I still feel a bit less than jazzed to see this stuff moving into a block that is best known (and best for) it’s eclectic mix of charmingly sketchy eateries and beer bars.

BarmyFotheringayPhipps is less worried-

I predict that the stereotypical South End/Back Bay restaurant will never gain a strong foothold in Allston, partially because the restaurants you describe are largely patronized by people from the immediate neighborhood, and those people don’t live in Allston, and it wouldn’t occur to them to venture “all the way out to Allston” for dinner. (I actually kind of dread the day I know is coming, when the more-money-than-sense people discover what a sweet deal we’ve got going in Allston and come in to ruin it for everybody.)