COVER STORY SIDEBAR
Insomniacs
By Joe Yonan
Some would say that if you want Boston nightlife, drive about four hours south. There is truth to the joke: Boston is certainly not the city that never sleeps.
Boston's after-hours nightlife divides into two categories: above-ground and underground. For the above-ground, head to Chinatown to grab some grub, and if you're lucky you just might hear about what's going on below the radar of city regulators.
Check out East Ocean City (25 Beach St.), where you can get excellent fried calamari, and anything else on the menu, until 3:30 a.m. At nearby Moon Villa (19 Edinboro St.), the food isn't always so great but the "in" crowd packs in every Saturday night after 2 a.m., when you can order "cold tea" and will get either a cup of mediocre beer or a negative shake of the waiter's head; here's where the invites go around for after-hours parties.
Another good food bet is a few blocks away, the Blue Diner (150 Kneeland St.), where the grill stays hot 24/7.
Elsewhere in the city: Buzzy's Fabulous Roast Beef on Beacon Hill (327 Cambridge St.), open round the clock, or good old IHOP in Kenmore Square (500 Commonwealth Ave.), which serves until 4.
When it comes to dancing, Boston's sanctioned places are close to nonexistent.
The Rise Club, a private spot where gay men can dance until 6 a.m., skirts city restrictions by not serving alcohol and by requiring prospective members to be sponsored - not just by a current member, but by one of the designated sponsors (listed at www.skymedia.com/rise).
Rumor has it that other underground after-hours clubs have sprung up, but they are talked about only in hushed whispers. Keep your ears open, and you might find one.
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