little bit further and reminisce in person.