Why vacant? I’d imagine a combo of turnover, construction, and pandemic effects. But I can only speculate. Turnover is always a thing, construction is sometimes a thing, and the pandemic was pretty unique. Hopefully the current vacancy levels settle down. The theater location has been vacant since well before the pandemic, so there must be greater issues at play there. It’d be great to have something there again. That address dominates half of Church St.

Yeah. There was even a gap between the closure of the big one (by the Pit; the last of the three to close) and the new, Curious George one opening where there was no Starbucks in the Square proper. It was wild.

But I feel like the best coffee (overall; including price/size value) is probably gotten at Flour, anyway (blue bottle is likely better, but too slow/expensive).

There’s still a few nice things in the Square, but right now the argument between new and old, chain vs local is kind of moot because so many places are literally vacant…some for quite for a while. The theater, the old “Hidden Sweets” location near Felipe’s, the old Starbucks location on Church St, former Dickson Bros’ location now vacant..

Are you including the Starbucks at Broadway Market and the one halfway to Porter as being “in the Square”? Because the Square has fewer Starbucks now than it’s had in the past two decades.

Not long ago, there was a Starbucks on Church Street, a Starbucks in the Garage, and then the big one by the Pit right outside the main T entrance. Those have all had a fair amount of seating space and have all closed and are replaced by the small one in the former Curious George space.

I think Lizzys’ chocolate is one of the most solid there is, and it seems like it’d be perfect in a frappe (right texture, very chocolate-y, and not so sweet that it’d overpower the milk).

If you like chocolate in your cheesecake, my vote would be Quebrada Baking company. I’m not normally big on cheesecake, but their little mini chocolate cheesecakes are tiny yet satisfying and I rarely walk out of there without buying one. Not sure if they have them in bigger sizes, I never manage to make it there until later in the day.

They have a blueberry option, too. And it tastes good. Not sure how it ranks among others, though.

I thought that mapped more or less 1:1 with nostalgia/fondness. But they seem to be hunting for a word that means “nostalgia for something only imagined”.. Something maybe more like “fake deja vu”.

Another vote for Punjabi Dhaba in Inman. I haven’t eaten there in a while, and certainly not since the move, but I have many fond memories of Tanjore.

For Thai food, I’d recommend Dakzen on Highland in Somerville. It’s right across the street from the Cambridge city line, so hopefully it’s still close enough (neat trick if you have a Cambridge resident sticker, and want to drive and park). I also would recommend Sugar and Spice in Porter Square. I’m not vegan, but I love their Vegan Kow Yum. It’s both photogenic and delicious.

The only Vietnamese I really know of in Cambridge is Le’s in Harvard Square. Despite the lack of competition, I think it’s still pretty good. That said, you’d have far more choices south of the Charles, especially in Dorchester.

If it’s a Harvard ID, the 10th floor in the Smith Center has a nice “common spaces” area called the Riverview Commons.

Hours and stuff on this page: https://commonspaces.harvard.edu

MIT has several tall buildings, dorms and otherwise.. The Green Building was slated to get some nice study spaces, but I’m not sure what’s available there presently, or what effect the planned renovations may be having.

Are you still at school? One of the big ones in Cambridge? Some good spots require a university ID.

Some stuff I (mostly) haven’t seen mentioned yet:

• Check out the schedule at the New England Conservatory (necmusic.edu) - they often have student and/or faculty recitals for cheap or free. If you can find anything happening in Jordan Hall, I’d highly recommend going to it, as it’s a gorgeous, historical performing venue (google “nec jordan hall” for images); note: the NEC is a top-tier music school in the country (oldest music conservatory in the USA), so you might find that worth touring around.
• the Sanders Theater at Harvard is also a nice, “historic” theater, and has some good events; not usually cheap, though. I’m not sure which is actually smaller, but Sanders feels smaller than Jordan
• Harvard Square has been getting bought out by big money, and has lost most of its local flair. Some remaining local places: Black Sheep Bagel, Orinoco (Venezuelan food), Club Passim (live mic/folk, many events), Shays (bar/pub), Whitneys (bar/pub), Charlie’s (pub/restaurant; home of the double cheeseburger!)
• Harvard Square not strictly local but long-standing institutions: Felipe’s (mentioned in other comments), El Jefe’s, LA Burdick’s (chocolate cafe—get their dark hot chocolate! Or any, but the dark will drop you)
• Harvard Square non-food: The Coop (Harvard’s official bookstore, not fun anymore but the sell the Harvard paraphernalia all tourists want), The Harvard Bookstore (independent; not part of the coop; many events, check their calendar!)
• Harvard Square Other: explore the Smith Center and appreciate their relative new renovation with the “living plant walls” and interior outdoor atriums, explore the funky shops/eateries in the Garage (though now it’s mostly Newbury Comics on the second floor; I like the Vietnamese and Indian/Nepalese places on the first floor, though); I didn’t consider/mention spendier places like Harvest (tends to be where visiting dignitaries seem to eat)
• Harvard Square outskirts: Longfellow House and Brattle Street Mansions.. walk by old Tory money, including the house George Washington commandeered to use as his command center for the Boston Siege (operated by NPS, tours; but you can always explore the grounds including a very nice garden in the back); Mount Auburn Cemetery - first “garden” cemetery in the US; served as a model for intentionally landscaped cemeteries worldwide; really pretty grounds with a gothic-looking(?) chapel and also a tall hill in the middle with fantastic views all the way to downtown Boston. If it’s in season (April-October), you can get an even better, more 360 degree view by climbing Washington Tower on top of the hill. Longfellow House is probably a 10 minute (or less) walk from the Harvard T. Mt Auburn Cemetery is a bit further, but still walkable, less than 30 minutes (and it’s a scenic walk down Brattle/Mt Auburn). Note: if you come in mid-late April, on Sundays (and maybe Saturdays..we’ll see if they keep doing that in 2023) they close the busy, multi-lane “closest thing to a highway in Cambridge” street called Memorial Drive. Not the entirety of it, but a good chunk, with Harvard’s campus being mostly in the center of the closures. It becomes a pedestrian park.
• If you’re a gamer, see if you’ll be here during PAX East and consider picking up badges for that huge event

Felipe’s is one of the few remaining saving graces in Harvard Square, but I can’t resist expressing some El Jefe’s appreciation. The base cost is a bit more, but they up charge you for fewer things (nicer if you like adding “everything” to your bowl/burrito). And they have fried plantains as a topping. IMO can’t go wrong at either place.

He said he’s male, which reduces (but does not eliminate!) the chances he’s named Isabella. However, a more universal tip is that if you wear a Red Sox hat (or shirt, or any paraphernalia) you get $2 off!

Ah yes, the big “farewell winter” party of 2015.

Some Clover locations might as well be cafes, given that they do pour overs and have a giant fancy table. Food wise it’s a mix of vegetarian and vegan.

I hope things do work out! Losing A&C (permanently) would be very sad indeed! It’s my favorite arts/crafts store by a wide margin.

Buy a Boston travel guide and look at the included street level maps. It’s basically Downtown Boston, ranging from the southern part of Charlestown and the northern part of the south end in the east, and the Fenway area in the west. They will also usually have a breakout map for Harvard Square and maybe MIT.

This is basically the non-resident‘s version of Boston, and there are essentially no two points on that map that are more than an hour walk from one another. You don’t even need mass transit, most stuff will be less than a 20 minute walk away by foot.

If you want to go to Costco, some fancy restaurant in Newton, or go pyo apple picking, then walking isn’t very realistic.

It might not always be walk-friendly, but due to the distances involved, the core is walk-able.