First of all, wishing every Ziner a prosperous and happy New Year. For restaurants in Boston, here are a few that came to my mind:

1) Legal seafood : http://www.legalseafoods.com/ . They have several locations in Boston, ask your hotel to recommend a location that is classy and bustling, not one of their tiny branches.

2) Chinatown: East Ocean City : 25-29 Beach Street, Boston, MA 02111 (tel) 617-542-2504. Go there and order a "scallion and ginger fried twin lobster" (around $28), and then a stir-fried young shots of snow pea (the young, tender leaves plucked before they have chance to grow into snow peas. This dish is not listed in their English menu, but every other table around you probably has one of this dish on the table. Just ask the waiter about it.)

3) Italian restaurants in North End: I had been to L'Osteria : 104 Salem Street, Boston, MA 02113 (617)723-7847. I know that Ristorante Cantina Italiana: 346 Hanover Street, Boston, MA 02113 (517) 723-4577 is also quite popular. Ask your hotel concierge to pick one for you.

4) Quincy Market: McCormick & Schmick's at the end of the North Market Building facing Faneuil Hall. For the atmosphere and reasonable price. I like their appetizers.

Tourists go there, but locals frequent these too.

Good luck. Mei-Ching (Reading, Massachusetts)