ON A DRIZZLY weekday, the umbrella-carrying crowd is thick as chowder at the Union Oyster House. The ruddy-faced tourists, stale off a bus, take a stiff seat at the wooden booths, hoping for a Puritan romance with a lobster. Across the Charles River, on a weekday night that's as clear as consommé and as cold as a martini luge on the back porch of a frat party, black-clad partygoers warm their fingers around a glass of pinot noir at Noir, a sexy new bar in the Charles Hotel.

Old or new (the Union Oyster house opened in 1826, Noir a few weeks ago), Rouge or Blu, Boston and Cambridge offer a dining-and-wining trip of two worlds: the interior world of what makes a favorite place, and the exterior world that traverses the cityscape on both banks of the Muddy River.

It is often said Boston (and oft-neglected Cambridge, because those from the area assume it's part of Boston, like the two are Siamese twins) is not a city, but a Big Town. Its one-way streets and neighborhood pockets mirror those of a European city more than a major metropolitan grid. (Hence driving is hell, and there is no parking.) So it would follow that the international flavor of Boston (okay, and Cambridge; after all, it gave us the first university in the United States) is as imbedded in our immediate culture as Dunkin' Donuts and those Valentine's Day candies that say things like LUV-U. (Both businesses founded on either side of the Charles.)

Boston's dining scene revolves like the Cambridge Hyatt's venerable Spinnaker, slowly but surely changing views as it goes. The sparkling lights of Back Bay; the sloping sides of Beacon Hill; MIT; your date. Get closer to the scene, along the cobblestone streets of the Hill or the brownstones of the South End, and you'll witness one place closing as another opens. (Although Boston and Cambridge have enjoyed more openings of late.)

And herein lies the great dining dichotomy. As new restaurants open and new drinking holes emerge, we cling tightly to the edge of the bar of our favorite haunt, slip easily into the booth of our greasy spoon, and hold onto that spoon for dear life. We know just what we want, and when we want it.

Take, for instance, the walk or ride to work. If you're near the South End, you might find yourself stopping for a flaky "pop tart" at Flour Bakery and Café, or if you're in the Square (Harvard, that is, which one must distinguish from Central Square, since that neighborhood has become its own hub of social activity), you might depart from the path for a poppy-seed muffin at Broadway Market.

But I digress. Those are my picks, not those of the Phoenix readers, who have the final word here -- they've spoken up about their favorite burger joint (Bartley's in Cambridge, Zon's in Jamaica Plain), and the best place to find Thai (the two Brown Sugar Cafés in Boston, and Sweet Chili in Cambridge). And it's less about the rise and fall of the green-apple martini and more about where you can sink your teeth into beefy ribs -- Redbones in Davis Square, and Jake's Boss BBQ in, yet again, JP -- on a consistent basis.

In fact, in quite a few categories, Jamaica Plain eateries get the thumbs up, proving that the majority of Phoenix readers are either from that barrio, or they like to torture themselves trying to find a parking space before a good meal.

(Actually, you can get to JP by taking the Orange Line to Forest Hills, and then riding the No. 39 bus down Centre Street as it wends its way back to Back Bay; or by taking the No. 39 from Back Bay station.)

Having said that, there are winning haunts where you'd expect to find them: garlicky hummus and exceptional falafel at Rami's in the heart of Brookline; cold brews at Boston Beer Works, strategically located near Fenway and the FleetCenter; and sweet-ricotta-filled Italian pastries at Mike's in the North End. (It's nice to know that the Big Dig doesn't come between readers and dessert.)

Kudos to Christina's in Cambridge, which infuses its ice cream with spices from around the world; and to 22-year-old Christopher's, also in Cambridge, which has long been the place for one of the best veggie burgers in town -- make that one of the most vegetarian-friendly haunts, since owner Charlie Christopher is one himself.

Editors also share their own idiosyncratic and unencumbered tastes. If you want to discuss your grade-point average with your professor (read: persuade her to pass you), take her to Brown 'n' Brew. Or if you really do love driving around looking for parking in the bumper-tight South End, they say it's all worth it for a meal at Masa. They've even gone outside the city limits (to places like Newton, Roslindale, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire) to report back on spots you might not otherwise discover.

Whichever side of the river you land on, wherever you can find a parking space (good luck), there are restaurants, bars, diners, dives, and cafés aplenty.

Or better yet, take the T.

Naomi Kooker can be reached at nkooker@rcn.com.