The New York Times Spends 36 Hours in Cambridge

The Druid in Inman Square, Cambridge. / Photo by Greta Jochem for “The 15 Best Irish Pubs in Boston”

The New York Times just dropped its latest 36 Hours travel column, and it’s a tasty tour of Cambridge.

The last time the Grey Lady spent a weekend across the Charles was winter 2011. This time, the newspaper stays primarily in Harvard and Kendall Squares, but writer Ethan Gilsdorf does make some good culinary decisions in Inman Square. He also doesn’t skip Central Square’s music scene.

As many Cambridge weekends do, Gilsdorf’s begins with book shopping and ends with museum hopping in Harvard Square. The writer discovers Shay’s Pub & Wine Bar, a deceptively roomy, subterranean pub on JFK Street, and here’s hoping he actually took in a show at the city’s best music venue, the Sinclair. He brunches at Harvest, and again, for his sake, we can only hope he took advantage of that patio.

In Kendall, the Times suggests refueling post-boating activity at either Clover, or on Commonwealth’s spacious new patio. Later, the writer skips the main attraction at Area Four, instead heading to Inman Square, with dining options like the Druid (if it were us, we’d go with the fish and chips), and Bisq, with its delightful dessert charcuterie. To pre-game a late-night show at the Cantab Lounge or the Middle East, the Times heads back to Kendall for a cocktail from the venerable Todd Maul at Cafe ArtScience.

Check out the Times‘s full Cambridge itinerary here.

If you’re really stumped about where to eat in Cambridge, or if you’re a Cantabrigian who has somehow missed that Somerville is cool now, pick up the latest issues of Scout Cambridge and Somerville, in which Eater Boston editor Rachel Blumenthal offers her latest Camberville picks, too.