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Experience Authentic Indian Cuisine at The Kebab Factory in Somerville
Discover the Ultimate Indian Dining Experience at The Kebab Factory
When you’re on the hunt for authentic Indian cuisine in Somerville, The Kebab Factory - An Indian Bistro is your go-to destination. Situated at 414 Washington St., Somerville, MA 02143, our restaurant is dedicated to delivering a true taste of India with a menu that celebrates traditional flavors and culinary excellence.
Authentic Flavors, Unforgettable Meals
At The Kebab Factory, we understand that great Indian food is about more than just spices; it’s about crafting dishes that honor time-honored recipes and techniques. Our menu features a diverse selection of dishes that cater to both traditional and contemporary tastes. From our aromatic Chicken Tikka Masala to the rich and flavorful Lamb Rogan Josh, every dish is made with authentic ingredients and prepared with meticulous care.
Specialty Dishes You Can’t Miss
Chicken Tikka Masala: This iconic dish combines tender chicken pieces marinated in yogurt and spices with a luscious tomato-based sauce, creating a rich, creamy delight that’s a favorite among our guests.
Lamb Rogan Josh: Slow-cooked to perfection, our Lamb Rogan Josh is simmered with a blend of spices, offering a hearty and flavorful experience that’s sure to satisfy.
Paneer Tikka: For our vegetarian guests, our marinated paneer cheese is grilled to perfection, providing a savory and satisfying option.
A Memorable Dining Atmosphere
At The Kebab Factory, we believe that dining is not just about the food but also the ambiance. Our restaurant is designed to provide a warm, inviting environment that complements the flavors of our dishes. The traditional Indian decor adds to the overall experience, making every meal memorable.
Convenience and Quality
We understand that convenience is key, which is why we offer both takeout and delivery options. Whether you’re enjoying a cozy night in or hosting a gathering, you can easily access our delicious meals from the comfort of your home. Simply place your order online or call us at (617) 354-4996 to have our fresh, flavorful food delivered to your doorstep.
Why Choose The Kebab Factory?
Choosing The Kebab Factory means choosing a dining experience that prioritizes quality, authenticity, and customer satisfaction. Our dedicated team is committed to making every visit special, ensuring that you enjoy the best Indian food in Somerville.
Plan Your Visit
Located at 414 Washington St., Somerville, MA 02143, The Kebab Factory is open for lunch and dinner with the following hours:
Lunch: Monday - Friday: 11:30 AM - 3:00 PM, Saturday - Sunday: 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Dinner: Monday - Friday: 3:00 PM - 11:00 PM, Saturday - Sunday: 4:00 PM - 11:00 PM
For reservations or inquiries, contact us at (617) 354-4996 or email us at [email protected]. Join us at The Kebab Factory and savor the best Indian food Somerville has to offer!
Discover the Ultimate Indian Dining Experience at The Kebab Factory
When you’re on the hunt for authentic Indian cuisine in Somerville, The Kebab Factory - An Indian Bistro is your go-to destination. Situated at 414 Washington St., Somerville, MA 02143, our restaurant is dedicated to delivering a true taste of India with a menu that celebrates traditional flavors and culinary excellence.
Authentic Flavors, Unforgettable Meals
At The Kebab Factory, we understand that great Indian food is about more than just spices; it’s about crafting dishes that honor time-honored recipes and techniques. Our menu features a diverse selection of dishes that cater to both traditional and contemporary tastes. From our aromatic Chicken Tikka Masala to the rich and flavorful Lamb Rogan Josh, every dish is made with authentic ingredients and prepared with meticulous care.
Specialty Dishes You Can’t Miss
Chicken Tikka Masala: This iconic dish combines tender chicken pieces marinated in yogurt and spices with a luscious tomato-based sauce, creating a rich, creamy delight that’s a favorite among our guests.
Lamb Rogan Josh: Slow-cooked to perfection, our Lamb Rogan Josh is simmered with a blend of spices, offering a hearty and flavorful experience that’s sure to satisfy.
Paneer Tikka: For our vegetarian guests, our marinated paneer cheese is grilled to perfection, providing a savory and satisfying option.
A Memorable Dining Atmosphere
At The Kebab Factory, we believe that dining is not just about the food but also the ambiance. Our restaurant is designed to provide a warm, inviting environment that complements the flavors of our dishes. The traditional Indian decor adds to the overall experience, making every meal memorable.
Convenience and Quality
We understand that convenience is key, which is why we offer both takeout and delivery options. Whether you’re enjoying a cozy night in or hosting a gathering, you can easily access our delicious meals from the comfort of your home. Simply place your order online or call us at (617) 354-4996 to have our fresh, flavorful food delivered to your doorstep.
Why Choose The Kebab Factory?
Choosing The Kebab Factory means choosing a dining experience that prioritizes quality, authenticity, and customer satisfaction. Our dedicated team is committed to making every visit special, ensuring that you enjoy the best Indian food in Somerville.
Plan Your Visit
Located at 414 Washington St., Somerville, MA 02143, The Kebab Factory is open for lunch and dinner with the following hours:
Lunch: Monday - Friday: 11:30 AM - 3:00 PM, Saturday - Sunday: 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Dinner: Monday - Friday: 3:00 PM - 11:00 PM, Saturday - Sunday: 4:00 PM - 11:00 PM
For reservations or inquiries, contact us at (617) 354-4996 or email us at [email protected]. Join us at The Kebab Factory and savor the best Indian food Somerville has to offer!
#Indian restaurants near me#authentic Indian cuisine#Indian food Somerville#Indian restaurant Harvard Square#traditional Indian dishes#Indian food near Harvard Square#best Indian food near me#Indian cuisine near me
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Discover the Finest Indian Restaurants in Boston: Top 10 Picks
Boston, with its thriving Indian community, boasts a plethora of Indian restaurants offering traditional and comforting dishes. If you're longing for a taste of home or simply crave authentic Indian flavors, these top 10 Indian restaurants in Boston are a must-visit. Here's a guide to some of their most popular dishes:
Himalayan Bistro Located at the intersection of Manthorne Road and Centre Street, Himalayan Bistro is renowned for its Nepali cuisine. The lamb samosas, featuring flavorful mashed potatoes and peas, are a must-try. Don't miss their delectable Mediterranean and Persian offerings as well.
Shanti Restaurant Shanti Restaurant is a delightful blend of flavorful dishes and a relaxed ambiance. Indulge in their samosa chaat, featuring spicy vegetables and cool yogurt, or savor the tandoori shrimp with its delectable marinade and soft yogurt sauce.
India Pavilion Situated near Central Square Church and James Cronin Park, India Pavilion is a gem known for its vegetable samosas and garlic naan. The tandoori chicken with rice and chutney is a savory delight, and don't forget to try their mango lassi.
Mela Indian Restaurant Mela Indian Restaurant is a top choice for Indian cuisine enthusiasts, offering options for both vegans and vegetarians. The lamb korma with its mild creamy sauce, raisins, and nuts is a highlight, as is the vegetable biryani.
India Quality Restaurant India Quality Restaurant is your go-to for authentic Indian flavors that evoke a sense of home. The chicken pakora with tangy sauce and the flavorful chicken tikka curry are highly recommended.
Passage to India Nestled close to Lechmere Canal Park, Passage to India is celebrated for its lamb samosa appetizer and aromatic garlic naan. Indulge in the robust flavors of lamb rogan josh and immerse yourself in the spices, garlic, onions, and coconut cream.
Punjabi Dhabha Located near Lilypad music venue, Punjabi Dhabha is a casual dining spot offering quick, delectable Indian dishes. Popular choices include the chicken tikka masala, vegetable samosas, and garlic naan.
The Maharaja Adjacent to Harvard Yard, The Maharaja is a favorite among students and locals. The chicken samosas and lamb vindaloo with tender chunks of lamb and potato are highly recommended.
Dosa-N-Curry Positioned at the corner of Somerville Avenue and School Street, Dosa-N-Curry is a go-to for those craving Indian flavors. Delight in the vegetable pakoras and vegetable samosas, and savor the masala dosa—a crepe filled with curry spices, onions, and potatoes.
Punjab Palace Known for its friendly service and chic ambiance, Punjab Palace offers a delightful dining experience. Indulge in the chicken tikka masala, lamb coconut korma, lamb curry, and shrimp masala. For dessert, the mango ice cream and chocolate midnight delight are a must.
In summary, Boston hosts a rich array of Indian restaurants, each offering an authentic taste of India that will transport you back to the comfort of home. Use this guide to find the perfect restaurant to suit your cravings and mood.
#BostonEats#IndianCuisine#FoodieFinds#FlavorsOfIndia#BostonRestaurants#AuthenticIndian#FoodAdventures#CulinaryDiscoveries#TasteOfHome#SpiceUpYourLife
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51 Facts about Arlo Guthrie and Alice’s Restaurant
By Doug Most, Boston Globe Staff
The song is 18 minutes 34 seconds long, give or take a minute depending on his pace.
The length of the song is the exact same length as the gap in the Nixon Watergate tapes, and Guthrie has often quipped that the song may explain that silence in the infamous tapes.
The song was too long to be released on one side of a 45 rpm single.
Guthrie had just started classes at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont., in September 1965 when the incident happened over Thanksgiving break.
He planned on studying forestry, but never finished his first year.
He was born in Coney Island, N.Y., in 1947.
He is one of four children born to Marjorie (Greenblatt) Mazia and folk legend Woody Guthrie.
He was 13 when he gave his first public performance.
In Boston, he was a regular performer at Club 47 in Harvard Square along with Joan Baez.
Today Club 47 is Club Passim.
In 1991, Guthrie purchased the Stockbridge Trinity Church where Alice and Ray Brock lived and where many of the events that inspired “Alice’s Restaurant” took place.
Guthrie and his friend Ricky Robbins dumped the trash on that fateful day in Stockbridge because the Great Barrington dump was closed for the holiday.
They were fined. And ordered to pick up their trash. The exact amount of the fine has varied in stories over the years from $20 to $25 to $50.
The church is now The Guthrie Center, a nonprofit devoted to helping people with HIV and other afflictions, including Huntington’s disease, the illness that most contributed to Woody Guthrie’s death.
One of Arlo Guthrie’s first lessons on the harmonica came from Bob Dylan, who visited his house looking for Woody.
In the 1969 movie, “Alice’s Restaurant,” the cop is played by the real Officer Obie, William Obanhein, from the story.
The blind judge in the movie “Alice’s Restaurant” is played by the real-life blind judge in Guthrie’s case, James Hannon.
One of his inspirations for believing that such a long story could succeed as a song was Bill Cosby, whom he had seen tell long rambling tales on stage that kept audiences riveted.
He has to relearn the song anytime he’s going to perform it. “It’s not like riding a bike,” he told Rolling Stone magazine.
Guthrie’s biggest hit was “City of New Orleans.” “Alice’s Restaurant” never cracked the Billboard Hot 100. The album peaked at 17.
Theresa’s Stockbridge Café is now in the space where Alice and Ray ran their restaurant.
Alice and Ray Brock are divorced.
Alice Brock owns an art studio in Provincetown, where she paints.
Albert DeSalvo, the Boston Strangler, once wrote Alice Brock, she has said, asking if her restaurant would consider selling the choker necklaces he was making in prison. She declined.
A version called “Alice’s Rock & Roll Restaurant” he released in 1969 lasts 4 minutes long and reached 97 on the Billboard singles chart.
He does not listen to “Alice’s Restaurant” when it’s on the radio during Thanksgiving. And neither does his family.
All of his children play instruments and sing, and some of his grandkids, too.
Guthrie first performed live on a New York radio station in 1967.
He rides a 2001 Indian motorcycle.
The original lyrics contain a slur against homosexuals that today might bring a fine from the FCC to any radio station that plays a song containing it. But the song is played uncut and no fines are incurred.
“Music will be your best friend.” This was a line his father told him when he was very young.
One of Guthrie’s daughters, Sarah Lee Guthrie, is married to Johnny Irion, whose great uncle is John Steinbeck.
His son, Abe, will play the keyboards on the upcoming tour with him.
More than 75,000 photographs from Guthrie’s life have been collected for the tour and many of them will be projected on a screen throughout his concerts.
When Guthrie was 18, he did his first concert with Pete Seeger at Carnegie Hall, a tradition they continued almost every year until Seeger died in 2014.
One of Guthrie’s sisters, Cathy, died in a home fire when she was 4.
The red VW microbus Guthrie talks about in “Alice’s Restaurant” has officially been “relegated to history,” according to a post on his Facebook page this summer.
Woody Guthrie died in October 1967, only one month before his son released the song that would make him famous.
His song “Massachusetts” was adopted by the state Legislature in 1981 as the state’s official folk song.
The inscription on the guitar of Woody Guthrie, a notorious peace activist, read: “This Machine Kills Fascists.”
Arlo Guthrie’s music lineage goes beyond his father Woody. His grandfather Charlie was a court clerk in Oklahoma, a painter and a singer.
Around 2005, Guthrie became a registered Republican voter. He told The New York Times, “to have a successful democracy you have to have at least two parties, and one of them was failing miserably. We had enough good Democrats. We needed a few more good Republicans. We needed a loyal opposition.”
In that same Times interview, he said: “I thought I would be governor of Massachusetts. I stood on a pile of my old albums and said, I’m the only one with a record to stand on.”He says it took him about a year to write “Alice’s Restaurant” because he had to live through the experiences “one at a time and add them to the little song.”
His mother was a dance teacher at Indian Hill camp in Stockbridge.
His father was Protestant, his mother was Jewish, and he was raised Orthodox. In 1977 he converted to Catholicism.
His grandmother was a Yiddish poet named Aliza Greenblatt.
He was taught Hebrew for his bar mitzvah by Meir Kahane, the controversial American-Israeli rabbi who later founded the Jewish Defense League and was assassinated in New York City in 1990.
His full name has an unusual story. His mother read to him from a series of children’s books called “Arlo Books” about a Swiss boy named Arlo. But because she and Woody were concerned their son would hate the strange name growing up, they tacked on the middle name Davy, in case he preferred to use that. Davy was a nod to Davy Crockett.
When he was in sixth grade, he walked into school and heard kids singing his father’s hit, “This Land Is Your Land,” and he realized he didn’t know the words. He quickly learned them.
When he was asked about the divisive 2016 election year, he responded: “There’s certainly a wide variety of opinions out there, but I think the overwhelming feeling is that as a nation we have moved from a government of, for and by the people to one that is of, for and by outside interests. People react differently to that common feeling in all the ways we see reflected in the opinions expressed. My own feeling is, we will get our country back, but it’s going to take a little longer than one election cycle.”
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BOSTON BY CASEY AFFLECK
October 25, 2020 For the record, what follows is nostalgia, false memories, and generalizations. But it’s all true. I grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, across the Charles River from Boston proper. Cambridge was one of the most diverse, multicultural cities in America. It was a beautiful, colorful, vibrant place. People from all over the world lived there, all mixed-up together. It is the place I was born and will return to, God willing. It is the city with the smells and sounds and tastes and people I love the most. Despite how much I loved it, when I look at old photos, I often look like this:
I’m in the front in the blue shirt. My best friend was Michael, the tall kid in the red shirt, whose family came from Barbados. Through the middle school years, anytime we weren’t in school we were roaming the streets like Dickensian urchins.
In the ‘90s, Cambridge got rid of rent control. Families who had lived there for four or five generations were squeezed out. Now the city is gentrified; but when I was growing up there, it was scrappy and beautiful. It was mostly working people, except for West Cambridge—where wealthy families lived, where professors lived. Where Cornel West, Yo-Yo Ma, and the Governor lived. East Cambridge was working-class Portuguese families, butcher shops, funeral parlors, and tow yards. Cambridgeport, where I lived, was mostly poor, Italian, Black, Greek, and Irish families. North Cambridge had some big housing projects and the school where my mom taught fifth grade—in a gigantic cement structure called The Tobin School that felt like it was far away because I would have to take a train AND a bus to get there. In reality, it’s like three miles from where we lived.
This is me hanging out in her classroom:
As people and places evolve, the past always reveals blemishes unseen at the time. However, Massachusetts manages, as time unfolds, to be a place that was so often on the right side. Not always, but often enough that I am proud to be from Cambridge, Massachusetts, no matter what.
From Massachusetts came the first national publication denouncing slavery, America’s “first feminist”, and The Cambridge Woman’s Suffrage League, which formed in 1886. My high school had the first girl to play tackle football in that division. Cambridge voted-in the first openly gay African-American mayor in our country. Right now our mayor is a very popular and forward-thinking Muslim woman who immigrated from Pakistan named Sumbul Siddiqui. We have marvels of architecture, science, and tech. It was in Cambridge that the very first email was ever sent (and received). And every year the Red Sox stand up to the wealthier bullies from the Bronx. These are all things we are immensely proud of, but nobody is resting on these laurels.
I am going to tell you about the places I remember fondly, whether they are still there or not.
Luckily, the city’s history isn’t going anywhere, and it hasn’t lost all of its charms. It is a place best seen by walking. So just walk. It’s also seasonal. Different activities for different seasons. But if you can hoof it for a few miles do this: start at the Old North Church and go by Paul Revere House, through Faneuil Hall, by The Old State House through Boston Common, through the Back Bay, go left and pass through Roxbury, another left, and go through South Boston till you hit the water and go left till you hit the Children’s Museum. Sit down and relax. If you just want a path, walk that. Map it or wander around. The city is full of little back streets with lots of character.
MY BOSTON FAVORITES
When looking for things to do and see in the area, you can ask ten people and get ten different answers. You will get a long list of historical buildings, or you will get names of some of the country’s prettiest parks, or you will get pointed toward the campuses of some of the very best schools in the world. But for every Bunker Hill, there are ten other places you haven’t heard of. So I am going to tell you about the places I remember fondly, whether they are still there or not. The thing about Boston is you can miss all the best stuff, and you will still leave thinking it is one of the best cities on Earth. Have fun.
Pinocchio Pizza, Harvard Square. I asked my son to describe it. He says, “the food is good but the vibe is fire, old school; whatever, just get a slice and sit on the ground. That’s why I like it.” I have no idea why he wants to sit on the ground, but I guess that’s part of the charm of the place. We’re both vegan so we both scrape the cheese off and eat bread and sauce. That should tell you something.
Oleana Restaurant on Hampshire Street in Cambridge. Chef Ana Sortun is a baller. The food is Turkish inspired, and it is delicious. Always. Friendly people, pretty inside, and it is in a nice residential neighborhood. My dad lived in an apartment a few blocks away behind a Store 24 until he was evicted back in 1989.
Maharaja, Harvard Square. Incredible Indian food. And it has one of the only third-story views of Harvard Square.
Veggie Galaxy is great diner food. It is vegan. It has breakfast, lunch, dinner, milkshakes and other deserts. All day and all night food that is filling and really good.
Life Alive Organic will serve you the healthiest and heartiest meal you can find anywhere. It’s across the street from City Hall, the post office, and the oldest YMCA in the country.
Cantab Lounge, where my dad was a bartender, and then a janitor when he was too drunk to be a bartender. I drank six thousand ginger ales, sitting in the corner at a sticky table while he worked. Forever it was a bar for postal workers that opened at 10 am, where alcoholics ate hard-boiled eggs from jars that had been sitting on the bar top for two weeks. A couple of days after initially writing this, I got an email from the owner. It is being sold after tens of thousands of years. I don’t know why I care because I don’t exactly have any fond memories from the place, but seeing the brick-and-mortar of your childhood torn down is a kind of mid-life, coming-of-age moment. Life is change.
Darwins Ltd coffee shop and attached mini-grocer and sandwich spot. If you get a coffee and then walk west two blocks on Mt. Auburn St. you will discover on your right a nice little park with a fountain to hang out. It is called Longfellow Park. Or you can look to your left and you will see the Charles River, and you can stroll there.
Fomu for dessert.
Zhu Pan Asian Cuisine and True Bistro for good vegan food.
Newbury Comics is famous and cool.
Million Year Picnic is for comic connoisseurs. They are both great. And they were both plagued by roving bands of middle school thieves in my day. The most notorious was named Mathew Maher. He is now a well-known theater actor on Broadway and appeared in the comic book movie Captain Marvel. But back then he stole shit.
Harvard Coop is the best place to browse for books. Especially the kids section. We spend hours there and nobody kicks us out.
After the game ended everyone would come out and buy sausages [from me] on their way home, then I would clean up and go into a bar outside the park, where my boss was drinking and I’d wait till he was done so I could get a ride home. I was 12 years old. A couple of years ago I threw out the first pitch. Life is change.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is my favorite museum in town, maybe anywhere. It was once her home and it features an indoor garden that is perfect. It also has a great collection of art from around the world. Back on March 18, 1990, two famous paintings were stolen from the museum. As I remember it, a couple of guys showed up in the morning in police uniforms and the guard let them in. They tied the guard up and took a dozen paintings—Vermeer, Rembrandt, Degas—and vanished. The FBI never found them and never found the art. There are two plaques below two empty spaces on the walls to this day. On some days, classical musicians perform in random rooms while you walk around. You won’t want to leave.
Fenway Park. Greatest professional sports arena of any kind. I used to sell sausages in front of the Cask ‘N Flagon, a bar behind The Green Monster.
It is the best baseball bar in the country. When everyone was in the park watching the game, and there was nobody buying food, I would go in and find a seat and watch the game with whoever I was working with; I have seen hundreds of games from every part of the park. After the game ended everyone would come out and buy sausages on their way home, then I would clean up and go into a bar outside the park, where my boss was drinking and I’d wait till he was done so I could get a ride home. I was 12 years old. A couple of years ago I threw out the first pitch. Life is change.
Plimoth Plantation is a living museum in Plymouth, which is 40 minutes from Boston. It is amazing. The actors working there are some of the best I have seen anywhere. If you are even mildly interested in history you have to go there.
Fresh Pond is where you can go running or biking. Two and a half-mile loop.
Or you could hit The Emerald Necklace which is a great run that hits many of the best green areas, Franklin Park included. When we were young we would hop the fence and swim in the water. That isn’t done anymore ever, and everyone has grown up and leading better, more responsible lives.
John Weeks Footbridge is a very pretty, very old, brick walking bridge that spans the Charles River. Watching the Charles Regatta from here is awesome. That is in the Fall. But it’s also great any night.
The King School is a grade school not too far from there. It has maybe the best playground in the city. If you are there in the summer you can just walk on. When I was a kid, the King School is where a girl went who I was head over heels in love with. I finally got a shot at winning her heart in my early twenties and blew it.
Mount Auburn Cemetery is beautiful if you like that kind of thing. Lots of cool people are buried there, and the trees and stones are really nice. It’s a maze but just walk uphill. You will reach a monument with a great view of the city.
The American Repertory Theater puts on good plays. I grew up going there cause a friend of my mother’s directed many of the shows and could sneak us in the back. I wasn’t the adult making that decision; had I known better I would have scraped together the ticket price and supported the arts.
Boston Common is beautiful but you have to avoid all the shopping around it. If you have to shop go to:
NOMAD on Mass Ave in Cambridge is a store that you shouldn’t miss. In a world lost to chain stores and general homogenization of everything, Nomad is the real deal. Deb Colburn has been curating this place since I was ten. It is her store, and she has been trying to wake people up to folk art from around the world since Reagan was in office.
Bodega is a hidden high-end sneaker and casual wear store that must be entered through an unmarked door inside a bodega on a nearby side street. It’s cool how they have done it. Great presentation. Kids will like it.
KIDS ACTIVITIES
There are lots of things you can force your kids to do—things they won’t like the sound of at first, but will ultimately enjoy.
IMAGE CAPTIONS, LEFT TO RIGHT
On a rainy day, hop on the T and ride around town all day reading comics. Then stand outside in the warm rain (kids from LA don’t get this much).
Looking at murals. Cambridge has great murals everywhere. They are old and, incredibly, not vandalized. This one has been on this wall near the river since I was a kid. The child is mine and he is sick of walking around Cambridge.
If you feel like a pilgrim hit the gift shop at Plimoth Plantation.
Playing chess at Leavitt & Pierce Tobacco. You can inhale the scent of pipe tobacco without smoking it, and rent a chess set, clock, and table for $2 an hour in a beautiful old, wood-paneled shop with great ambiance.
Going to the oldest YMCA in the country.
Kayaking on the Charles River. You can get your kayak on Soldiers Field Rd. Take it east under all the bridges until you get to the inlet at Kendell Sq. It will all be clear. It will take about an hour.
Climbing the stairs at Harvard Football Stadium.
Reading books at the Harvard Coop.
NEARBY BOSTON
If you wanna go a little farther, go out to Gloucester for the day. Swim, eat, walk around, go back.
Whale watching sounds like a lame tourist trap but seeing whales up close will change the way you think about life on Earth.
You can take the ferry from Downtown Boston to Provincetown. It is a great place to visit or stay a few days while in town. Ptown is the eastern-most point on the continent. I might be making that up, but it’s close. It’s an arm that sticks out into the Atlantic. It’s really lovely there with a great vibe all around. You can’t have a bad time and everyone is super happy to be there. The beaches are all beautiful. Sharks mostly only eat the seals and won’t come any closer to shore than two feet—but if you want to see a great white up close, we can make that happen.
Cape Cod has some great flea markets. If you plan on spending time on vacation with your family you can find some essentials, like a medieval battle helmet, at the flea market.
SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS
30 minutes on the local train line from downtown. Made famous by the Salem witch trials; a fun place to visit and walk around for about 128 minutes. Newburyport and Rockport lines, which depart from Boston’s North Station, stop at the Salem station. You can go into the homes of people who lived during the witch hunt.
The House of the Seven Gables, made famous by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne‘s novel The House of the Seven Gables, is a 1668 colonial mansion in Salem, Massachusetts named for its gables. The house is now a non-profit museum, with an admission fee charged for tours, as well as an active settlement house with programs for children. It was built for Captain John Turner and stayed with the family for three generations.
The Jonathan Corwin House in Salem, Massachusetts, known as The Witch House, was the home of Judge Jonathan Corwin. It is the only structure still standing in Salem with direct ties to the Salem witch trials of 1692, thought to be built between 1620 and 1642. Corwin bought it in 1675 when he was 35, and he lived there for more than 40 years. The house remained in the Corwin family until the mid-19th century and is located in the McIntire Historic District.
A MECCA FOR ARTISTS
Lastly, for centuries, Cambridge has been a mecca for artists, especially writers. Here are some spots to see if you like that kind of thing:
The corner of JFK Street and 1390 Massachusetts Avenue. This is a good spot. Here is why: America’s FIRST PUBLISHED POET was a woman named Anne Bradstreet who died in 1672 and lived on this spot! It went through lots of changes, and 300 years later, by the time I was walking around, it became a great burger place called THE TASTY. In 1996 or whatever, The Tasty appears in the movie Good Will Hunting in the scene when Matt Damon kisses Minnie Driver. It might have also appeared in the film Love Story back in the 70s. I mix them up. Now it is a CVS. God help us.
The Longfellow House. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow lived at 105 Brattle Street. The great poet taught at Harvard and lived in the Georgian mansion from 1837 until his death in 1882. Before the author, George Washington used the house as his headquarters during the Siege of Boston. The house is open to the public, and it is where I had my eighth-grade graduation ceremony. The mayor attended and forgot the name of our school in his address to the kids. I heard people mutter that he was drunk. I can’t blame him. I had my first drinks hours before that ceremony.
71 Cherry Street, Cambridge. The woman considered to be American’s FIRST feminist, Margaret Fuller, was born and lived here.
Henry and Alice James lived at 20 Quincy Street. The house was knocked down in 1930 and the Harvard Faculty Club was erected there.
W.E.B. DuBois lived at 20 Flagg Street. The writer and pioneer of civil rights rented a room in this Cambridgeport home from 1890 to 1893. This is blocks from my childhood home. He was the first African American to receive a degree from Harvard.
Robert Frost lived at 35 Brewster Street. Frost, who attended high school in Lawrence, Massachusetts, lived in the West Cambridge home from 1943 to 1963.
T.S. Eliot lived at 16 Ash Street.
E.E. Cummings lived at 104 Irving Street. He was an innovator. He also wrote a poem about “Cambridge Women”. He lived at the Irving Street home from 1892 until about 1917.
Also you can find homes of the genius Nabokov and the great and beloved Julia Childs if you look around.
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CHINA AND DEMOCRACY
https://grahamperryonchina.com/?p=1942 CHINA AND DEMOCRACY - The West is struggling with China’s inevitable progression to becoming the largest economic power in the world. According to Western political leaders and thinkers this should not be. Their thinking goes like this – “China is controlled by a Communist Party. Communist Parties and Communist States fail – they do not succeed. The Party is a dictatorship. It denies basic political freedoms to its people. There are no independent political parties. There is no free media. There is no free vote for its citizens to bring about a change in government. Chinese people are oppressed. They are arrested and put into prison if they protest. The people yearn for freedom. They want to overthrow the Communist Party. They want democratic rights to elect a government of their choice”. The reality is quite different. The people of China enjoy undreamt-of prosperity. Their living standard has increased immeasurably. The people can travel, can take holidays, can buy clothes, furnish their accommodation, drive cars, eat in restaurants and go to the cinema. 140m Chinese citizens travelled abroad in 2019 and all returned home – no reports of political asylum being sought in foreign countries. If what China’s critics say is true, the government would not let any citizens leave China for fear that they would not return. The Edelman Trust Barometer for 2018 – which surveys trust levels in several countries – France, UK, US, Spain, Germany, Japan, Russia, S Korea, Canada, Turkey and Singapore – found that in terms of the domestic populations’ trust in their government, China ranked top with the US ranked fifteenth. Separately the Kennedy Harvard School of Government found that Chinese citizens – students and tourists – returned home to China from studies and travel in the US with increased support for the style and governance of China. The West struggles with these findings. They are not meant to be. China’s Communist Party, they say, is intolerant, revengeful, despotic, cruel, inhuman, tyrannical and brutal. They allege that Mao Tsetung “murdered” 30m Chinese citizens following the failure of the Great Leap Forward in 1958; that many died in the Cultural Revolution and that in 1989 the Army cleared Tiananmen Square of protestors and killed an unspecified number – the West says 10,000 people, China says less than 500 people But critics of China cite these three events to show that China is a dictatorship and people have no freedom. Only Western democracy can liberate 1.4bn Chinese from the control of the Party, they assert. Observers of China cannot pretend that some bad events have not occurred – the most recent was thirty-two years ago. But such events, which can never be swept under the carpet, are irrelevant to an evaluation of China today. The bad things that China’s critics say about China today are out of date. Remember the question that the UK political journalist, Jeremy Paxman, put to four middle-class female entrepreneurs – You cannot get rid of your government”. And their reply – “Why should we want to get rid of our government?”. And that exchange took place in August 2008 in Beijing during the Olympic Games. Paxman has never been able to understand the reply he received. And the four women have never been able to understand the question he asked. The persistent negative attitude towards China is at odds with the day-to-day lives of the people of China. Now let’s consider some of the differences between the UK and China. Please bear in mind a fundamental difference between the two countries. In summary, China has been governed by autocracies for almost all of its history. China experimented with the people’s vote, briefly, under Sun Yatsen from 1914 to 1925. It failed and a Civil War between the Communist Party and the Kuomintang followed which continued until 1949 – interspersed by the Patriotic War against Japan. By comparison, the UK, ever since the Magna Carta in 1215, has moved from rule by feudal barons and authoritarian monarchs to rule by Parliament on the basis of one man one vote. The UK thinks this is the best system and, goes further, and thinks it is the best form of government for all other countries. There is, they say, freedom of speech, regular elections and regulation of society by the rule of law. And there are parts of Chinese political life that compare unfavourably with some of the procedures that exist in the West. For example, if a protestor burns an effigy of Prime Minister Johnson in a political demonstration, at worst he may be arrested and appear in court the next day and given a fine. In China, such activity is considered more serious – an act of protest which would be regarded as anti-revolutionary activity leading to a period of imprisonment. And a person arrested in China does not enjoy the same protection of the courts as exists in the UK and US. In this sense, the individual in China is more at risk because such incidents are regarded politically rather than legally. But there is a wider issue – the credibility of democracy. Is the function of democracy to construct a system of good government or to deliver well-being to the people? Two points – first, China in 1949 was the Sick Man of Asia. It was “down and out”. Ravaged by Civil War and losing 14m people in the World War victory over Japan, China was significantly impoverished. There were no roads or bridges or schools or hospitals. Today China has enjoyed a long period of growth and development. 750 million Chinese people have been lifted out of real poverty. Today the annual per capita income is approximately $15,000 and by 2035 it will be $30,000. But, say China’s critics, that has nothing to do with democracy and freedom. There is no connection, they say, between ‘one man one vote’ and year-by-year increased prosperity for 1.4bn people. Democracy is a democracy, they say, and prosperity is prosperity. Well – No. China is firm in its conviction that China is where it is today because of the leadership of its authoritarian Communist Party. The people are better off because the Party has got it right – that is the challenge of China to the West. China works. But there is another more up to date issue; The purpose of democracy is not abstract notions of political freedom but the credibility of governance. The purpose of politics is to look after the interests and well being of the People. It is not disputed by health experts around the world that the numbers of deaths in China due to Covid is between 5,000-10,000 people. In the UK the number of deaths is 127,000 and rising and, in the US, it is 600,000 deaths and rising. A country administered by a Marxist Communist Party with a population of 1.4bn people has suffered an overall death figure not exceeding 10,000 people. The US and the UK with a combined population of 348m people have suffered an overall death rate of close to 730,000 people. You can go further and look at the desperate manner in which the US and UK governments are in a frenzy to obtain vaccines for their people, whilst China donates and exports more vaccines to third world countries – disregarded by the US/UK – than China is using to inoculate its own people. There is more re the USA. Daily mass killings are becoming the norm. Gun ownership is at its highest level ever. The George Floyd trial is highlighting the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement and this is aside from the history of slavery and the genocide of Native Indians – all conducted after the ratification of the US Constitution in 1788. Democracy is about much more than voting in election booths, the right to bear arms and the checks and balances of the Constitution. It is about the well-being of the people, good governance and progress. Looked at in the round, China has much to commend itself. In this article, I have referred to the positives – and negatives. China is evolving. Challenges lie ahead – how to govern a country of 1.4bn people in 2049 is one – but the strong sense of optimism that resonates throughout the country (including Xinjiang) is a reflection of the confidence of the people in the Party. Everything comes back to the People and the Party – that is the key relationship. It is strong and enduring. Graham Perry April 2021 - - https://grahamperryonchina.com/?p=1942
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Bunker Hill Monument, Harvard, MIT, Bowdoin, and scrod dinner at Durgin Park
Hi everyone Are you ready for a challenge to match that of Saturday the 26th June 2010? Have you heard of Bunker Hill, just north of Boston? Ten years ago today, I climbed all 290+ stairs of that monument.
About 6:30 AM I woke up and took a shower. Breakfast would not be served until 7 AM. Breakfast on the ground floor was toast, bread, peanut butter, jam, coffee, orange juice and cold cereal resembling wheat flakes or so. It was okay. About 9 AM I left the hostel to walk to the Hynes Convention Center T station. I had to buy a Charlie Card for $9.00 which would be valid for the entire day on the MBTA system, even as far away as Cambridge.
Because most of the MBTA was constructed in the 1950s, it was not required to be ADA compliant. The Hynes Convention Center station has two side platforms, and only the westbound platform was ADA compliant in June 2010. Most of the green line underground stations date back to the late 1890's and have been renovated since. Only the stations Boylston, Symphony and Hynes Convention Center remain as inaccessible to the physically challenged. Elsewhere on the MBTA subway, save for intra-station transfers at Downtown Crossing, is accessible. Within a few years, the ADA compliance renovations are expected to be complete.
I took the green line to North Station to transfer to the orange line for Community College. North Station is convoluted in the way that it has a side platform for the northbound orange line, an island platform shared by the northbound green line and southbound orange line and another side platform for the southbound green line above the other three tracks. It is ADA compliant. I had to go up and down an escalator to get to the northbound orange line platform. I went only to Community College which had a simple central platform. From there I walked to the Bunker Hill monument. It was a fifteen minute walk and just over a half mile / 1 km from Community College station.
I remember visiting the monument in April 1993 but do not remember ever climbing it at all. I paid the entry fee to the monument, willing enough to climb the 290+ steps to the top. If the Pilgrim's Monument was hard, this was an even bigger challenge. However I did not give up. Once I reached the top, I had a very nice view of downtown Boston and the Boston Harbor. I remember that the USS Constitution / Old Ironsides was docked somewhere, and I visited with family in April 1993. I think I spent twenty minutes contemplating the view, before going downstairs.
After walking down from the Bunker Hill monument, I went to a pub on Main Street. I had a glass or two of Sam Adams. Then I walked back through City Square Park and New Rutherford Avenue to the Community College station. I took the Orange line to Downtown Crossing to transfer to the Red line for Harvard. I knew of an Indian buffet restaurant that offered airline miles, on Eliot Street, not too far from the Harvard station. The buffet was not much different from the one I had in Hartford, CT. Around the corner incidentally was a commemoration of the birthplace of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, known as Rama IX, as he was born 5th December 1927 in Cambridge, MA.
Since Cambridge had a trolleybus line, I decided to ride it for a few stops. At the Harvard station, there is an underground bus stop. The trolleybusses have doors on the left in addition to the standard two doors on the right. The left door is used only for places where it would otherwise not be possible to board or alight on the right. I took line 71 as far west as the Mt. Auburn hospital before heading back.
I walked about a half hour through the Harvard campus. Much of it looked similar to that of Yale which I visited Friday 25th June 2010. The most interesting building I noticed was the science center, which looked like it was made of four step floors, the fourth floor being shorter than the first three floors, the fifth floor being even shorter all the way to the seventh floor. Then I walked back to the Harvard T station to head two stations southeast for Kendall / MIT.
I spent maybe ten minutes at most at the MIT complex just out of the Kendall / MIT station. MIT did not seem particularly remarkable, just a complex of what look like office buildings. If I spent more time there, for example, walked down Vassar Street, I might have found the inner campus, but the campus did not look particularly inviting enough. So I went on to Park Street to change to the green line and Government Center to change to the blue line, so that I could see Bowdoin station. Bowdoin is correctly prounounced as "Boh-din" or "Bow-din", the second "o" is not pronounced. Bowdoin is somewhat north of the State House, and so far is the only station on the blue line, not to have ADA compliance. Also, the eastbound platform is shorter than the westbound platform so that trains cannot properly fit, and for that reason, trains on that line have push buttons used only in Bowdoin. While waiting for the eastbound train, I left the station to buy something to drink. It was about 2 PM and getting very humid. I walked down to the eastbound platform at Bowdoin and went as far as Government Center before taking the Green line to Park Street.
At Park Street was the eastern end of Boston Common. I walked along Beacon Street to Charles Street and Brimmer Street to find the Bull and Finch pub, the location used for the TV show "Cheers". The actual pub is nothing like what was shown on TV. The actual front does not have as much room. Only the rear part resembles something like the show. I was allowed to sit at the bar (try that ten years on, considering the current situation!) and I ordered a plate of cheese fries. They were tasty. I had two craft beers on tap, one from New Hampshire and the other from Vermont. It was a good experience to see the Cheers location.
After Cheers, I walked up Beacon Street, to see the State House. The State House is about as big as the one in Hartford, Connecticut. It is also uphill from the Park Street and also the Bowdoin T stations. It was closed that day.
I wanted to have a look at the Maverick stations on the Blue line as well as see a station northeast of Airport. Maverick Station is inclined somewhat like Aquarium, but has a central platform. Wood Island eastward are pretty much the same, each one having side platforms.
After seeing Orient Heights, I went back to Quincy Market, had supper at the Durgin Park, ordered the scrod (young cod), with seasonal vegetables and rice, and had a Sam Adams. My chair was not bumped into as much as I remembered from April 1993 when I visited last. I still enjoyed my supper. I took the green line back to the hostel at the Hynes Convention Center but decided to take the "C" branch to Hawes Street and take it back through Kenmore.
Why is there no "A" branch of the Green line? There used to be such a branch from Packard's Corner to Watertown prior to the 1960s but it went into disuse. It was replaced in June 1969 by a bus line.
Why is the Green line so slow between North Station and Boylston? The Green line was constructed with streetcar operation in mind. It is difficult given the many sharp corners, for rapid operation as one would expect for the other three lines, would not be possible.
I went to bed at 10:30 PM. I had to catch the 8 AM Downeaster train from North Station and transfer to a bus in Portland for Bangor to meet family who were staying there. Hope you will join me for the final state in New England to be visited.
#Bunker Hill Monument#Harvard#MIT#Bowdoin#Cheers#Bull and Finch#State House#Beacon Hill#Boston Common#Maverick#Orient Heights#Suffolk Down#Airport#Hynes Convention Center#Durgin Park#scrod#Boylston#Branch A
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All the Boston Food News That Mattered in February 2019: From Ramen to Risotto
The month in openings, closings, top news, and more
March is well underway, but before spring sneaks into the picture, here’s a look back at what happened in Boston’s food scene this February, including some exciting Italian, French, and Japanese restaurant debuts and fortunately not too many closures.
Read on for a summary of February 2019, including the most-read news stories and maps, the openings, and the closings.
Jump to: Most-Read Stories | Top Maps, Guides, and Food Crawls | Openings | Closings
Most-Read Stories
Sarah Storrer/Eater
Trofie al pesto di pistacchio with feta and mint at Fox & the Knife
Suburban Boston Dining News, Updated Weekly: A round-up of restaurant openings, closings, and other news outside of the immediate Boston vicinity.
James Beard Winner Karen Akunowicz Debuts Italian Neighborhood Spot in South Boston: The Myers + Chang and Top Chef alum once spent a year in Modena, Italy, studying pasta-making.
Growing Taqueria Chain Chilacates Doubled in Size Over the Weekend: The Chestnut Hill and Mission Hill locations opened, and the South End followed soon after.
A Beverly Burger Restaurant Finally Expands to Boston: A&B Burgers opened in the West End.
The Panera Bakery-Cafe Chain Is Closing Its Last Pay-What-You-Can Location: The Panera Cares business model wasn’t profitable, according to a statement from the company.
Here Are the Local James Beard Foundation Semifinalists for 2019: The finalists will be announced on March 27.
Frenchie Sibling Colette Debuts in Cambridge This Week: The new restaurant is situated on the ground floor of the Porter Square Hotel.
Boston-Area Beer and Liquor News, Updated Weekly: A round-up of brewery openings and more.
Bar Mezzana Team to Grow South End Reach With Another Restaurant: Details are sparse, but the team will take over for Stephi’s on Tremont.
Eastern Standard and Branch Line Will Get a Cambridge Sibling: The hospitable duo will become a trio with Shy Bird in Kendall Square.
Top Maps, Guides, and Food Crawls
Sarah Storrer/Eater
Meatballs from Tony & Elaine’s, a new addition to the February Heatmap
The Hottest Restaurants in Boston Right Now, February 2019: Boston’s best new hotspots, updated monthly.
The Ultimate Guide to 2019 Restaurant Openings Around Boston: It’s going to be a good year for food halls, French food, and exciting new projects from familiar faces.
25 Essential Pizzas in the Boston Area: From old-school classics to fancy wood-fired pies.
Boston’s Best Neighborhood Hangouts: Where to eat and drink and feel like a local.
Where to Eat and Drink in the South End: Pepperoni pizza on Tremont Street and late-night beers in a neighborhood classic.
Where to Eat and Drink in Inman Square: Half-sour pickles at a century-old Jewish deli and some of the best Indian food in Greater Boston.
Where to Eat Chicken Wings in and Around Boston: From Korean fried to Buffalo-style, these are the best wings in the Hub.
19 Splendid Shakshuka Options Around Boston: Start the day off right with a spicy poached egg and tomato dish.
6 Boston-Area Brazilian Restaurants to Try During Carnival 2019: Or anytime.
Where to Eat and Drink in Kendall Square: Ribs, fried chicken, poutine, and beautiful cocktails.
Openings
Sarah Storrer/Eater
The “American honey” pizza at &pizza
&pizza (1-3 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge): This D.C.-based pizza chain sells oblong personal pies with a variety of toppings; it’s sharing space with a Milk Bar.
1855 Bar à Vins (259 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston): This French wine bar lives above its sibling, French restaurant La Voile, and also serves food itself, including cheeses, a sage risotto, beef carpaccio, and more.
A&B Burgers (101 Beverly St., West End, Boston): A full-service restaurant featuring burgers, born on the North Shore.
American Provisions (1961-1981 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester, Boston): This is the second — and long-awaited — location for a popular South Boston-based specialty shop, which stocks cheeses, charcuterie, sandwiches, and more.
Bar Mercato (54 Devonshire St., Downtown Boston): Located in the Hyatt Centric Faneuil Hall, Bar Mercato is an all-day restaurant that draws inspiration from European food halls.
Bourbon Coffee (103 Canal St., West End, Boston): With a location in Cambridge’s Porter Square and roots in Rwanda, this cafe has expanded to the former West End location of Boston Common Coffee Co.
Chilacates (33 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill; 1482 Tremont St., Mission Hill, Boston; 275 Shawmut St., South End, Boston): Not one, not two, but three new Chilacates locations opened in February, bringing the Mexican group up to five.
Colette (1924 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square, Cambridge): South End hit Frenchie now has a sibling — another French restaurant — in Cambridge’s Porter Square Hotel.
Darwin’s Ltd. (31 Putnam Ave., Cambridge): A switch in the works since 2012, Darwin’s has opened its fourth cafe in the previous home of Petsi Pies. (Petsi’s Somerville location remains in operation.)
Fox & the Knife (28 W. Broadway, South Boston): Karen Akunowicz, a James Beard winner and longtime Myers + Chang alum, is at the helm of this Italian-inspired enoteca.
Futago Udon (508-512 Park Dr., Fenway, Boston): From the team behind a Somerville soba restaurant comes another noodle-focused spot, this time featuring udon.
The Grateful Dedham Diner (573 High St., Dedham): This new Dedham diner is located in a former D’Angelo’s space and serves breakfast all day (until closing at 3 p.m.)
Isshindo Ramen (1 Brighton Ave., Allston, Boston): Taking over the former space of another ramen shop, Pikaichi, Isshindo — which specializes in tonkotsu ramen — is located within the Super 88 market (not within the main food court but in an adjacent space).
Kane’s Donuts (Essex Landing, 1565 Broadway, Saugus): Located on Route 1 in view of a famous orange dinosaur, this is the second Saugus location — and third location overall — for a decades-old doughnut shop.
The Landing (223 Adams St., Newton): Neapolitan-style pizza and more from and owner who grew up on the Italian coast between Rome and Naples.
Lisa’s Family Pizzeria (368 Trapelo Rd., Belmont): The small local chain serves pizzas, calzones, subs, pasta, and more.
The Local Kitchen & Drinks (99 3rd Ave., Waltham): This is the fifth location for the local (and Local) chain, which serves dishes like Hong Kong noodles, Buffalo wings, tacos, and corn chowder.
Los Amigos Taqueria (424 Highland Ave., Davis Square, Somerville): This local Mexican chain now has five locations; this newest one took over the longtime Blue Shirt Cafe space in Davis Square.
Mexicali Mexican Grill (225 Shrewsbury St., Worcester): Taking over a former British Beer Company space, this is the eighth location for Mexicali, which serves burritos, enchiladas, tacos, and more.
Milk Bar (1-3 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge): Sugar queen Christina Tosi has brought her growing bakery chain to Boston for the first time, and it’s sharing space with D.C.-based pizza chain &pizza.
Pho Common (468 Commonwealth Ave., Kenmore Square, Boston): This Vietnamese restaurant, which serves pho and more, took the place of another Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Countryside.
Playa Bowls (2199 Commonwealth Ave., Brighton, Boston): This New Jersey-based chain serves acai bowls, smoothies, and more; this location is right by Boston College.
Serafina (237 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston): This is the second local location for the New York-based Italian chain, which also has a Financial District outpost.
The Square Root (2 Corinth St., Roslindale, Boston): A cafe, performance venue, and co-working space in one.
Sufra (52 Queensberry St., Fenway, Boston): Another example of a food truck putting down permanent roots, Sufra took over the former Black Jack Pasta space, where it serves shawarma, falafel, and more.
Closings
Terrence B. Doyle/Eater
Sushi Factory, under renovation
Allora Ristorante (139 Lakeside Ave., Marlborough): This Italian restaurant was open for over a decade.
Boston Common Coffee Co. (103 Canal St., West End, Boston): This local cafe group is down from four locations to one, with its Canal Street location recently taken over by another cafe. It remains open in the Financial District.
The Greek Grille (599 Main St., Winchester): Souvlaki, spanakopita, Greek pizza, and more was on the menu at the Greek Grille, open for 10 years.
Hi B3ar Ice Cream Roll (147 Brighton Ave., Allston, Boston): This rolled ice cream spot is closed for now, with a sign out front indicating renovations.
Panera Cares (3 Center Plz., Downtown Boston): This was the last remaining location of bakery-cafe chain Panera’s pay-what-you-can experiment, which began in 2010. (This particular location was open for six years.)
The Red-Eyed Pig (1753 Centre St., West Roxbury, Boston): This pub served Southern-leaning food, with barbecue, hush puppies, and more.
Roadworthy (135 Washington St., Dedham): Roadworthy opened in 2016 and served a “soul fuel” menu of Sicilian pan pizzas, chicken parm, salad, and such.
Sami’s Trailer (107 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Longwood Medical Area, Boston): Known for serving wraps since 1979, this trailer has closed indefinitely.
Sushi Factory (140 Brighton Ave., Allston, Boston): Only open since late 2019, this all-you-can-eat sushi joint is closed, but just for renovations and a menu change. The renovations seem extensive; it’s unclear whether it’ll still be a sushi restaurant when it reemerges.
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National Cheat Sheet: Sears avoids liquidation, warehouse vacancies hit 18-year low, Blackstone plans massive real estate fund … & more
Clockwise from top left: Sears avoids bankruptcy liquidation after its board accepted an auction bid from chairman Eddie Lampert, CBRE finds warehouse vacancy rates at their lowest levels since 2000, the Blackstone Group readies its largest-ever real estate private equity fund and leading homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises is in danger of getting delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
Sears avoids liquidation after board accepts chairman’s auction bid All of the remaining assets of Sears Holdings Corporation have been acquired by chairman Edward Lampert for $5.2 billion, according to various news reports. The board of the bankrupt company accepted Lampert’s auction bid in lieu of competing proposals from liquidators, Bloomberg reported. The decision came after “two days of discussions… to determine whether Sears would be worth more dead or alive,” according to the outlet. The deal must still be approved by a U.S. bankruptcy judge. A hearing on the matter has been scheduled for Feb. 1. If it is approved, Lampert will have another opportunity to try to revive the ailing retail chain. He hopes to keep 425 stores open and save 45,000 jobs, a source told Bloomberg. [TRD]
CBRE finds warehouse vacancy rates at lowest level since 2000 A mere 7 percent of industrial space was vacant in the fourth quarter of 2018 — the lowest that vacancy rates have dipped since 2000, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing data from CBRE. The commercial real estate firm attributed the scarcity of available space in part to the growing e-commerce industry. Demand actually outpaced supply by around 6 million square feet during the fourth quarter last year. “In 2019, it will remain quite a competitive market for people to get hold of the logistics assets they need,” CBRE’s head of research for the Americas and global chief economist Richard Barkham told the newspaper. [TRD]
Blackstone’s $20B real estate fund set to be its largest yet Buyout giant the Blackstone Group is gearing up to close a $20 billion real estate fund with around $60 billion in buying power, the Wall Street Journal reported. The fund, which will likely close in the first quarter of 2019, will be the private equity firm’s largest real estate fund to date. “They can buy private companies and they can buy [entire companies listed] on the New York Stock Exchange,” Evercore ISI analyst Steve Sakwa told the newspaper. The fund is something of an anomaly, as other real estate funds have struggled to raise money, according to the outlet. [TRD]
The Mooch parts ways with Opportunity Zone fund partner Former White House communications director and Harvard Law School graduate Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital split this week with Emanuel “Manny” Friedman’s EJF Capital on a planned $3 billion fund to invest in Opportunity Zones. The venture, which was announced in November and poised to be structured as a real estate investment trust, fell apart as a result of EJF’s perceived lack of experience in managing real estate funds, according to The Real Deal‘s reporting. SkyBridge president Brett Messing told TRD that the separation with EJF was amicable. Both will now proceed with their own Opportunity Zone funds. Scaramucci, meanwhile, will soon appear as a contestant on “Celebrity Big Brother,” which premieres Jan. 21 on CBS. [TRD]
Leading national homebuilder in danger of getting stock delisted One of the largest homebuilders in the country, Hovnanian Enterprises, could be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange as its debt piles up. The Matawan, New Jersey-based company, founded by chairman and president Ara Hovnanian, plans to carry out a reverse stock split to stay on the NYSE if it can get approval from shareholders at a meeting in March. On Thursday, Hovnanian’s stock price close at 66 cents, and the company will need its shares to trade above $1 if it hopes to stay listed. Hovnanian’s current financial woes can be traced back to the 1990s, when the company’s debt started to mount as it went into acquisition mode. [TRD]
MAJOR MARKET HIGHLIGHTS
Amazon eyes 10,000 square feet of space in Chrysler Building The Chrysler Building is for sale, but Amazon is planning to ink a lease at the iconic office tower, the New York Post reported. The e-commerce and technology behemoth, which late last year announced plans for a second headquarters in nearby Long Island City, is expected to sign a lease for around 10,000 square feet of space in the building soon, though it’s not yet clear exactly when. News of Amazon’s likely tenancy came less than a week after news broke that Tishman Speyer and the Abu Dhabi government fund that own the Chrysler Building would be putting it up for sale after hiring CBRE to market the landmark skyscraper. [TRD]
Microsoft to contribute $500M to affordable housing in Seattle One of the world’s largest companies has a plan to tackle a dearth of affordable housing in the Puget Sound region. Microsoft announced this week that it was ready to spend $500 million to fix a problem that it partly had a hand in creating in one of the nation’s priciest housing markets, according to the New York Times. The Redmond, Washington-based company has pledged to fund projects in Seattle and surrounding areas that provide more housing options for low-income and middle-class workers, as well as address homelessness. [TRD]
PG&E filing for bankruptcy and CEO steps down amid wildfire fallout The California utility giant accused of starting the deadly Camp Fire in California this past fall plans to file for bankruptcy, Bloomberg reported. Geisha Williams, CEO of the San Francisco-based Pacific Gas & Electric Company, has also stepped down with general counsel John Simon stepping into the company’s top leadership role until it finds a permanent replacement. A number of California residents have hit PG&E with lawsuits claiming that the company’s equipment sparked the November fire that left 86 people dead and destroyed 21,000 homes in Northern California. State Attorney General Xavier Becerra is investigating those allegations. PG&E could be facing up to $30 billion in wildfire-related liabilities. [TRD]
Top NYC developer looks outside for new leader Sush Torgalkar, a former COO of Westbrook Partners, has been named the new CEO of Extell Development Company, one of the largest commercial real estate developers in Manhattan. Extell founder Gary Barnett will continue to serve as chairman of the firm, but he did not provide a reason for recruiting Torgalkar to run the business. Torgalkar, 42, grew up in Cleveland as the son of Indian immigrants. He is known for his access to institutional investors and ability to navigate tricky deals, something in which Extell is well-versed. A recent analysis by The Real Deal found that Extell has more than 1,500 units in its New York pipeline. [TRD]
South Florida mansion owned by IHOP founder’s son hits market The son of one of IHOP’s founders has put the South Florida mansion that he and his wife own on the market. Nathan and Jacqueline Finkel are seeking $7.25 million for their 21,656-square-foot home in a suburb of Fort Lauderdale. Abe Finkel, Nathan’s father, was one of the founders of IHOP, the pancake house restaurant chain that briefly flirted last year with a name change to IHOB as part of a burger promotion. The nine-bedroom, 11-bathroom home in the town of Southwest Ranches has a bowling alley, a theater room, a bar room, a library and quarters for maids and nannies. The property comes with a tennis court, gazebo and swimming pool. Mark Kaminsky and Kevin O’steen of the Kaminsky/Reyes Team at Coldwell Banker have the listing. [TRD]
Amid national expansion, Compass heads to Mile-High City Despite already having offices in Aspen and Telluride, Compass is embarking on a further Colorado expansion with planned outposts in Denver and Boulder. The SoftBank Group-backed residential brokerage said it will open flagship offices in the two cities within the next few months. “Colorado is consistently named one of the fastest growing states in the country, netting more than 70,000 new residents per year over the past 5 years,” chief growth officer Rob Lehman said in a statement, noting that there’s “an enormous opportunity to elevate the real estate experience for agents across the state.” Compass has been rapidly expanding, opening offices across the country. [TRD]
R. Kelly evicted from Chicago warehouse he used as studio, residence A judge signed an order evicting the R. Kelly from an industrial building in Chicago, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The singer owed nearly $80,000 in back rent for the warehouse, which he used as both a recording studio and a residence. City attorneys claim the dual use violates zoning code and had been trying to gain access to the building, according to the outlet. R. Kelly has long been accused of abusing women and young girls, but a recently-aired Lifetime series, “Surviving R. Kelly,” has raised a new set of abuse allegations against the entertainer, all of which he has denied. [TRD]
Nonprofit shells out $2.5M for Muhammad Ali’s Michigan estate An 81-acre estate in southwest Michigan that Muhammad Ali bought in the 1970s has a new owner, the Chicago Tribune reported. A Turkish nonprofit called the Turken Foundation, which is based in New York, bought the property from Lonnie Ali, the boxing legend’s widow, for $2.5 million, according to the outlet. Lonnie Ali initially listed the estate for $2.895 million, although the precise figure was $2,895,037, a tribute to her late husband’s 37 career knockouts. Ali, who died in 2016, purchased the property when he was living 90 miles away in Chicago’s Kenwood neighborhood. He continued to stay there even after Ali moved to Los Angeles and Arizona. One of the buildings on the estate has a boxing ring, the newspaper reported. [TRD]
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Top 10 Indian Restaurants in Boston
Introduction: Boston, with its thriving Indian community, boasts an array of delightful Indian restaurants serving authentic home-style food. If you're feeling homesick and yearning for a taste of your home country, these top 10 Indian restaurants in Boston are sure to satisfy your cravings. From flavorful curries to delicious appetizers, each restaurant offers a unique culinary experience. Let's take a closer look at these Indian culinary gems.
Himalayan Bistro: Located on the corner of Manthorne Road and Centre Street, the Himalayan Bistro is a Nepali restaurant known for its Mediterranean and Persian influences. A must-try is their delectable chicken and coconut soup, guaranteed to warm your heart.
Shanti Restaurant: With its laid-back vibe and scrumptious offerings, Shanti Restaurant is a favorite among locals. Don't miss their delightful samosa chaat, featuring cool yogurt and spicy vegetables. The chana masala and tandoori shrimp are also highly recommended.
India Pavilion: Situated near Central Square Church and James Cronin Park, India Pavilion entices diners with its flavorful vegetable samosa paired with garlic naan, a heavenly combination of tastes.
Mela Indian Restaurant: Catering to both vegans and vegetarians, Mela Indian Restaurant stands out for its mouthwatering lamb korma, featuring a mild yet creamy sauce that will leave you wanting more.
India Quality Restaurant: When homesickness strikes, head over to India Quality Restaurant for a taste of authentic Indian flavors. Be sure to savor their tangy chicken pakora and spicy lentil soup, and don't miss the delectable chicken tikka curry.
Passage to India: Located close to East Street and Glassworks Avenue, Passage to India delights patrons with its spicy lamb samosa appetizer, a delightful blend of potatoes and peas.
Punjabi Dhabha: Situated near Lilypad music venue at Hampshire Street and Cambridge Street, Punjabi Dhabha offers fast food with delicious flavors, perfect for a quick and satisfying meal.
The Maharaja: Just a few blocks from Harvard Yard, The Maharaja is a charming restaurant where you can indulge in a delicious meal before exploring the prestigious Harvard campus.
Dosa-N-Curry: For those craving Indian home-cooked meals, Dosa-N-Curry on Somerville Avenue and School Street is the place to go. Additionally, a nearby corner store offers Indian groceries for aspiring home chefs.
Punjab Palace: With its friendly service and hip atmosphere, Punjab Palace is a top-notch choice for both lunch and dinner. The chicken tikka masala, lamb coconut korma, lamb curry, and shrimp masala are all must-try dishes.
Conclusion: With this comprehensive list of the top 10 Indian restaurants in Boston, you can easily find a place that matches your mood and preferences. Each of these eateries brings the flavors of India right to your table, providing a taste of home for Indian residents and a culinary adventure for everyone else.
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National Cheat Sheet: Sears avoids liquidation, warehouse vacancies hit 18-year low, Blackstone plans massive real estate fund … & more
Clockwise from top left: Sears avoids bankruptcy liquidation after its board accepted an auction bid from chairman Eddie Lampert, CBRE finds warehouse vacancy rates at their lowest levels since 2000, the Blackstone Group readies its largest-ever real estate private equity fund and leading homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises is in danger of getting delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
Sears avoids liquidation after board accepts chairman’s auction bid All of the remaining assets of Sears Holdings Corporation have been acquired by chairman Edward Lampert for $5.2 billion, according to various news reports. The board of the bankrupt company accepted Lampert’s auction bid in lieu of competing proposals from liquidators, Bloomberg reported. The decision came after “two days of discussions… to determine whether Sears would be worth more dead or alive,” according to the outlet. The deal must still be approved by a U.S. bankruptcy judge. A hearing on the matter has been scheduled for Feb. 1. If it is approved, Lampert will have another opportunity to try to revive the ailing retail chain. He hopes to keep 425 stores open and save 45,000 jobs, a source told Bloomberg. [TRD]
CBRE finds warehouse vacancy rates at lowest level since 2000 A mere 7 percent of industrial space was vacant in the fourth quarter of 2018 — the lowest that vacancy rates have dipped since 2000, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing data from CBRE. The commercial real estate firm attributed the scarcity of available space in part to the growing e-commerce industry. Demand actually outpaced supply by around 6 million square feet during the fourth quarter last year. “In 2019, it will remain quite a competitive market for people to get hold of the logistics assets they need,” CBRE’s head of research for the Americas and global chief economist Richard Barkham told the newspaper. [TRD]
Blackstone’s $20B real estate fund set to be its largest yet Buyout giant the Blackstone Group is gearing up to close a $20 billion real estate fund with around $60 billion in buying power, the Wall Street Journal reported. The fund, which will likely close in the first quarter of 2019, will be the private equity firm’s largest real estate fund to date. “They can buy private companies and they can buy [entire companies listed] on the New York Stock Exchange,” Evercore ISI analyst Steve Sakwa told the newspaper. The fund is something of an anomaly, as other real estate funds have struggled to raise money, according to the outlet. [TRD]
The Mooch parts ways with Opportunity Zone fund partner Former White House communications director and Harvard Law School graduate Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital split this week with Emanuel “Manny” Friedman’s EJF Capital on a planned $3 billion fund to invest in Opportunity Zones. The venture, which was announced in November and poised to be structured as a real estate investment trust, fell apart as a result of EJF’s perceived lack of experience in managing real estate funds, according to The Real Deal‘s reporting. SkyBridge president Brett Messing told TRD that the separation with EJF was amicable. Both will now proceed with their own Opportunity Zone funds. Scaramucci, meanwhile, will soon appear as a contestant on “Celebrity Big Brother,” which premieres Jan. 21 on CBS. [TRD]
Leading national homebuilder in danger of getting stock delisted One of the largest homebuilders in the country, Hovnanian Enterprises, could be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange as its debt piles up. The Matawan, New Jersey-based company, founded by chairman and president Ara Hovnanian, plans to carry out a reverse stock split to stay on the NYSE if it can get approval from shareholders at a meeting in March. On Thursday, Hovnanian’s stock price close at 66 cents, and the company will need its shares to trade above $1 if it hopes to stay listed. Hovnanian’s current financial woes can be traced back to the 1990s, when the company’s debt started to mount as it went into acquisition mode. [TRD]
MAJOR MARKET HIGHLIGHTS
Amazon eyes 10,000 square feet of space in Chrysler Building The Chrysler Building is for sale, but Amazon is planning to ink a lease at the iconic office tower, the New York Post reported. The e-commerce and technology behemoth, which late last year announced plans for a second headquarters in nearby Long Island City, is expected to sign a lease for around 10,000 square feet of space in the building soon, though it’s not yet clear exactly when. News of Amazon’s likely tenancy came less than a week after news broke that Tishman Speyer and the Abu Dhabi government fund that own the Chrysler Building would be putting it up for sale after hiring CBRE to market the landmark skyscraper. [TRD]
Microsoft to contribute $500M to affordable housing in Seattle One of the world’s largest companies has a plan to tackle a dearth of affordable housing in the Puget Sound region. Microsoft announced this week that it was ready to spend $500 million to fix a problem that it partly had a hand in creating in one of the nation’s priciest housing markets, according to the New York Times. The Redmond, Washington-based company has pledged to fund projects in Seattle and surrounding areas that provide more housing options for low-income and middle-class workers, as well as address homelessness. [TRD]
PG&E filing for bankruptcy and CEO steps down amid wildfire fallout The California utility giant accused of starting the deadly Camp Fire in California this past fall plans to file for bankruptcy, Bloomberg reported. Geisha Williams, CEO of the San Francisco-based Pacific Gas & Electric Company, has also stepped down with general counsel John Simon stepping into the company’s top leadership role until it finds a permanent replacement. A number of California residents have hit PG&E with lawsuits claiming that the company’s equipment sparked the November fire that left 86 people dead and destroyed 21,000 homes in Northern California. State Attorney General Xavier Becerra is investigating those allegations. PG&E could be facing up to $30 billion in wildfire-related liabilities. [TRD]
Top NYC developer looks outside for new leader Sush Torgalkar, a former COO of Westbrook Partners, has been named the new CEO of Extell Development Company, one of the largest commercial real estate developers in Manhattan. Extell founder Gary Barnett will continue to serve as chairman of the firm, but he did not provide a reason for recruiting Torgalkar to run the business. Torgalkar, 42, grew up in Cleveland as the son of Indian immigrants. He is known for his access to institutional investors and ability to navigate tricky deals, something in which Extell is well-versed. A recent analysis by The Real Deal found that Extell has more than 1,500 units in its New York pipeline. [TRD]
South Florida mansion owned by IHOP founder’s son hits market The son of one of IHOP’s founders has put the South Florida mansion that he and his wife own on the market. Nathan and Jacqueline Finkel are seeking $7.25 million for their 21,656-square-foot home in a suburb of Fort Lauderdale. Abe Finkel, Nathan’s father, was one of the founders of IHOP, the pancake house restaurant chain that briefly flirted last year with a name change to IHOB as part of a burger promotion. The nine-bedroom, 11-bathroom home in the town of Southwest Ranches has a bowling alley, a theater room, a bar room, a library and quarters for maids and nannies. The property comes with a tennis court, gazebo and swimming pool. Mark Kaminsky and Kevin O’steen of the Kaminsky/Reyes Team at Coldwell Banker have the listing. [TRD]
Amid national expansion, Compass heads to Mile-High City Despite already having offices in Aspen and Telluride, Compass is embarking on a further Colorado expansion with planned outposts in Denver and Boulder. The SoftBank Group-backed residential brokerage said it will open flagship offices in the two cities within the next few months. “Colorado is consistently named one of the fastest growing states in the country, netting more than 70,000 new residents per year over the past 5 years,” chief growth officer Rob Lehman said in a statement, noting that there’s “an enormous opportunity to elevate the real estate experience for agents across the state.” Compass has been rapidly expanding, opening offices across the country. [TRD]
R. Kelly evicted from Chicago warehouse he used as studio, residence A judge signed an order evicting the R. Kelly from an industrial building in Chicago, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The singer owed nearly $80,000 in back rent for the warehouse, which he used as both a recording studio and a residence. City attorneys claim the dual use violates zoning code and had been trying to gain access to the building, according to the outlet. R. Kelly has long been accused of abusing women and young girls, but a recently-aired Lifetime series, “Surviving R. Kelly,” has raised a new set of abuse allegations against the entertainer, all of which he has denied. [TRD]
Nonprofit shells out $2.5M for Muhammad Ali’s Michigan estate An 81-acre estate in southwest Michigan that Muhammad Ali bought in the 1970s has a new owner, the Chicago Tribune reported. A Turkish nonprofit called the Turken Foundation, which is based in New York, bought the property from Lonnie Ali, the boxing legend’s widow, for $2.5 million, according to the outlet. Lonnie Ali initially listed the estate for $2.895 million, although the precise figure was $2,895,037, a tribute to her late husband’s 37 career knockouts. Ali, who died in 2016, purchased the property when he was living 90 miles away in Chicago’s Kenwood neighborhood. He continued to stay there even after Ali moved to Los Angeles and Arizona. One of the buildings on the estate has a boxing ring, the newspaper reported. [TRD]
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All the Boston Food News That Mattered in January 2019: From Pizza to Pretty Cakes
The month in openings, closings, top news, and more
The year kicked off with a flurry of activity in the local restaurant scene — lots of openings, but lots of closings as well. The Boston area welcomed a handful of new cafes, a hot new cocktail destination, several Italian restaurants, and more, but diners also had to say goodbye to some old-timers, including one restaurant that was close to 200 years old.
Read on for a summary of January 2019, including the most-read news stories and maps, the openings, and the closings.
Jump to: Most-Read Stories | Top Maps, Guides, and Food Crawls | Openings | Closings
Most-Read Stories
Taiyaki/Facebook
Taiyaki NYC is expanding to Boston with its Instagram-bait unicorn ice cream
Durgin-Park Closed After Nearly 200 Years: The Boston landmark had been operating since before the Civil War.
Milk Bar Arrives in Harvard Square in a Blaze of Sugary Glory: And it’s sharing space with a popular DC-based pizzeria, &pizza. The duo officially opened on February 2.
Suburban Boston Dining News, Updated Weekly: A round-up of restaurant openings, closings, and other news outside of the immediate Boston vicinity.
Taco Bell Will Soon Live Más Right in Downtown Boston: It’s only the second location in Boston proper.
Former Mamaleh’s Employee Files Lawsuit for Sexual Harassment and Discrimination: A longtime staffer at the Cambridge restaurant says members of the restaurant’s ownership and kitchen staff engaged in sexual harassment, homophobia, sexism, and racism.
Tiffani Faison’s Not Done Growing Her Fenway Empire: The acclaimed chef has a new restaurant coming to the neighborhood this summer.
Michael Scelfo’s New Bar Pairs Finger Food With History: Look inside the Longellow Bar at Alden & Harlow, now open.
The Seaport District Is Getting Unicorn Ice Cream in Fish-Shaped Cones: Courtesy of a New York-based ice cream shop, Taiyaki NYC.
Time Out Market Will Have a Star-Studded Lineup, Including Craigie Burger Variations: 2019’s food hall bonanza is getting underway.
Cultivar Has Closed Its Doors After a Year and a Half: Chef and co-owner Mary Dumont was Eater Boston’s 2017 Chef of the Year.
Top Maps, Guides, and Food Crawls
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater
Tom yum noodle soup at Dakzen, a new addition to the Eater 38 in January
The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston, Winter 2019: Boston’s greatest restaurants for any occasion, updated quarterly.
The Hottest Restaurants in Boston Right Now, January 2019: Boston’s best new hotspots, updated monthly.
13 Top-Notch Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Around Boston: Gooey cheese and perfectly toasted bread are sure to satisfy.
16 Essential Boston-Area Coffee Shops: Start your caffeine adventure here.
25 Essential Boston-Area Burgers: A meaty to-do list.
26 Iconic Dishes Around Boston: Get to know the city and surrounding area with these essential eats.
The Cocktail Heatmap: Where to Drink Right Now, Winter 2019: Spend the bitterly cold days of winter with a cocktail (or several) in hand — here are some hot new cocktail destinations to try this season.
The Eater Boston Winter 2019 Dining Headquarters: What’s #OpenInBOS?: Bookmark this page for weather-related openings, closures, and specials all winter long.
Where to Eat Pierogi Around Massachusetts: Plump Polish dumplings are a solid antidote to winter’s chill.
These Restaurants Closed in 2019: An archive of closures.
Openings
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater
Chocolates from Gâté Comme des Filles, a chocolate shop that is now open at Bow Market in Somerville
5 Spices House (546 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge): A new location for a Chinatown restaurant specializing in Sichuan-style dry pot. (There’s also a Malden location, but that one features hot pot and sushi.)
Beacon Hill Pub (149 Charles St., Beacon Hill, Boston): One of several classic dive bars to return from a hiatus under new ownership this month. (See also: the Tam, Sullivan’s Tap.)
Blake’s Kitchen & Bar (Hotel Indigo, 276 Friend St., West End, Boston): The New England-y menu includes a lobster roll, clam bake, steak tips, and more, while the ambiance is meant to feel like an English pub.
Brit Bakery (407 Concord Ave., Cambridge): Brit Bakery started as an Arlington-based online business and pop-up; now it has its own storefront in the former Violette space, selling cakes, pastries, coffee, and more. Brit emphasizes organic ingredients and avoidance of preservatives and artificial flavors.
Door No. 7 (165 Linden St., Wellesley): Raw bar items, roasted chicken, salmon, and more from the team behind the Cottage.
EHChocolatier (145 Huron Ave., Observatory Hill, Cambridge): This popular local chocolate company used to be hidden deep within a Somerville warehouse; now it has a public-facing storefront in the Observatory Hill neighborhood, selling chocolate bars, truffles, caramels, and more.
Elm Street Taproom (256 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville): Located in the former Joshua Tree space, Elm Street Taproom comes from the group behind Five Horses Tavern and Worden Hall and serves sandwiches and other comfort food. There’s also a mug club.
The Federal (1265 Main St., Waltham): A steakhouse in the former Flank space.
Gâté Comme des Filles (1 Bow Market Wy., Bow Market, Union Square, Somerville): A chocolate shop serving boxes of small-batch chocolates, hot chocolate, and more.
Hi-Rise Bread Company (Boston Public Market, 100 Hanover St., Downtown Boston): The new Boston Public Market location is the third outpost for the Cambridge-based bakery. Market-goers can get sandwiches, soups, salads, breads, pastries, and jam.
Il Massimo (Legacy Place, 400 Legacy Pl., Dedham): Popular Providence Italian restaurant Massimo has expanded to the former Met Bar & Grill space in Dedham, serving dishes such as herb-stuffed porchetta, grilled pork chop with caramelized figs, and a variety of pasta options.
La Cucina Italian Eatery (400 Assembly Rw., Assembly Row, Somerville): From the owner of the now-defunct Carmen in the North End comes a new Italian restaurant that pays homage, design-wise, to the neighborhood’s car manufacturing history. On the menu: pasta, flatbreads, Lavazza coffee, and more.
Liuyishou Hotpot (702 Washington St., Chinatown, Boston): This is the first Boston location for the China-based chain, which features spicy Chongqing-style hot pot and displays its meats on a large wooden wheel.
The Longfellow Bar at Alden & Harlow (40 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge): Sibling to Waypoint and sibling/neighbor to Alden & Harlow, this bar occupies an attractive two-story space that was previously home to Cafe Algiers. Creative cocktails, fancy finger food.
Luce (1 Shepard St., between Porter and Harvard squares, Cambridge): Shepard closed in December, and the team quickly revamped the restaurant into a more casual Italian spot called Luce, featuring pasta, brick-oven pizza, and more.
No Relation (Shore Leave, 11 William E. Mullins Wy., South End, Boston): Located inside the recently opened Tiki spot Shore Leave, No Relation is an intimate sushi bar serving a 14-course tasting menu twice nightly.
Pho Viet’s (51 Langley Rd., Newton): An expansion of the popular banh mi staple at Super 88 market in Allston.
Revival Cafe & Kitchen (197 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville): This is the second location for Revival, a cafe from the team behind the now-defunct Crema in Harvard Square. The first Revival is in Alewife; this one is in the original Bertucci’s location (which was more recently a Subway).
Solid Ground Cafe (742 Huntington Ave., Mission Hill, Boston): The 18-seat cafe serves breakfast all day (and adds lunch items starting at 11 a.m.) and features Plymouth-based Speedwell Coffee.
Spice Delight (63 Concord Ave., Belmont): An Indian restaurant in the former Golden Garden space.
Sullivan’s Tap (168 Canal St., West End, Boston): After a brief closure, the dive bar is back with new owners but largely unchanged.
Sushi Momento (399 Chestnut Hill Ave., Cleveland Circle, Brookline): Sushi and other Japanese food from a Pabu alum, located in a hotel near the border of Boston’s Brighton neighborhood and Brookline.
Sweet Heart (386 Trapelo Rd., Belmont): Bubble tea, smoothies, ice cream, and other treats.
The Tam (222 Tremont St., Downtown Boston, Boston): The classic Theater District dive bar has returned under new ownership following a short hiatus, with barely any changes.
Tanám (1 Bow Market Wy., Bow Market, Union Square, Somerville): A Filipino restaurant featuring chibog (five-course dinners), kamayan (utensil-free feasts with 19+ components), and late-night bar snacks and cocktails.
Tatte Bakery & Cafe (125 Summer St., Downtown Boston): This is the first of two planned downtown locations for the ever-expanding local cafe chain.
Tradesman Coffee Shop & Lounge (Hilton, 89 Broad St., Downtown Boston): A coffee shop at a hotel. It’ll add alcohol to the menu soon.
Union Straw (8 Mechanic St., Foxborough): Flatbreads, pasta, burgers, sandwiches, and more, including a full bar.
The Westland (8 Westland Ave., Symphony, Boston): In the works since 2012, this restaurant is a sibling of Hopewell Bar & Kitchen, Corner Tavern, and more. It serves “international comfort food.”
Yassou (1323 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington Heights): Gyros, souvlaki, and other Greek cuisine, located in the former Capri space.
Closings
Huge Galdones/Cultivar
A dish at Cultivar
Barrington Coffee (346 Congress St., Fort Point, Boston): Open since 2011, this was the older of two Barrington cafes. A bank is rumored to be taking over the space.
Cultivar (Ames Boston Hotel, 1 Court St., Downtown Boston): From longtime Harvest alum Mary Dumont — who was Eater Boston’s 2017 Chef of the Year — Cultivar served upscale New England cuisine, featuring seasonal produce, foraged items, and the like.
Dough (20 Maverick St., East Boston): The pizza and sandwich shop had been around for 13 years.
Durgin-Park (340 Faneuil Hall Market Pl., Downtown Boston): End of an era. Durgin-Park was nearly 200 years old.
Fat Biscuit (MarketStreet, 335 Market St., Lynnfield): The Southern restaurant had opened in 2017; it had an older sibling in New Hampshire, which has also closed.
Griddler’s Burgers & Dogs (134 Boylston St., Downtown Boston): The building was sold to Emerson College, and Boston Nightlife Ventures decided retired its Griddler’s fast-casual burger brand in an effort to focus on its bigger projects.
Haley House Bakery Cafe (12 Dade St., Roxbury, Boston): The bakery arm of a decades-old community non-profit organization is closed, at least for now, but the organization hopes to figure out a way to reopen it with a more sustainable business plan.
The Living Room (101 Atlantic Ave., Waterfront, Boston): The waterfront restaurant and nightclub had been around for 15 years, featuring couches and a packed events calendar.
Manoa (300 Beacon St., Somerville): One of the first poke shops to open in the Boston area.
Peet’s Coffee & Tea (285 Harvard St., Coolidge Corner, Brookline): A number of Peet’s locations have been closing around the Boston area.
Petsi Pies (31 Putnam Ave., Cambridge): The original Petsi location remains open in Somerville, but the Putnam Avenue location has been replaced by a fourth Darwin’s Ltd., a switch that has been planned since 2012.
Sweet Bakery (0 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge): A wave of Harvard closures continues with this outpost of a small local cupcake chain, which had been in the neighborhood for about a decade. It may return to Harvard Square at a later date.
Towne Stove & Spirits (900 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): The Lyons Group, which was behind Towne, plans to open a new restaurant in its place this spring, believing that the market has shifted away from a “higher ticket experience.”
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A Local Banh Mi Superstar Expands From Allston to Newton
And more dining news from Boston’s suburbs and beyond
There’s plenty more to Massachusetts dining than just restaurants in Boston proper. We’re keeping tabs on developments in the Greater Boston area and beyond, including openings, closures, and more. With a focus on Greater Boston suburbs but occasionally reaching out further around the state, this piece is updated weekly, with the most recent news appearing at the top. (Check out the fall 2018 archive here.)
January 23, 2019
ANDOVER — Smythe & Dove Steak (89 Main St.), a “modern American steakhouse,” will aim to open in Andover this spring. The restaurant comes from Marcus Palmer, who is also behind Great Road Kitchen in Littleton. Smythe & Dove Steak will be built into a historic barn and will seat 150.
ARLINGTON — Butternut Bakehouse is crowdfunding to open a permanent bakery. Suzana Samad has appeared with her baked goods at farmers markets in the area and now aims to build a bakery in a portion of the building at 789 Massachusetts Ave., the former Bagels by Us space.
And in Arlington Heights, Yassou (1323 Massachusetts Ave.) will reportedly open on January 25, serving Greek dishes, including gyros and souvlaki, along with 15-inch pizzas. The restaurant is set to operate from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
BEDFORD — Davis Square’s Posto (187 Elm St., Somerville) and Osteria Posto (99 Third Ave., Waltham) may welcome another sibling to the mix. Posto has applied to take over the Comella’s space at the Bedford Marketplace on Great Road. Posto is a member of the Alpine Group, which also runs the Painted Burro and Rosebud in Davis Square and two locations of Burro Bar in Brookline and Boston.
BELMONT — Spice Delight (63 Concord Ave.) is now open in the former Golden Garden space. The restaurant serves a vast selection of Indian dishes, including biryani, meat specialties, and lunch thali.
BROOKLINE — Peet’s Coffee & Tea (285 Harvard St.) in Coolidge Corner will close for good on January 25. This is the latest in a series of Peet’s closures around the Boston area, including in Newton Centre and the North End.
DEDHAM — A Providence restaurant will expand to Dedham’s Legacy Place shortly. Il Massimo (400 Legacy Pl.) is taking reservations starting January 26. The Italian restaurant serves dishes like grilled pork chop with caramelized figs, pan-seared scallops with sweet corn risotto, and various pastas.
MARBLEHEAD/NEWBURYPORT — Superfine Food has closed two locations in Marblehead and Newburyport, though the original Manchester-by-the-Sea restaurant remains open.
NEWTON CENTRE — House of Tandoor (81 Union St.) is now open, from Ram Dhital of West Roxbury’s Himalayan Bistro. The restaurant serves a wide selection of dishes, including Nepali momo, vegan curries and daal, meat specialties, and more.
Elsewhere in Newton Centre, Pho Viet’s II has replaced No. 1 Noodle House at 51 Langley Rd. Pho Viet’s original location in Allston’s Super 88 market is home of one of Boston’s best banh mis.
SALEM — Blue Fez (118 Washington St.) is now open in the former Naumkeag Ordinary space in Salem, serving Moroccan dishes. Main courses include lamb tagine, steak frites, veggie paella, and more.
January 3, 2019
Susan S./Yelp
Bali Hai platter
FOXBOROUGH — Union Straw (8 Mechanic St.) is now open, serving a menu of flatbreads, snacks, sandwiches, pastas, and burgers, plus a full bar.
LYNN — Revere Beach’s famous Bianchi’s Pizza — which is currently operating out of Renzo’s Pizzeria as its original space is being redeveloped — will expand to Lynn, while retaining a shop in Revere. The restaurant will take over the former O’Brien’s space at 829 Boston St. The owners of the Lynn space include Julius Sokol, who’s also part of a group that owns several establishments in Boston, including, as of recently, the Tam, Sullivan’s Tap, and Beacon Hill Pub.
LYNNFIELD — An old restaurant in Lynnfield known for its Polynesian and Chinese menu has closed its doors after over 40 years. Bali Hai (93 Moulton Dr.) owners James and Lillie Yee sold the property and shut down the restaurant, and the new owners are working on getting approvals for a plan to build residences on the site. If they can’t get approval for that plan, they will consider demolishing Bali Hai and building a new restaurant.
Elsewhere in Lynnfield, Fat Biscuit (335 Market St.) has closed down. The Southern restaurant opened at MarketStreet in 2017, joining a second location in New Hampshire, which has also closed.
MALDEN — Emone Tofu (184 Salem St.) is now open in the former Wow BBQ space in Malden. The Korean restaurant serves a menu of tofu soup, bibimbap, Korean barbecue (including pork, chicken, and eel), gyoza, and more. Emone Tofu operates Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
QUINCY — Downton Boston’s Crush Pizza will expand a bit south, opening a second location in Quincy (1250 Hancock St.). The wood-fired pizza place cooks its pies in just 90 seconds in an oven that reaches 900 degrees.
SAUGUS — Santoro’s Sub-Villa (259 Essex St. Route 1) will close after more than 60 years in business. The restaurant has a message posted on its website that the owners will be retiring this year, and the restaurant is closing in February. The Santoro family has run the restaurant since its founding in 1958, first in Lowell and then at a few different locations in Saugus.
In other Route 1 news, Kane’s Donuts will open its third location by January 15, and this location will have the added convenience of drive-thru service. It’s located on the site of the former Saugus mini-golf course, where the orange dinosaur still stands.
STOUGHTON — Angelo’s Famous Roast Beef will expand from Plymouth to Stoughton. Owner Richard Monsini will take up the mantle of serving classic roast beef sandwiches to Stoughton — a role previously filled by the highly praised but long-closed Mur-Mac’s (it’s been gone for about a decade.) He expects to open the restaurant in March.
WALTHAM — The Federal (1265 Main St.) opens today, January 3. The restaurant replaced Flank but will retain a similar steakhouse focus — this time, with utensils.
WELLESLEY — Door No. 7 (165 Linden St.) is now open near its sister restaurant, the Cottage. Its menu includes raw bar items, small plates like goat cheese en croute and glazed Brussels sprouts, and entrees, including half-roasted chicken and Scottish salmon. There are also desserts and a full bar.
December 26, 2018
Porto Maltese/Facebook
Porto Maltese
BROOKLINE — Porto Maltese (1634 Beacon St.) in Washington Square has closed temporarily, and it plans to reopen January 11. The restaurant took over the former Fireplace space earlier this year, opening in March. A note on the restaurant’s website indicates it will be undergoing renovations.
CANTON — C.F. McCarthy’s (614 Washington St.) will open in the former Pete’s Place space in Canton Center. Renovations are underway to transform the space into an Irish pub with 20 draft lines, cocktails, wine, and food with local ingredients.
WINCHESTER — Mitho Restaurant (831 Main St.) is now open in the former Cafe Piazza Dolce space. The restaurant serves Nepali dishes, including momos (steamed dumplings), pan-seared seafood, tarkari, curry, meats, and more; there are lots of vegetarian and vegan options. The restaurant also received a license to serve beer and wine.
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The Spring 2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Cambridge and Somerville
Pierogi and macarons and empanadas, oh my
Over the river from Boston, Cambridge and Somerville had a bit of a slow winter in terms of restaurant openings; there were a few highlights, from ceviche in Union Square to delivery-only fried chicken sandwiches coming out of Inman Square, but there weren’t very many openings overall. Spring might be another story, however. The big thing to look forward to is Bow Market in Somerville’s Union Square, which debuted on May 12 but is in the midst of a rolling open — it will ultimately feature around 30 vendors, many of them food-related but not yet open, aside from Remnant Brewing. Also new this season: a vegetarian option in Central Square, pizza bagels in Harvard Square, an Italian deli in Davis Square, and more.
Read on for the rundown of spring openings — those that have happened already and those that may happen later in the season — keeping in mind that opening timelines often change, sometimes drastically. This guide will be updated frequently throughout the season as new information becomes available, so feel free to reach out with any info that should be on our radar.
This guide was originally published on April 2, 2018; the date of the most recent update appears above.
Note: The clickable table of contents below may not display properly (or at all) on certain mobile platforms. For best results, view on a tablet or desktop.
Jump to:
Cambridge's Spring Openings | A Preview of Cambridge's Post-Spring Openings | Somerville's Spring Openings | A Preview of Somerville's Post-Spring Openings
Cambridge
Amorino Gelato/Facebook
Amorino Gelato
Amorino
50 JFK St., Harvard Square, Cambridge
This international gelato chain known for its pretty rose-shaped scoops already has a Back Bay location; this’ll be the second in the area. It’s slated for the former Berk’s Shoes space. The franchisee behind the local Amorino outposts also operates a crepe kiosk at South Station that opened in early 2018, Crepe & More. Projected opening: Spring 2018
Black Sheep Bagel Cafe
56 JFK St., Harvard Square, Cambridge
Bagel sandwiches, pizza bagels, coffee, and more. The team includes an alum of Newton gastropub Central. Projected opening: May 2018
Boston Burger Company
610 Main St., Kendall Square, Cambridge
This will be the fourth location for the local burger chain, which is known for its over-the-top burgers, frappes, and more. (The group is also opening a fifth Boston Burger Company, its first on the North Shore — 133 Washington St., Salem — as well as a Davis Square deli called Mortadella Head; see details on that one below.) Projected opening: Early 2018
Gypsy Café and Juice Bar
90 Hampshire St., the Port, Cambridge
This 20-seat cafe and juice bar will open right across the street from Lord Hobo. Projected opening: May 2018
Revival
Alewife, Cambridge
This will be the first to open of Steve “Nookie” Postal’s three forthcoming projects with Crema Cafe co-founder Liza Shirazi. As noted elsewhere on this page, there are two Revival cafes in the works, plus one beer hall called Mothership. Postal is documenting his restaurant-opening adventures every other week; follow along here. Projected opening: Late May 2018 (followed by Revival Davis in the summer and Mothership in the fall)
Surya Indian Express [NOW OPEN]
Cambridgeside, 100 Cambridgeside Pl., East Cambridge
Surya Indian Kitchen N Catering opened in Cambridgeport two years ago, and now it has a sibling in the Cambridgeside food court, serving a menu of Indian food that is largely gluten-free, halal, nut-free, and/or dairy-free. Eat in the food court, do takeout, or order delivery. Opened: April 2018
Talulla [NOW OPEN]
377 Walden St., Cambridge
Husband-and-wife duo Conor Dennehy and Danielle Ayer have purchased the former T.W. Food space — where Dennehy was chef de cuisine and Ayer was briefly wine director before becoming opening general manager at sibling restaurant Bronwyn — and have opened a 12-table restaurant named for their infant daughter. They’re serving a five-course prix fixe menu and a seven-course tasting menu drawing from French, Japanese, Italian, and Spanish cooking techniques. There are a la carte options as well. For drinks, diners will find low-ABV, aperitif-style cocktails as well as some classic cocktails, amari, and more, courtesy of Matthew Schrage, who has worked at or consulted for many bars in the Boston area. Opened: April 20, 2018
Whole Heart Provisions [NOW OPEN]
298 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge
This Allston-based, fast-casual, meat-free restaurant — which shares a co-owner with Roxy’s Grilled Cheese — has expanded to the MIT edge of Central Square, right by Roxy’s. (It’ll also open at the Smith Campus Center at Harvard later in the year.) Opened: April 25, 2018
Zambrero [NOW OPEN]
71 Mt. Auburn St., Harvard Square, Cambridge
The first United States locations for the Australia-based burrito chain Zambrero opened right at the start of spring in Cambridge’s Harvard Square as well as in Warwick, Rhode Island. The Cambridge one took over the space of one outpost of a local burrito chain, Boloco. In partnership with international hunger relief non-profit organization Rise Against Hunger, Zambrero donates a meal for every burrito or bowl sold; the goal is to donate one billion meals by 2025. Opened: March 20, 2018
A Preview of Cambridge's Post-Spring Openings
Cava [Official Photo]
A bowl from Cava
&pizza X Milk Bar (1394 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge): This pizza and dessert collaboration between DC-based chain &pizza and NYC-based chain Milk Bar will take over the former Tory Row and Crimson Corner spaces in the heart of the square. While it was originally slated for spring 2018, a rep for the dual restaurant indicated in mid-May that an exact date isn’t set yet and it’ll likely be beyond spring. Projected opening: 2018
Blackbird Doughnuts (1350 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge): This Fenway and South End doughnut shop from the team behind the Gallows and Banyan might be opening a new location at the revamped Smith Campus Center, along with a bunch of other restaurants. Keep reading for details on the others. Projected opening: Fall 2018
Bon Me (1350 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge): Boston’s ever-expanding Bon Me truck and restaurant empire is bringing its Vietnamese-inspired fast-casual fare to Harvard’s renovated Smith Campus Center. Projected opening: Fall 2018
Breaktime (Unknown address in or near Harvard Square, Cambridge): A couple of Harvard undergrads are opening a cafe and doughnut shop (it’ll serve Union Square Donuts) with the goal of providing stable employment and vocational training to local homeless young adults. Projected opening: Fall 2018
Cava (88 Ames St., Kendall Square, Cambridge): This DC-based fast-casual Mediterranean chain opened its first Boston-area location in Fenway in January 2018, followed by Dedham in the early spring. Next it’ll spread to Boston’s Back Bay and Hingham in the summer, and Kendall Square after that. Projected opening: Fall 2018
Colette (Porter Square Hotel, 1924 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square, Cambridge): From the owners of Frenchie in the South End comes a new French restaurant to the ground floor of the fairly new Porter Square Hotel. It was originally slated to have a steakhouse, but that fell through. The forthcoming restaurant will seat around 150 inside and an additional 30 on a seasonal patio, and the menu may include steak frites, lobster ravioli, French onion soup, and more. Projected opening: Summer 2018
Dumpling Daughter (73 Ames St., Kendall Square, Cambridge): Dumpling Daughter is the second location for a Weston-based restaurant by Nadia Liu Spellman, whose mother, Sally Ling, was behind the now-defunct Sally Ling’s restaurant on Boston waterfront. Ling is Spellman’s consultant on the Dumpling Daughter menu, which includes dumplings, of course, but also rice bowls, scallion pancake and beef roll-ups, and more. It’s sharing the old Ames Street Deli and Study space with a forthcoming European-style cafe from Spellman’s sister, Nicole Liu. Projected opening: Summer 2018
Falafel Inc. (Yet-to-be-announced address in Kendall Square, Cambridge): Operating under the motto “food for good,” this potential chain originated in DC earlier in 2017 and has big expansion plans, including around the Boston area. A portion of proceeds are reportedly donated to help feed refugees. Projected opening: Unknown
Gustazo Cuban Restaurant & Cafe (2067 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square, Cambridge): In 2014, Gustazo opened in the former Elephant Walk space in Waltham. Now it’ll open in the former Elephant Walk space in Cambridge as well, serving dishes like empanadas, ropa vieja, and more. Projected opening: Unknown; it was in the “early stages” as of mid-March 2018
The Halal Guys (Unknown address in Porter Square, Cambridge): The New York City chain debuted in Boston’s Theatre District in late summer 2017. Next up: a location in Cambridge’s Porter Square (and four more in Boston proper). An exact address and opening timeline haven’t yet been announced. Projected opening: Unknown
The Longfellow Bar at Alden & Harlow (40 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge): The latest from Alden & Harlow and Waypoint’s Michael Scelfo, this will be located above Alden & Harlow, in the longtime Cafe Algiers space. Scelfo has been quiet on details since the initial announcement back in June 2017, but per the agenda for a licensing commission hearing, the new venue may have a dining area, bar, and seasonal patio on each of two floors. Projected opening: Summer 2018
Mothership (Alewife, Cambridge): Commonwealth’s Steve “Nookie” Postal has a few projects in the works with Crema Cafe co-founder Liza Shirazi; see details on the other two projects under the Revival listings on this page. Mothership will be a beer hall with 10 taps, food, and plenty of games. Postal is documenting his restaurant-opening adventures every other week; follow along here. Projected opening: Mothership is slated for fall 2018, with the two Revival locations potentially opening in spring and summer 2018
Oggi Gourmet (1350 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge): An original tenant of the Harvard student center, Oggi moved elsewhere in the neighborhood to weather the massive construction, but it’ll open inside the Smith Campus Center once renovations are finally complete. Projected opening: Fall 2018
Patty Chen’s Dumpling Room (907 Main St., Central Square, Cambridge): Patty Chen’s closed in late October 2017, thanks to construction that will ultimately turn the building into a boutique hotel. The restaurant will eventually reopen in a larger space in the new building; the extra space will allow for the addition of a bar. (As for the other tenants in the building, Cinderella’s closed permanently, and Toscanini’s is temporarily closed but opened a new location nearby.) Projected opening: Summer 2018
Pavement Coffeehouse (1350 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge): This growing local cafe chain will expand to Harvard’s Smith Campus Center once its renovations are complete. (But first, it’ll open a new cafe, roasting facility, and commissary in Brighton.) The Smith Center location will sort of be two locations: coffee and bagels on the first floor; coffee and pastries on the second floor. No sandwiches as there will be plenty of other food vendors onsite. Projected opening: August 2018
Perillas (No location yet): A fast-casual Korean restaurant focused on bibimbap is in the works. There will be three main protein options — bulgogi beef, spicy chicken, and teriyaki tofu — and a variety of vegetables. The owners are hoping to find a place in a neighborhood like Kendall Square (or perhaps Assembly Row in Somerville). Projected opening: 2018
Pineapple Thai (1108 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge): A new sibling of a Brookline Thai restaurant. Projected opening: Unknown
Saloniki (1350 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge): This fast-casual Greek spot with locations in Central Square and Fenway is reportedly expanding to the forthcoming Smith Campus Center. Projected opening: Fall 2018
Sheger Cafe and Ethiopian Restaurant (2376 Massachusetts Ave., North Cambridge): A small Ethiopian restaurant from a nearby salon owner. There will be around a dozen seats inside and a small patio outside. Projected opening: Unknown
Stix Noodle Bar (93 Windsor St., Cambridge): Restaurant group New England Restaurant Concepts, which is behind a variety of restaurants in the Worcester area and beyond, opened a location of its cafe, Brew on the Grid, in this space but closed it after six months and potentially plans to open its ramen-centric Stix Noodle Bar here instead — but the signage mentioning Stix is currently accompanied by a “for lease” sign, so it’s not clear whether this is still happening. Projected opening: Unknown
Swissbakers (1350 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge): With existing locations in Reading and Allston, as well as at the Boston Public Market, this bakery will add a cafe within the Smith Campus Center. Projected opening: Fall 2018
Vester (73 Ames St., Kendall Square, Cambridge): As noted above, Nicole Liu is opening a European-style cafe called Vester in the former Ames St. Deli/Study space, splitting it with her sister Nadia Liu Spellman, who is opening a second location of her Weston restaurant Dumpling Daughter there. Vester will serve dishes such as a prosciutto di parma sandwich and a smoked salmon salad, not to mention a daily “splurge” special to complement the feel-good simplicity of the rest of the menu. Projected opening: Unknown, but as of May 1, Liu had already applied for her licenses to serve food as well as and wine and malt beverages
Whole Heart Provisions (1350 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge): As noted above, this vegan-friendly sibling of Roxy’s Grilled Cheese will open in the Smith Campus Center at Harvard (but first, there’ll be a new Central Square location.) Projected opening: Fall 2018
Somerville
Maca/Facebook
Maca macarons
Buenas
1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville
Rotating empanada options (heated up to eat there or frozen to bring home) and Chilean sauces at the forthcoming Bow Market. Projected opening: Mid-June 2018
Gâté Comme Des Filles
1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville
The Somerville chocolatier will have a space at the forthcoming Bow Market, serving chocolate mousse in chocolate cones, hot chocolates with flavored whipped creams, and more. Projected opening: Spring 2018
Godavari Mini [NOW OPEN]
23 Union Sq., Union Square, Somerville
Part of a national chain of South Indian restaurants that also has local-ish outposts in Woburn and Framingham, Godavari Mini has replaced Union Square’s longtime spot for North Indian and Punjabi food, India Palace. Godavari Mini features a daily lunch buffet and lots of dosas, among other things. Opened: April 2018
Health Club [NOW OPEN]
278a Highland Ave., Spring Hill, Somerville
This brightly colored sibling and neighbor to Spring Hill cafe 3 Little Figs focuses on grain bowls, salads, smoothies, and “sparklers,” fruity carbonated drinks. The cozy space has seating for about eight, with a few seasonal sidewalk tables outside. Opened: March 23, 2018
Hooked Fish Shop
1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville
This Bow Market vendor will serve street food-inspired dishes that incorporate fresh seafood from Red’s Best and smoked seafood from Boston Smoked Fish Company. Expect dishes such as Iggy’s bagels with smoked fish, some soups and chowders, poke bowls, fish tacos, seafood banh mi, and scallion pancake wraps. Projected opening: Spring 2018
In Season Food Shop
1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville
Salads, bowls, and more, featuring local produce, at the forthcoming Bow Market. Projected opening: Spring 2018
Jaju Pierogi
1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville
Pierogi from a pair of sisters. They’ve been popping up around the Boston area for a few years; this location — within the forthcoming Bow Market — will be Jaju’s first permanent home. The duo also recently built a large kitchen in Lynn and is working on expanding wholesale distribution. Projected opening: Early 2018
Lucky Strike Social [NOW OPEN]
325 Revolution Dr., Assembly Row, Somerville
This growing chain offers bowling, other games, and comfort food. In Boston’s Fenway neighborhood, Jillian’s recently rebranded into a Lucky Strike social, and there are also locations in Albany and Honolulu. The Somerville location takes up two floors, with a kitchen and bar on the first floor and bowling, shuffleboard, and more upstairs. Opened: Mid-April 2018
Maca
1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville
This local macaron company will open its first brick-and-mortar location at Bow Market, selling adorable macarons in fun flavors. Projected opening: Spring 2018
Mortadella Head
20 College Ave., Davis Square, Somerville
The team behind Boston Burger Company is not just opening new BBC locations in Kendall Square and up in Salem; they’re also working on an Italian quick-serve restaurant with a focus on sandwiches and pizza. Mortadella Head will be in the former Deli-icious space. Projected opening: Spring 2018
Nibble Kitchen
1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville
Located at Bow Market, Nibble Kitchen will showcase a rotating array of food entrepreneurs from the Somerville Arts Council’s Nibble Entrepreneurship Program, which helps people from Somerville’s immigrant communities develop food businesses. Projected opening: Spring 2018
Hot Box
1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville
A North Shore versus South Shore restaurant from the team behind Mike & Patty’s, coming to Bow Market. It’ll feature roast beef sandwiches (North Shore) and bar pizza (South Shore). Projected opening: Spring 2018
Remnant Brewing [NOW OPEN]
2 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville
This brewery takes up a large portion of Union Square’s Bow Market, which will soon be packed full of food vendors and more. The brewery includes an all-day cafe, serving Barrington Coffee products, and an outdoor beer garden, and the beer line-up has everything from sours to session beers, New England-style IPAs, and more. Opened: May 11, 2018
Sassafras
688 Broadway, Ball Square, Somerville
Eat at Jumbo’s is undergoing renovations and a rebranding into Sassafras, a fully vegetarian (and vegan-friendly) restaurant. Jumbo’s already offered substantial meatless options, and this evolution will completely remove meat from the restaurant. It remains open during the changeover. Jumbo’s owner Grover Taylor is moving into the role of creative director (managing financing, site development, etc.), while Christopher Silvia is joining the team to head up day-to-day operations. Projected opening: After Memorial Day weekend 2018
Saus
1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville
Popular downtown fries-and-more spot Saus will open a vegetarian sequel at the forthcoming Bow Market, snagging one of the largest spots at the under-construction space. Expect poutine, salads, sandwiches, beer, and cider — but no meat. Projected opening: Spring 2018
Somerville Brewing Company’s Assembly Row Beer Garden
Assembly Row, Somerville
Somerville Brewing Company, aka Slumbrew, has a brewery and taproom outside of Union Square and a brewpub in Assembly Row. It also had an outdoor beer garden in Assembly Row for nearly three years. It was shut down to make way for construction, but it came back for spring and summer 2018 since construction got delayed. No tent this time — just open air, bocce, music, beer, and more. Opened: May 2, 2018
Tanám
1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville
This Bow Market spot will be a 10-seat Filipino restaurant — a continuation of the Pamangan pop-up series that has previously hosted events around the Boston area. There will be ticketed dining experiences that include art and music components, and every Wednesday, there will be a utensils-free, kamayan-style Filipino meal. Pending the appropriate permitting, there may also be an outdoor cocktail bar with boozy boba tea, snacks, and more. Projected opening: Spring 2018
Tsurumen [NOW OPEN]
420 Highland Ave., Davis Square, Somerville
This Osaka-style ramen shop took over the former Snappy Ramen space. (Snappy recently moved across the neighborhood, expanded its menu, and changed its name to Snappy Kitchen.) Keep an eye on the active Instagram account for updates: To start, the restaurant has limited hours and limited supply, and it’s currently only accepting cash. Opened: April 12, 2018
A Preview of Somerville's Post-Spring Openings
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater
Andy Husbands prepping meat at Smoke Shop’s original Cambridge location
Dakzen (195 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville): This forthcoming Thai restaurant will specialize in noodle soups, including boat noodles and yen ta fo. Projected opening: Summer 2018
Hulun Beir (5 Holland St., Davis Square, Somerville): This Mongolian hot pot and barbecue chain has a Beacon Hill location as well; that one was the company’s first foray into North America. It might expand to Malden as well. Projected opening: Unknown
Rebel Rebel (1 Bow Market Way, Somerville): This natural wine bar will open at Bow Market, courtesy of former Eater Boston freelancer and wine expert Lauren Friel. Expect some small snacks — and the ability to bring in snacks from elsewhere in the market. Projected opening: Summer 2018
Revival (197 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville): As noted above, this is one of several forthcoming projects from Liza Shirazi (Crema) and Steve “Nookie” Postal (Commonwealth). The Davis location was home to the original Bertucci’s and later a Subway. Postal is documenting his restaurant-opening adventures every other week; follow along here. Projected opening: Summer 2018 (after Revival Alewife, due to open in the spring, and before Mothership, slated for fall)
The Smoke Shop BBQ (Assembly Row, Somerville): Andy Husbands’ barbecue joint — with locations in Cambridge’s Kendall Square and Boston’s Fort Point — will expand to Somerville’s Assembly Row next. This location will have two patios. Projected opening: 2018
Urban Axes (2 Union Sq., Union Square, Somerville): One of Massachusetts’ growing collection of ax-throwing venues that also happen to serve booze. Projected opening: Summer 2018
Unnamed new project from the team that was previously going to open Carmen’s Trattoria & Italian Pub (Assembly Row, Somerville): Popular North End restaurant Carmen Trattoria closed in mid-2016 with the promise to return, and it later announced that it would open at 521 Assembly Row in Somerville — a larger space with a menu featuring a mix of old favorites and new additions, including Italian-inspired pub fare. But now — confirmed by a rep in April 2018 — the team is opening something different instead, and it’s in an even larger space at Assembly Row. Stay tuned for more details. (It may be called La Cucina Italian Eatery.) Projected opening: Unknown
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Go to Inman Square and Eat These Spicy Treats
From newcomer Moona to mainstay Punjabi Dhaba, this Cambridge ‘hood brings the heat
Welcome back to Food Crawls, a series in which Eater Boston staffers guide you (virtually) on various food (and booze) crawls in the Boston area.
When we go out, we often find ourselves wanting to try more than one restaurant or bar at a time — a drink and a snack here, another drink and perhaps a dessert there — and want to share our favorite multi-stop combinations with you. These crawls are meant to be relatively walkable, and the amount of food and drink is meant to correspond roughly to a couple of average appetites (so bring a friend), although your mileage may vary. Email us if there’s a particular theme, specific dish or drink, or neighborhood you’d like to see covered in a future installment.
Inman Square is a funny little neighborhood, beloved by its residents but still perhaps a bit unknown to most who don’t live within walking distance. It enjoys a degree of seclusion that Cambridge’s other noteworthy squares (namely Central, Harvard, and Kendall) do not. Much of that has to do with the fact that, aside from city buses (and we all know how reliable those things are), the neighborhood lacks a public transportation hub.
Don’t let that stop you, though: Inman Square is stocked with many excellent eateries. For this particular food crawl, we’re going to go to several spots serving food on the spicier side.
Stats for this food crawl:
Total stops: 4
Beers swilled: So many. Spicy food requires so many beers.
Cuisine types: 4 (Inman’s dining scene is diverse, gang)
Tums popped: How’s your gut health?
Nashville Hot Chicken Wings at Highland Fried
1271 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge
Highland Fried/Facebook
Highland Fried’s fried chicken is served with a chile honey, but for real heat, you’ve got to get the Nashville hot wings
Everyone is still sad about the shuttering of East Coast Grill, but the folks at Highland Fried, which opened in its place, are doing some damn fine fried chicken. Try the Nashville hot smoked and fried chicken wings — not as hot as the hottest thing East Coast Grill’s Hell Night had to offer, but not far off, either. Great with a few crisp beers.
Pollo Azteca at Olé
11 Springfield St., Inman Square, Cambridge
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater
The bar at Olé
Hang a right out of Highland Fried, walk a couple of blocks down Cambridge Street, and then hang another right onto Springfield Street. Olé’s version of pollo Azteca is stuffed with roasted jalapeños and topped with a creamy poblano sauce. The spice and cream balance one another, but you should still drink a few beers with this dish to stay cool.
Anything at Punjabi Dhaba
225 Hampshire St., Inman Square, Cambridge
Punjabi Dhaba/Facebook
Paneer chili masala at Punjabi Dhaba
It’s the best Indian restaurant in the city, and everything on the menu is worth eating. The paneer chili masala is a solid choice, and the restaurant will serve any dish as spicy as a customer wishes. Go hot, or go home.
Grilled Whole Fish at Moona
Moona/Facebook
The whole fish at Moona is done with harissa
You love this place. The grilled whole fish is done with harissa and fresh herbs, and it’s served with hummus. It’s a dish best served to two people, especially at the end of a food crawl, so bring a friend along.
And if the crisp beers weren’t enough to cool you down during your spicy treat odyssey, Christina’s Homemade Ice Cream is right down the street.
0 notes
Text
Go to Inman Square and Eat These Spicy Treats
From newcomer Moona to mainstay Punjabi Dhaba, this Cambridge ‘hood brings the heat
Welcome back to Food Crawls, a series in which Eater Boston staffers guide you (virtually) on various food (and booze) crawls in the Boston area.
When we go out, we often find ourselves wanting to try more than one restaurant or bar at a time — a drink and a snack here, another drink and perhaps a dessert there — and want to share our favorite multi-stop combinations with you. These crawls are meant to be relatively walkable, and the amount of food and drink is meant to correspond roughly to a couple of average appetites (so bring a friend), although your mileage may vary. Email us if there’s a particular theme, specific dish or drink, or neighborhood you’d like to see covered in a future installment.
Inman Square is a funny little neighborhood, beloved by its residents but still perhaps a bit unknown to most who don’t live within walking distance. It enjoys a degree of seclusion that Cambridge’s other noteworthy squares (namely Central, Harvard, and Kendall) do not. Much of that has to do with the fact that, aside from city buses (and we all know how reliable those things are), the neighborhood lacks a public transportation hub.
Don’t let that stop you, though: Inman Square is stocked with many excellent eateries. For this particular food crawl, we’re going to go to several spots serving food on the spicier side.
Stats for this food crawl:
Total stops: 4
Beers swilled: So many. Spicy food requires so many beers.
Cuisine types: 4 (Inman’s dining scene is diverse, gang)
Tums popped: How’s your gut health?
Nashville Hot Chicken Wings at Highland Fried
1271 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge
Highland Fried/Facebook
Highland Fried’s fried chicken is served with a chile honey, but for real heat, you’ve got to get the Nashville hot wings
Everyone is still sad about the shuttering of East Coast Grill, but the folks at Highland Fried, which opened in its place, are doing some damn fine fried chicken. Try the Nashville hot smoked and fried chicken wings — not as hot as the hottest thing East Coast Grill’s Hell Night had to offer, but not far off, either. Great with a few crisp beers.
Pollo Azteca at Olé
11 Springfield St., Inman Square, Cambridge
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater
The bar at Olé
Hang a right out of Highland Fried, walk a couple of blocks down Cambridge Street, and then hang another right onto Springfield Street. Olé’s version of pollo Azteca is stuffed with roasted jalapeños and topped with a creamy poblano sauce. The spice and cream balance one another, but you should still drink a few beers with this dish to stay cool.
Anything at Punjabi Dhaba
225 Hampshire St., Inman Square, Cambridge
Punjabi Dhaba/Facebook
Paneer chili masala at Punjabi Dhaba
It’s the best Indian restaurant in the city, and everything on the menu is worth eating. The paneer chili masala is a solid choice, and the restaurant will serve any dish as spicy as a customer wishes. Go hot, or go home.
Grilled Whole Fish at Moona
Moona/Facebook
The whole fish at Moona is done with harissa
You love this place. The grilled whole fish is done with harissa and fresh herbs, and it’s served with hummus. It’s a dish best served to two people, especially at the end of a food crawl, so bring a friend along.
And if the crisp beers weren’t enough to cool you down during your spicy treat odyssey, Christina’s Homemade Ice Cream is right down the street.
0 notes
Text
Go to Inman Square and Eat These Spicy Treats
From newcomer Moona to mainstay Punjabi Dhaba, this Cambridge ‘hood brings the heat
Welcome back to Food Crawls, a series in which Eater Boston staffers guide you (virtually) on various food (and booze) crawls in the Boston area.
When we go out, we often find ourselves wanting to try more than one restaurant or bar at a time — a drink and a snack here, another drink and perhaps a dessert there — and want to share our favorite multi-stop combinations with you. These crawls are meant to be relatively walkable, and the amount of food and drink is meant to correspond roughly to a couple of average appetites (so bring a friend), although your mileage may vary. Email us if there’s a particular theme, specific dish or drink, or neighborhood you’d like to see covered in a future installment.
Inman Square is a funny little neighborhood, beloved by its residents but still perhaps a bit unknown to most who don’t live within walking distance. It enjoys a degree of seclusion that Cambridge’s other noteworthy squares (namely Central, Harvard, and Kendall) do not. Much of that has to do with the fact that, aside from city buses (and we all know how reliable those things are), the neighborhood lacks a public transportation hub.
Don’t let that stop you, though: Inman Square is stocked with many excellent eateries. For this particular food crawl, we’re going to go to several spots serving food on the spicier side.
Stats for this food crawl:
Total stops: 4
Beers swilled: So many. Spicy food requires so many beers.
Cuisine types: 4 (Inman’s dining scene is diverse, gang)
Tums popped: How’s your gut health?
Nashville Hot Chicken Wings at Highland Fried
1271 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge
Highland Fried/Facebook
Highland Fried’s fried chicken is served with a chile honey, but for real heat, you’ve got to get the Nashville hot wings
Everyone is still sad about the shuttering of East Coast Grill, but the folks at Highland Fried, which opened in its place, are doing some damn fine fried chicken. Try the Nashville hot smoked and fried chicken wings — not as hot as the hottest thing East Coast Grill’s Hell Night had to offer, but not far off, either. Great with a few crisp beers.
Pollo Azteca at Olé
11 Springfield St., Inman Square, Cambridge
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The bar at Olé
Hang a right out of Highland Fried, walk a couple of blocks down Cambridge Street, and then hang another right onto Springfield Street. Olé’s version of pollo Azteca is stuffed with roasted jalapeños and topped with a creamy poblano sauce. The spice and cream balance one another, but you should still drink a few beers with this dish to stay cool.
Anything at Punjabi Dhaba
225 Hampshire St., Inman Square, Cambridge
Punjabi Dhaba/Facebook
Paneer chili masala at Punjabi Dhaba
It’s the best Indian restaurant in the city, and everything on the menu is worth eating. The paneer chili masala is a solid choice, and the restaurant will serve any dish as spicy as a customer wishes. Go hot, or go home.
Grilled Whole Fish at Moona
Moona/Facebook
The whole fish at Moona is done with harissa
You love this place. The grilled whole fish is done with harissa and fresh herbs, and it’s served with hummus. It’s a dish best served to two people, especially at the end of a food crawl, so bring a friend along.
And if the crisp beers weren’t enough to cool you down during your spicy treat odyssey, Christina’s Homemade Ice Cream is right down the street.
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