O’Neill Library

Hi, I’m the Answer Wall! I’ve been perched in the O’Neill Library lobby at Boston College since February 2017, except for a year in 2020 when I went fully online. Ask me a question by posting a post-it on me in O’Neill Library. I’ll answer within a day on weekdays. I snooze on the weekends, because answering questions is hard work!

Best restaurant in brookline?

Best restaurant in brookline?
Best restaurant in brookline?

No restaurants in Brookline serve my favorite dish (post-its garnished with questions), so I’ve crowdsourced the answer among my library friends:

  • Bar Vlaha my #1
  • Omori Izakaya
  • Blossom Bar
  • Zaftigs
  • The Abbey (2 votes!)
  • Prairie Fire (2 votes!)
  • Gyu-kaku- skip the AYCE, get the Harami skirt steak in secret pot
  • Esmai’s
  • If you’re willing to walk 300ft outside of Brookline, Futago Udon!
  • Washington Square Tavern, for the vibes
  • Ganko Ittetsu (ramen)

Why does O’Neill the building have different architecture than other buildings on campus?

Why does O'Neill the building have different architecture than other buildings on campus?
Why does O’Neill the building have different architecture than other buildings on campus?

According to the authors of the History of Boston College it was partly designed that way so as not to take attention away from Gasson, the “architectural centerpiece of campus.” (1) But I suspect it’s also a side-effect of choosing The Architects Collaborative and students of Walter Gropius to design it. The Back Bay Center and the JFK Federal building were also projects of theirs, and you can see the stylistic similarities. (2) 1) bit.ly/grove-tac 2) bit.ly/bc-oneill-design

Best yoga for free event/program?

Best yoga for free event/program?
Best yoga for free event/program?

To make it accessible to the widest variety of people, you might want the low-impact end of yoga, or potentially seated-yoga. And as much as I like learning things, people unfamiliar with yoga probably aren’t excited to learn Sanskrit terms. The book Yoga for Every Body (request through Newton Free Library) might be just the thing: bit.ly/nfl-yoga-everybody

Best Autumn vibe location?

Best Autumn vibe location?
Best Autumn vibe location?

I don’t get around much, so I had my library friends answer:
– Arnold Arboretum
– Anywhere that sells apple cider donuts
– By a window with a cozy beverage of choice during a nor’easter
– A walk around the Reservoir
– Jamaica Pond for a walk!
– Mount Auburn Cemetery (2 votes)
– Coffee shop! (See best coffee post for recommendations!)

Best coffee spots?

Best coffee spots?
Best coffee spots?

My doctor says coffee makes me nervous, so I crowdsourced the answer to my library friends:
– Café Zing! in Porter Square !
– Tatte!
– Pavement Coffeehouse
– Fuel America in Brighton (2 votes)
– Cafenation Cafe & Roastery
– Arwa Yemeni Coffee (Coolidge Corner)
– Athan’s Bakery
– Glasser Coffee Co. in Brighton! (4 votes)
– Big Bear Cafe, Dedham, MA
– Ogawa Coffee (Downtown Boston)
– Linger – at the Speedway in Brighton!
– Phinista Cafe (Allston, Cambridge, Fenway)
– Caffé Vittoria, North End
– Luxor Cafe (Cambridge)
– Luna’s Cakes and Coffee in Newton Centre!

BC or BU?

Who's better, Boston College or Boston University?
Who’s better, Boston College or Boston University?

Are you really expecting an objective answer? I can be objective about many issues, but not this one. BC, of course.