At a restaurant named Flat Patties, the obvious choice is a burger. And sure, the burgers are cheap and tasty, but there are other winners on the menu that are just as good (if not better) and don't require much cash in your pocket. The grilled chicken sandwich ($3.25) is well-seasoned and super moist, a big plus for a dish that can often be dry and tough with poor cooking. The Shredded Pork sandwich......

Pizza is the quintessential cheap eats. A slice typically only costs a couple of bucks, and it's fast and portable. One slice, however, is often not enough, and you're left wanting more. At Pinocchio's in Harvard Square, however, one slice is filling, and two slices, for the low price of $3.95, makes a full meal. The Sicilian slices are hefty, especially if you snag a corner piece. The dough is crispy on the bottom......

When most people think of crepes, they think of the on-the-go snack from France, spread with sugar or Nutella, or the fancier flambéed Crepe Suzette, served for dessert in fine restaurants. But crepes can make an excellent meal, especially when they are stuffed with lots of fresh ingredients, like those at Arrow Street Crepes in Harvard Square. Arrow Street Crepes is a small place, with the kitchen and the crepe pans right out in......

--According to the Herald, the Commonwealth's Supreme Judicial Court ruled that, "Dancing nude in Harvard Square to protest the commercialization of Christmas is not a constitutionally protected act of self-expression," overturning a decision by a lower court to throw out a case against a local woman. The Herald doesn't have much background information about the defendant, except what they could obtain from a vague MySpace profile. [Boston Herald] --Police are investigating the dissapearance of......

It was hard for us to choose the one best photo from gnarayan's fabulous shots of the Free Tibet rally in Harvard Square. Help us out and head over to his Flickr set and decide for yourself. Powerful stuff.......

Short Cartoons You saw the nominees for the Live Action Short Film Academy Award last night; come back to the ICA for the contenders in the animated category. Formats include traditional 2D animation, CGI, and claymation. Check out the John Lennon interview film "I Met the Walrus." Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Avenue, South Boston, 7:00pm. $7/$9. Recover Heal a broken heart with laughter. Ben Karlin has assembled a collection of raucous breakup......

-- If you saw a red-handed man downtown today, he was probably a bank robber. Police are searching for a man in his 50s in connection with the afternoon hold-up of the First Federal Savings Bank. The man fled the scene in a cab until a red dye pack in his loot bag exploded. He then fled on foot. Confidential to cabbies: people running from a bank with a bag of money are likely to......

Harvard LoveFest: Science is Sexy Cambridge Queen's Head Pub, Harvard Square Noon As the old saying goes, "Valentine's Day at Harvard is like Father's Day at an orphanage." In other words, the geeks just don't get the girls (or guys, for that matter). Fortunately for the beaker-bearing types, a group of determined Harvard students has decided to change that. Today's Valentine's LoveFest, organized by a group of science-minded Harvard students called Zing, will feature stimulating......

Chinese New Year Harvard Square is celebrating the Year of the Rat with a Lion Dance Parade. Perhaps even more meaningful for some Cambridge residents, the Hong Kong (yay scorpion bowl!) is holding an open house in honor of its 54th anniversary. But be aware that they are having a craft party, not a scorpion bowl party. 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, free. Art Instruction You've seen the MFA's British Prints show, and you......

The cold weather is no excuse for you not to get out! Human Dogsledding No kidding. The 8th annual National Human Dog Sled Competition will start today in Lowell. You can learn more about other Lowell Winterfest events, which sound like fun. However, for Bostonist, it is all about the human dogsledding--and teams usually wear costumes. Challenger rounds will be tonight at 6:45 and 10:00 pm, and championship rounds will be tomorrow at 3:30 and......

--A possible idea for Banditos Misteriosos? It might beat No Pants 2K8, if only for the reason that your bare thighs wouldn't have to touch any part of an MBTA car. [b0st0n LiveJournal] --Barstool Sports has no love for Arlen Specter now that Specter is mucking around with VideoTapeGate. A sample line: "Next up on the agenda, investigating the role of WWF referees in world title victory by Andre the Giant over Hulk Hogan in......

Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles Dante's at Firefly BBQ 9:30pm 350 East Main St. Marlborough MA Sarah Borges let out a warm laugh. "I feel like I'm spinning plates," she said. Since the Taunton native and her band, the Broken Singles, released their debut full-length, "Silver City," in 2005, the band has been busy. But it was the June release of "Diamonds in the Dark" that really set things into high gear. Thousands of......

Update: Deval Patrick can rest easy. Obama took 38% of the Iowa caucus vote. For some reason, Bostonist couldn't get Huey Lewis' "If This Is It … Please Let Me Know …" out of their head while watching the Iowa caucus returns on CNN. So many middle-tier candidates will get their rejections over with tonight. CNN and Fox News projected early that Mike Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses with a come-from-behind victory that had little......

Many fans and striking writers turned out for the Writers Guild Rally at the First Parish Church meeting house at Harvard Square at noon today. As his mom Wendy looked on, Max Schapiro, of Needham, toted a sign that said, "My Mom let me skip school to support the WGA!" Other people sported orange-and-yellow wool caps made popular on Joss Whedon's brief television series "Firefly." After the fans and several striking writers filled the pews,......

For the past few months, Bostonist has engaged in a scientific experiment. We've been sniffing around T stops to find out which ones are the most pleasant and which ones are an offense to the olfactory nerves. Each day this week, we'll evaluate the odors you will find at various T stops. And here it is--the complete list of T stops with the most distinct odors: Aquarium: High tide, dolphin pee Airport: Pleather luggage,......

For the past few months, Bostonist has engaged in a scientific experiment. We've been sniffing around T stops to find out which ones are the most pleasant and which ones are an offense to the olfactory nerves. Each day this week, we'll evaluate the odors you will find at various T stops. The Red Line offers so much variety that you just might get dizzy--or drunk: Central Square: 40s, vodka, burnt rubber, more 40s,......

WGA Strike Support Rally Friday, December 14, 12:00 pm-3:00 pm Harvard Square Fans4writers.com Update: Bradley's Almanac just gave us a heads-up--the WGA East announced "Please RSVP to 212-767-7843 and leave the number of people in your party" if you plan to attend the event at the church. By now, we're all sick of the writers' strike, and Bostonist HQ is suffering from MCRW (Major Colbert Report Withdrawal). Rest assured, the writers are even sicker of......

Josh Ritter Tuesday, December 11 Club Passim, Harvard Square 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., $35-$75 (SOLD OUT) When Josh Ritter closed his most recent Somerville show with a rambled monologue in which he dispensed impractical driving directions from Davis Square to Canada (via the Fresh Pond Whole Foods) and plugged his two upcoming benefit concerts at Passim, Bostonist jumped at the chance to see him in such a cozy, acoustic-friendly venue—and so did everyone......

--Where have all the gay bars gone? Robert David Sullivan writes that we should be concerned about their disappearance: "In the Boston area, many of Harvard Square's bookstores, Kenmore Square's student eateries, and myriad other places that guaranteed a diverse urban experience have closed their doors, replaced by a far more uniform lineup of bank branches, chain stores, and upscale restaurants." A must-read. [Boston Globe] --If you haven't noticed with the cold temperatures and long......

--The National Research Council says that the federal review of the BU Biolab flunked. Future neighbors of the lab, you might want to join an opposition group or invest in a gas mask. [Boston Globe] --BU officials don't particularly care about the report. [The BU Daily Free Press] --The state appeals court overturned a 2005 reckless driving conviction for a man who drove recklessly because he had just been shot and was driving himself to......

--The Mattapan teenager who was shot in the jaw yesterday has not been named but was a student and basketball player at Charlestown High. Also yesterday, a man was stabbed last night on Cambridge Street, and he is in the hospital with life-threatening injuries. --An armed robbery happened at the Au Bon Pain at Harvard Square the night of November 19. Matt Dunning Erin Smith at the Cambridge Chronicle reports that three masked robbers "tied......

The Thomas Crown Affair and The Friends of Eddie Coyle Brattle Theatre, Harvard Square, Cambridge Wednesday-Thursday Showtimes and tickets Millionaire Beacon Hill residents have a lot of time on their hands. Who can blame them if they use it plotting bank heists? Norman Jewison's The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), which screens tonight and tomorrow at the Brattle, doesn't point any fingers. It's a schizophrenic movie with a paper thin plot and a clumsy script. Thomas......

The Celtics extended their undefeated streak on Friday night to eight games, but fans of the Bill Belichick School of Gloat-Free Victories can take heart in the fact that the team wants to take it to the next level. "We are nowhere near where we want to be," is the quote, provided by Paul Pierce, that sums up Friday night's game at the Garden, which ended with a 92-91 Boston advantage over Miami. Yes, the......

Nostalghia 11.00am, Saturday, November 10 Brattle Theatre 40 Brattle Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge Free Sparsely attended and overlooked by the media, the Brattle Theatre's monthly "Elements of Cinema" series must be the most unsung ongoing act of cultural good will in Cambridge. Since June, the Brattle has offered a free crash course in the history of cinema -- one classic film shown every second Saturday morning. Past screenings have included Citizen Kane, The 400 Blows,......

Magner's Boston Irish Film Festival November 9-11, 2007 Brattle Theatre and Harvard Film Archive $8-10 If you haven't got enough Irish in your everyday slang, be sure to check out the 2007 Boston Irish Film Festival (BIFF) for a strong shot of Irish flavor. This year focuses on four strong feature films: The Front Line, On Broadway, Short Order, and The Tiger's Tale, but features several other Irish films as well. View the trailers and......

Exiled (Fong juk) Brattle Theatre, Harvard Square, Cambridge Monday-Thursday Showtimes and tickets Hong Kong action flicks aren't known for their subtlety, and Johnny To's 2006 Exiled (Fong juk) is no exception. It's a gangster movie told like a western, and the plot only gets you from one shootout to the next. The film opens with a showdown. Wo (Nick Cheung) has returned from an exile imposed by gangster Boss Fay (Simon Yam), who believes that......

The American Idea First Parish Church Meetinghouse, 3 Church Street, Harvard Square (Corner of Mass. Ave. and Church St.) Friday, October 19th, 7:00 pm, $5 More info There are a lot of things you could do to celebrate your 150th anniversary. For a magazine, publishing a book seems like a good idea: anthologize the best of your magazine writing in a more permanent format so it can be remembered for all time. And that's just......

Are random bag searches on the T back? The Crimson reports that the MBTA has embarked upon its first random bag searches at the Harvard Square T stop last Thursday. Security didn't rummage through any bags, but "the handles and zippers are swabbed with a special test strip which is then fed through an explosives detection machine." Lt. Salvatore Venturelli also told the Crimson that the T is using a "random mathematical permutation" to make......

WGBH Open House Sunday, October 14 9:00 am to 6:00 pm One Guest Street, Brighton More info. Bostonist had the opportunity to visit WGBH's new studio and monster digital wall recently. While the digital wall screams for attention from anyone passing by on the Pike, get a little closer, and you'll discover the architecture and all WGBH's new offerings for locals. Those offerings include theater that will show WGBH programming, and a top-notch recording studio.......

Mahmood Rezaei-Kamalabad Aladdin Auto Repair Behind Fresh Pond Cinemas Friday, October 12, through Sunday, October 13 Gallery reception on Saturday, October 13, 5:00 to 9:00 pm Cambridge has always had a knack for making cars way more interesting to those who are not mechanically inclined. People without cars can enjoy NPR's "Car Talk," broadcast from Harvard Square. But Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers, have nothing on Mahmood Rezaei-Kamalabad, proprietor of Aladdin Auto Repair.......