Shabu Shabu Toki serves up little Japanese hot pots of goodness at this new Allston hotspot. Servers bring out trays of beautifully arranged raw meats and vegetables where patrons can cook their food in a pot divided into two sections--Japanese broth on one side and Korean on the other. The proper technique for dragging one’s meat-laden chopsticks back and forth through the boiling broth is known as shabu shabu, or “swish swish” while “toki” means time. The shabu shabu tradition began in the 13th century when warriors during the Genghis Khan era cooked their bounty right in their helmets. Like playing with your food? Shabu Shabu Toki is the place for you. Check out their Boston Globe article here!

As reviewed in Stuff at Night, Monday, March 12th, 2007: The latest in Allston’s retail research, LAB Boston is an experiment in what its owners call “culture-fusing”: a phenomenon they achieve by stocking music, clothing, and collectible toys that appeal to a variety of clienteles. Tunes run the gamut — CDs, vinyl, and digital formats — for electronic-music lovers, and LAB carries urban vinyl toys by Hong Kong’s Toy2R and Germany’s Rockaway Bear, plus apparel from labels like To Die For, Dissizit!, Hellz Bellz, and the store’s own limited-edition line, Limited Apparel Brand. As for the space itself, LAB looks more science class than showroom. Its all-white interior and stainless-steel furniture — on wheels to make room for in-store art shows and music performances — make the room the perfect blank slate on which to showcase LAB’s imaginative inventory.

The Allston location of Boston's original Shabu-Zen in Chinatown.

Privus is an upscale nightclub, lounge, and sushi restaurant in Allston owned by the proprietors of the Kells. It has music 7 days a week and has a double sided 80 inch TV that is visible from inside and outside the club showing music videos.