From Your Magazine Vol. 1 Issue 7: March 2012

Emerson College – The Thinking Cup Location: 165 Tremont Street

This is the place you want to go to have a social experience while eating a (somewhat overpriced yet trendy) scone. The café is always packed and you’re likely to bump into at least one person you already know (I ran into my writing professor from last semester) or some good-looking strangers in knit hats and hipster glasses.

Northeastern University – Au Bon Pain Location: 369 Huntington Avenue

This chain café has lots of seating and is conveniently located right across from the green line T stop. Northeastern students can be seen studying here with a bagel in hand since the eatery is conveniently located in the university’s Marino Center. “The broccoli cheddar soup is my favorite!” said NU freshman Rohini Rakhit.

Suffolk University – The Boston Common Coffee Company Location: 515 Washington Street

This coffee shop is located between Paramount Theatre and Suffolk’s buildings. While it has more of a mixed crowd in terms of age, it provides a quieter atmosphere than some other java providers. “I like the casual atmosphere and also their coffees are really good,” said Suffolk freshman Greg Fortier. “It is just out of Downtown Crossing but close enough to be a convenient spot. It’s also one of the few coffee spots that are not chains and serve good stuff near where I live.”

Berklee College of Music - Looney Tunes Location: 1106 Boylston Street

Fans of Newbury Comics, listen up. If you like old-school music and movies, Berklee has just the thing for you. This rustic music shop offers a massive variety of records, cassette tapes, and CD’s as well as movies on both VHS and DVD, all for a more-than-reasonable price. “There aren’t many like this still in business,” said Berklee freshman Eva Gertz. I love walking by this place because they always play music like the Beatles and other bands from that generation.” Walking in is to be transported into another time.

Boston University – Café Royale Location: 736 Commonwealth Avenue

Walking into this popular café, it can be a bit overwhelming at first, with students occupying every couch space to study and refuel with coffee. However, the social atmosphere is a friendly one, with folk music playing and students chatting over sandwiches. “Everything in here is healthy,” said BU freshman Brianna Vieira.

Harvard University – TeaLuxe Location: 0 Brattle Street, Cambridge

This quaint shop sells tea grounds to take home as well as steaming cups to go. The server (mine was an attractive 20-something with a blonde streak in his hair) will help you choose from dozens of out-there tea flavors (think mango and coconut) and will create it on-the-spot before pouring it into a cup partially made up of recycled fibers. Choose from dozens of flavors and then enjoy a street performance in the nearby Harvard Square.

Photo Credit to Roey Ahram from Flickr Creative Commons.