EATING & WORKING:
Don’t Go To Blackbird Doughnuts, Go To Flour Bakery + Cafe
Before people get upset, we’re not saying that the Smith Center is not a good place to get some work done. We love the Smith Center. However, we think that Blackbird Doughnuts is forgettable and should be replaced.
Blackbird Doughnuts has one of the most limited menus anywhere on campus. The doughnuts are sugar-coated, candied, and filled with artificial flavors that leave you in search of the bathroom. In addition to their subpar food, their coffee is comparable to that of a Motel 6. Tucked away behind the elevators of the Smith Center, the atmosphere feels barren and desolate. While Blackbird is a serviceable coffee and doughnut shop, many other options are better and less expensive.
Waking up late in the morning with a pounding headache, the best spot on campus for breakfast is Flour. Their food can be pricey but is some of the best in the Square. Their BLT or breakfast sandwich with bacon are both classics and consistently put a well-worth-dent in my bank account. Their iced coffee with a splash of oat milk is both strong and rich, getting me dialed for a long day of work. Their homemade pop tarts and banana bread are both gourmet renditions of worldwide favorites, and on top of having great food, Flour has a lot of natural light and extensive seating. Throw on some headphones, and Flour is the ideal spot to grind away all of your work on a Sunday morning.
LATE NIGHT BITE:
Don’t Go to Pinocchio’s, Go to Falafel Corner
The Pinocchio’s line regularly snakes between crowded tables, through the front door, and down Winthrop Street. Every seat seems perpetually occupied, and drunken voices echo so loudly you can barely hear your own thoughts. Two slices can run you upwards of eight dollars, and their toppings vary greatly from night to night. Some evenings, we’ve waited in long lines only to be stuck with two disappointing veggie slices. When it is not overcrowded, Pinocchio’s has a certain charm to it. The walls are covered in autographed pictures of celebrities, and the workers take their time to joke around with each customer. But when you take all of that away, it really is just pizza. The night-time rush often hides the photographs from view and forces the employees to forego their banter with customers. If all you’re going to get are a few slices of veggie pizza, there are simply better options in the Square.
Alternatively, Falafel Corner is a hidden gem that rarely has a line. A quaint restaurant nestled next to Charlie’s Kitchen on Eliot Street, Falafel Corner holds a special place in our heart—we both made the trek from Matthews down to the Middle Eastern joint almost every night of our second semester. After our dozens of visits, when we head over to get our shawarma, the owners greet us as we walk through the doors. Before we can say a word, they throw our usuals on the grill, ring us up, and by the time we climb the five stairs to the register, take our extras off the bill. While most people order to-go, we sit in the basement—it’s quiet and oddly cozy. Boxes of old belongings are stacked in the corner—a tennis trophy, assorted artwork, and other tchotchkes.
Our go-to order is the mixed roll-up with garlic paste and hummus. First, they place chicken and lamb shawarma. Then, they wrap the pita in parchment paper before toasting it right in front of you. The warm pita, the well-seasoned meats, and the spectacular sauces make the dish my favorite way to cap off a night out.
SIT-DOWN ASIAN FOOD:
Don’t Go to Santouka, Go To Nine Tastes
Santouka is an unjustly more common destination. To an average passerby, Santouka appears to be one of the best places in town thanks to the volume of customers outside their doors. However, their food tastes unseasoned and oily, and is not worth its steep price. Santouka’s seating is cramped, and patrons attempting conversation will compete with noisy ramen slurping from other tables. The much better alternative, Nine Tastes, sits just a block away.
Located in between an ice cream shop and a sex store on JFK Street, Nine Tastes flies under the radar. From the outside, Ninetastes has a humble appearance. It features creaky double doors and a crammed staircase that seems to lead down to an abyss. However, the atmosphere downstairs is lively and bright. They serve a wide variety of Thai cuisine, with out-of-this-world spring rolls, drunken noodles, Pad see ew, and Pad Thai. Ninetastes is a great place to go with friends and order a variety of Thai dishes, enjoying the large amounts of spicy food.
DATE NIGHT SPOT:
Don’t Go To Jefe’s, Go To Zinneken’s
Jefe’s is certainly a memorable date spot but for all the wrong reasons. Conversations buzz around the overflowing first floor. The restaurant is too loud to hear anything anyone is saying, and it is common to want to bail before we even get to the front of the line due to people slurring their words as they order, or forgetting entirely what they want to eat. We never want to be there longer than necessary. Their food is delicious and the employees are generous with their portions, but it is indisputably the worst date night spot in the Square. When taking someone out to eat, you are not only sharing a meal with someone but also an experience, and choosing to share this experience at Jefe’s will almost certainly make it a negative one.
Instead, we recommend Zinneken’s, a small bakery on Mass. Ave that offers freshly baked Belgian sugar waffles and an array of toppings, from berries to imported chocolate and even ice cream. The ideal date spot is a welcoming place where you and your date are the stars of the show. Zinneken’s lends itself to this ideal perfectly with its minimalistic interior, straightforward menu, and cozy atmosphere. The wooden tables and floor-to-ceiling windows make Zinneken’s feel comfortable and familiar. And, if a coffee date is more your speed, they serve some of Harvard Square’s best.
FOR A BOWL
Don’t Go To Lamont Library, Go To The Stairs Outside Your Dorm
Many residents of the Yard smoke behind Lamont Library to evade proctors, Securitas, and the HUPD. Students in search of seclusion scale a fence before dropping into a courtyard with two stone benches. These students are willing to go to great lengths for privacy, without realizing that a much more convenient option is that the tips of their fingertips.
Last semester, we could see people smoking from my window at least once and often two or three times per night. Dorm step seshes provide the delight of seeing friends trickle into the dorm, providing the chance to catch up with them. Smokers with high tolerances also do not have to carry all their materials with them in case they want another bowl—they can pack another from the comfort of their own room.
While it can be fun to visit a friend’s spot, at a certain point, they start becoming too inconvenient to be worth it. Lamont Library is the perfect example of this—while it is a cool spot to visit once, having to climb a fence with all the necessary items for a sesh makes it impractical. Dorm steps aren’t perfect – they’re weather-dependent, and sometimes you see people that you don’t particularly want to. Still, the convenience factor more than makes up for these shortcomings, making any dorm’s steps a must-try for residents of the Yard.
Jonah Karafiol ’26 (jonahkarafiol@college.harvard.edu) and Luke Wagner ’26 (lukewagner@college.harvard.edu) write Forum for the Harvard Independent.