2nd Cup Cafe conveniently located on Brighton Avenue, is Allston's new hot spot to sit and enjoy specialty tea and coffee drinks. Fresh pastries, specialty salads and sandwiches with a focus on vegetarian choices. Enjoy free Wi-Fi while you're enjoying your delicious cup of hot tea, snack or meal.

Carlo's is an Allston secret. Hefty portions, great cooking, and reasonable prices keep this little outfit packed at lunch and dinner almost every day of the week. Try the egg soup with chicken broth and egg noodles ($5) for a taste of some inspired home cooking. Traditional meat dishes are sizable and always well-cooked. The costate di maiale (pork chops and potatoes in vinegar and peppers; $16) is tender and flavorful and so generous that you'll be having it for breakfast the next day. This section contains information from Harvard Student Agencies' Unofficial Guide to Life at Harvard.

The store-front location leads to a fun-filled shop in Allston boasting healthy snacks. The owner actually shaves ice into a plastic cone and tops the treats with ice cream and fresh fruits. Because their concoctions are larger than life, Fun Food Snackery offers metal racks so two people can share the "delectable delight in every bite." Menu: http://www.funfoodsnackery.com/menu.htm

Every great state needs its great ice cream and just as Vermont has Ben and Jerry's, Massachusettes has Herrell's. With five locations(along with Allston, there are stores in Harvard Square, Watertown, the Berkshires, and Northhampton), Herrell's is a beacon of creamy tastiness throughout the state. What's more, this Allston location not only serves up the original, die-in-your-socks ice cream flavors (including at least one or too vegan "no moo" flavors) to the local crowds of students, hipsters and professionals, it also caters to the on-the-go locals by offering a mouth-watering selection of breakfast foods (muffins! vegan french toast and pancakes! breakfast burritos!) and a full lunch menu, which includes several creative vegan sandwich and soup options. Walking in, you might get a tingle from the fun, charged atmosphere--and if that doesn't do it, the chocolate pudding ice cream surely will. Herrell's Allston Cafe could not get more Rock City. The fresh-from-the-oven bakery smell that you'll walk into like a brick wall as you turn the corner of Brighton and Harvard will bring you inside; the free WiFi, indie music, and colorful graphic art all over the walls and tables will keep you interested; but the coffee, baked delicacies, vegan eats, and the forgive-me-father ice cream will keep you coming back. Hours: M - Sat: 7 a.m. - 12 a.m. (11 p.m. during winter months, actually closes at 9pm Mo-Th) Sun: 8 a.m. - 12 a.m. (11 p.m. during winter months)

This Taiwanese restaurant in Allston won't let pork lovers down. The large menu of traditional and fusion Taiwanese and Szechuan dishes is replete with pork intestines and kindneys. For less adventurous Allstonians fried and steamed dumplings are available. Fried ice cream is available for desert.

Formerly Pho Pasteur, Le's offers some amazing Vietnamese food. It's not a big place and you will definitely have to wait but the food is worth it. You can get many different Vietnamese specialties here, but the recommendation has to be the pho - chicken, beef, even tofu is great. The decor is nothing to write home about but you won't notice once the put that big, steaming bowl of goodness in front of you.

Cantonese New Trend Eatery, which recently opened shop on Allston's main drag, avoids the overly-produced sauces so often associated with Chinese cooking and instead serves up lots of crisp veggies and super-fresh spring rolls. The average Allston/Brighton student on a budget could dine for days on the enormous dinner portions. Eat in, take away or call for delivery.

Part of a local chain of four locations, the Allston Pho Pasteur offers the same delicious and affordable Vietnamese cuisine as the Harvard Square and Newbury Street locations, but in a more relaxed neighborhood setting. Named for Pho, a noodle soup with a gentle broth and generous additions of meat and vegetables, Pho Pasteur specializes in complex dishes that mix loads of vegetables with delicate flavors and meats. The menu is huge and offers many options for appetizers, ($3 - $8) soups ($5 - $6), as well as larger Beef, Chicken, Noodle, Tofu, and Rice entrees ($3 - $11). The soups--Pho, of course--are flavorful and unique and should not be missed; but if you're craving something more substantial, the Banh Hoi Tam Nuong--steamed vermicelli with grilled shrimps and vegetables that you roll with rice paper--satisfies a hunger for deliciousness like nothing else.

Opened by the owners of the Somerville staple India Quality, the Allston-area restaurant Punjab Palace doesn’t disappoint on many levels, including décor (the restaurant has a big screen TV playing Bollywood movies), service and, of course, food. In an area of sub-bar Indian restaurants, Punjab Palace specializes in authentic Indian (everything from the Chicken Tikka Masala to Lamb Vindaloo). Punjab Palace offers dishes with or without meat—so, it’s a great place to satiate a vegetarian friend while pleasing the typical carnivore. Punjab Palace also has take out and delivery in the same modest price range.

Take the bus to Allston?!? When Bombay Club and Tanjore are right here in the Square?” Oh, give us a break, you lazy Harvardians. Grab your coat and some change for the bus—you won't regret it. Friendly, clean Rangoli offers a wide range of reasonably-priced Indian specialties in the vibrant Allston area, only a stone's throw away from great college nightlife options. Neighborhood regulars of all ages enjoy samosas and curry in the small, well-lit seating area. Try the South Indian dosa, an enormous crêpe filled with meat, potatoes, and veggies ($6-11), or the unusual palak pakodi chaat, spinach dumplings tossed with wheat crackers and savory sauces ($6). Don't forget lassi ($2.50, mango $3.50). Entrees $6-17. This section contains information from Harvard Student Agencies' Unofficial Guide to Life at Harvard.

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!

A professional moving company that specializes in relocations, moving, and emergency moves in and out of the Boston area.

Allston:Template:Car Rental Adventure Rent-A-Car's fleet largely consists of intermediate-size cars that ranges from Neons and Mirages ($35/day) to Intrepids and Stratus ($40/day). Each rental package contains 150 free mi./day, 20¢ each additional mi. Must be over 21 ($5/day surcharge for those under 25). This section contains information from Harvard Student Agencies' Unofficial Guide to Life at Harvard.

Bostonian Video was established in the early 90's, owed by a Cambodian Family. Now under the management of Mr. Kim, the store seeks to offer an alternative to the more traditional and mainstream world of Blustbuster-style video store. We specialize in martial arts, foriegn (Hong Kong,Japanese, Korean and Thai), independent and adult films. This place probably has every movie you can ask for. The place is small since it is on a busy avenue but all the movies you want are there. If you are only looking to rent a movie for one night, then this is the place to go. The price is extremely cheap so it is a bargain. They have every genre of movies and in dvds, vcds, and video. The clerk is really nice too. Amazing martial arts collection here! Old skool and new masters, they have such an amazing selection! If you go to Blockbuster you'll be so disappointed in their mainstream action section. Come here for the good stuff. You have to become a member, but that is a simple process. The downside, in my opinion, is the prominent "Adult" section right next to the register. It's pretty visible even though there's a curtain in front of it, because people are often passing back and forth.

Diskovery is an eclectic cd/record album/bookshop located at the corner of Washington Street and Montfern Street in beautiful downtown Oak Square in Brighton, MA. Diskovery had been located in Allston Center and was a pivotal place for students, musicians and book lovers to stop in, have a look at some books, listen to good music and pet up the nice kitty cats in the store. It moved to Brighton due to rents. Run by an eccentric Asian lady Yolanda, this is a unique place like nowhere else in the city. There are books, records, magazines, and cds stacked as high as they can possibly go. She could probably fill a store twice the size with all the stuff she's got. A great place to get lost on a free day. Loquito, the cat, will sometimes keep you company as you hunker down among the stacks and hunt for treasure. Yolanda can help you sort through the chaos (how she remembers what's in there is beyond me); she's known for discounting merchandise, especially if you purchase a few items. Great selection of used SF and fantasy paperbacks. The owner is intensely knowledgeable about 20th century music and literature so feel free to ask her for help. Trust her recommendations!

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.

Rock City Body is Allston's neighborhood Pilates Studio and Fitness Community. We offer Pilates Mat & Reformer classes, Yoga, Dance and Martial Arts classes taught by highly qualified professionals, in a comfortable, friendly environment. Private training is also available. Please visit our website for our current class schedule.