Early Bird

A Chelsea Lately writer's hometown haunts

tand-up comedian, actress, and Chelsea Lately writer Jen Kirkman is a roundtable regular on the E! Network hit show with the dry-humored host. But she’s a star in her own right, too. A Boston native, Kirkman was the narrator of HBO’s Drunk History, which won the Jury Prize for best short film at the Sundance Film Festival. She’s done her self-deprecating stand-up on fellow Bostonian Conan O’Brien’s show on TBS and John Oliver’s NY Stand-up Comedy Show on Comedy Central. And her comedy album, Hail to the Freaks, debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard charts for comedy albums. Here are Jen Kirkman’s hometown secrets:

Dunkin’ Donuts at Tremont and Boylston. When I was growing up, this was Brigham’s and you could sit at the counter and order an ice-cream soda. So whenever I’m in the Dunkin’ Donuts on that corner, I’m reminded how old I am and how great Dunkin’ Donuts is. I always get a medium regular.  

Deluca’s Market on Newbury Street. I want to recommend this place for great snacks but I also want to make a confession: During my days as a broke college student, I might have stolen a bag of those candy fruit slices. I was hungry and craving sugar.
 

Marlboro Market on Mass. Ave. I’m pretty sure this place sells cigarettes for under $2-or maybe that was just because the last time I bought a pack of cigarettes it was 1992. I’m so glad I managed to quit even during a time when products like extreme snus were not that widely available. But I loved stopping in here late at night, loading up on stuff that was bad for me, and going back to my dorm and not studying.
 

The Cutler Majestic Theatre. One of the best theaters to see a show in in Boston. The acoustics are wonderful and this place has great ghost stories. I should known-I used to work there. If you look really closely, you can see the ghost of a punk girl from 1995 in the box office.
 

Wally’s Café. When I was dating a drummer back in college, we went to Wally’s every weekend. I felt weird sitting up front with a nerdy white guy who was bopping his head along to the drummer, but I’m glad I did. That was my favorite place to hang out. The vibe was great.
 

New York Pizza, across the street from the Cutler Majestic. This place has the best eggplant parm in the city, and it’s ready in under five minutes.
 

The Intermission Tavern, right next to that pizza place. A fun place to hang out because all the union theater guys went there after their shifts. My friend always dragged me there because she thought union guys were hot. She was right. They never let a lady buy her own beer.