I need to speak up for my local restaurants in the areas you just mentioned....Great spots in Arlington where I live, not as many options as the squares in Cambridge but there's some great eats.
Yeah, Arlington has some good ones, as does Newton & Waltham. It's really the Bedford/Burlington/Lexington/Concord/Carlisle/Lincoln area that has a dearth of good restaurants. The only one I can think of that we regularly eat at is Luigi's in Bedford. Other than that, we usually go over to Billerica or Arlington or Littleton (there are some good ones in the Littleton/Acton/Westford area) to eat.
