Need Boston-local transit fu

[drwex]

This ought not to be as ridiculously time-consuming as it seems. I'm hoping someone has a clever answer.

I want to go from where I work (more or less near Bentley College in Waltham) to downtown to meet a friend for lunch. (Assume the target destination is 1 international place, which is near enough for mapping purposes.)

Parking down there is, I'm told, impossible. It's not a bad walk from South Station, but to get to SS from where I am would be a drive+T (assuming I could find a place to park near a T stop) or drive to a bus to Harvard. Which is not only ridiculous but makes the transit time something like an hour. Each way.

There has to be a better way. Anyone got ideas?