Where do locals actually go in Boston?

Jamaica Plain's Centre Street between the Brendan Behan Pub and Tres Gatos is where 30-something Bostonians spend their evenings. The Brendan Behan at 378 Centre Street has no TV, no food menu, and Guinness pints for around $8. Most of the crowd walks from the surrounding Pondside and Sumner Hill blocks. Tres Gatos, a few doors down, doubles as a bookshop and record store with a small tapas menu. You'll smell garlic and sherry vinegar before you reach the door. JP's Tuesday farmers market runs noon to 5pm at the Bank of America lot on Centre Street, drawing 200-300 locals with heavier turnout than Brookline's Saturday equivalent.

Davis Square in Somerville sits two Red Line stops past Harvard, and it's where Boston's freelancers have worked from cafes since the late 1990s. Diesel Cafe at 257 Elm Street has big communal tables, outlets at every seat, and a noise level that floats between library and bar. A large drip costs $3.75. Nobody pushes you out after an hour. Sacco's Bowl Haven at 45 Day Street, above Flatbread Company, has candlepin bowling (a New England-only format with smaller balls and thinner pins) and $5 Narragansett tallboys on weeknights. One neighborhood east, Inman Square draws an older local crowd. The Druid on Cambridge Street is a 14-seat Irish bar where the bartender knows half the room by name. 1369 Coffee House at 1369 Cambridge Street has been open since 1993 and still smells like fresh-ground beans and old wood floors.

Dorchester Avenue between Fields Corner and Savin Hill is Boston's strongest food corridor for the price. Pho Hoa on Dot Ave has been serving $12 bowls since the 1990s. The broth arrives clear, beefy, and scalding. Ba Le on the same stretch sells Vietnamese sandwiches for $5.50. Fields Corner station puts you 15 minutes from Downtown Crossing on the Red Line. Across the harbor, East Boston still has a strong Latin American presence despite rising rents. Santarpio's Pizza on Chelsea Street has operated since 1903, and locals argue over whether the lamb skewers or the sausage pizza wins. The answer is both, and you'll leave smelling like wood smoke. Taqueria Jalisco on Bennington Street does $3 al pastor tacos that beat anything in the Seaport by a wide margin.

Skip the Seaport District unless your employer is paying. Boston's newest neighborhood is also its emptiest after 7pm. Restaurants price for expense accounts ($22 burgers, $18 cocktails), and the weekend crowd drives in from the suburbs. The North End has a similar problem on Hanover Street. Mike's Pastry cannoli are fine, but the line wraps the block and locals stopped bothering around 2010. Salem Street, one block north, runs quieter and the smaller trattorias seat 20-30 people without a wait. Avoid the Faneuil Hall radius for drinking. The Bell in Hand Tavern on Union Street claims a 1795 founding date and currently operates as a loud sports bar charging $9 for a Bud Light.

The fastest way to meet Bostonians is the neighborhood bar, not a coworking Slack channel. L Street Tavern at 658 East Broadway in South Boston still draws an after-work crowd on weekdays around 5:30pm. Pints run $6-7. In Allston, Deep Ellum on Brighton Avenue pulls the 25-35 craft beer crowd, and bartenders tend to remember your face after two visits. Sunday brunch is where you'll overhear real neighborhood talk. Sound Bites in Somerville's Ball Square has had a line since 1991, and the wait gets you eggs, conversation about the T breaking down again, and heated opinions about the Bruins' playoff chances.