The key to Parents Weekend eating is to leave the Square. When Cafe of India's all booked, and John Harvard's bursting at the seams, you and your fam will be far, far away.

REBECCA'S

21 Carles St., Boston 742-9747

T: Charles/MGH

The American decor may be nondescript, but Rebecca's food aims to please eclectic palates; the open kitchen whips up pheasant, ostrich, venison-and some kick-ass desserts. Wide windows looking out onto Beacon Hill's main street.

CAFE MARLLAVE

10 Bosworth St.

423-6340

T: Downtown Crossing or Park St. Local Italian established in 1876. Huge inexpensive pasta plates. Hard to find, but worth the hunt.

CHARLIE'S EATING AND DRINKING SALOON

284 Newbury St.

266-3000

T: Hynes

Charlie's offers divine clam chowder in a bread bowl and other essential, if pricey, Yankee fare. Seafood lovers will delight in their more adventurous dishes like the surprisingly good lobster quesadilla, and landubbers can dig into several decent pasta dishes as well. Good-old-boy memorabilia dot the dark wood walls and makes the place feel like a final club. For a more laid-back atmosphere and the same high-end menu, sit in the saloon downstairs.

MAGNOLLA'S

1193 Cambridge St., A 20-minute walk up

Cambridge St., Inman Square.

From the basket of down-home biscuits to the wedges of pecan pie, Magnolia's is the most authentic taste of the Sough you can get in this Yankee city. The decor, like the food-and the land it evokes-is warm and comforting. While Magnolia's attempts at nouvelle cuisine aren't quite up to par, its basic dishes are stick-to-your-ribs, holler-at-the-pigs, square-dance-at-the-county-fair delicious.

PENANG

685 691 Washington St..

451-6373

T: Chinatown

So good. Delicious, inexpensive Malaysian cuisine in Chinatown. Plates piled with beef rendang or giant coconut shrimp and festive glasses of ABC, a drink of shaved ice and red beans. please every diner in the room.