Boston on the Go - a Bostonian guide to keeping yourself busy and in the know. Ideas on things to do, places to shop & dine, and what to talk about when you're out and about in the Boston area.
Southie peeps - you have a new specialty food shop - American Provisions. Local Southie residents Matt Thayer and Andy Fadous are the owners and are committed to offering local and organic produce, Dewar's meats, Woodbury's shellfish, fresh baked goodies, and prepared meals made fresh. Sounds like something that the neighborhood could use! American Provisions is open Mon.-Fri., 8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.; Sat., 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.; Sun., 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. And is located at 613 Broadway (near L Street).
The Brattle Theater in Harvard Square is hosting it's Sugar and Cinema event tomorrow night. Enjoy cookies, cocktails and more starting at 8:00pm. For the sugar part of the evening there will be champagne cocktails and delicious desserts provided by Flour Bakery and Café. Plus, Boston’s own celebrity pastry chef, Joanne Chang, will be in person to sign copies of her new book, Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Café.
For the cinema portion of the event, the Brattle featuring a real cooking challenge captured on film: Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker’s new film, KINGS OF PASTRY, which documents the French pastry competition, Meilleur Ouvrier de France.
Tickets are $12 just for the movie and cocktail/dessert portion, and $40 (in advance) for the book singing and movie/cocktail portion. Flour cookbooks will be on sale at the event. For info on tickets and the movie, click here.
As you may have guessed, we like our local businesses. And this weekend, I'm recommending you hit up Somerville and Cambridge and do just that. Davis Square is hosting its annual Midnight Madness tomorrow night. Hit up Boston Shaker and Kickass Cupcakes for sure. If you can't make it Thursday night, Somerville is hosting Shop-a-palooza on Saturday, too. For more details, click here.
Saturday afternoon, hit up Taza Chocolate at their factory for a chocolate and coffee pairing. From 2-5pm on Saturday stop by for a free tasting of Counter Culture Coffee and Taza Chocolate. You'll get to sample a special selection of Counter Cultures heirloom coffees, which have been expertly paired with some of Taza's favorite Stone Ground chocolates. For more info on this event, click here. Oh yeah, and it's free. :)
And lastly, on Sunday, celebrate Hanukkah with Harvard Square's new annual event Everyone Loves Latkes Party from 1-3pm. The Fourth Annual Everyone Loves Latkes Party featuring delicious, creative, and best-looking latkes from local Harvard Square restaurants. Holiday music and storytelling will be taking place too. This event is free, too!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Before you head off to attempt to make turducken, I want to let you know about a new intimate restaurant that's opened in Cambridge - Bondir. Jason Bond from Beacon Hill Bistro opened his new restaurant Bondir this weekend on Broadway in the old Con y Sol space. The 24 seat restaurant features a fire place, and a country table bar that seats four. There is also a little nook of seats near the fireplace, which may be the best spot for this winter.
The food is a little based on French food, but more importantly, Jason is dedicated to using local, fresh ingredients. The menu is small as a result - but that's OK. The veggies were delicious - and they were sides to lobster and pork belly. The nice thing that Bondir does is that all entrees can be half portioned, so you could have one half for an appetizer (I recommend the grits or the pork belly) and another half for an entree. Meat eaters, you will like the array of pork and beef. :)Ha;f items ran around $12 to $13, and full entrees around $23-$25.
As for the bar, Bondir currently offers beer and wine. Bondir is open 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. for dinner besides Tuesdays and is located at 279A Broadway in Cambridge. The official opening of the restaurant is November 26th. Click here for more information.
This weekend my picks are delayed, but they are about food and art. Two of my favorite things! :) Tomorrow (Saturday) head over to the MFA for a FREE Open House - 10:00am-4:45pm enjoy the new Art of America wing and the fashion exhibits. Expect a crowd, but um, it's FREE! For details on the Open House, click here.
This weekend Canary Square opens in JP in the old Alchemist venue. From the folks who have brought us Coda and Common Ground, Canary Square is sure to be bring affordable local treats. I hear they have fried twinkies on the menu. Hmm. twinkies. Canary Square opens Sunday at 3:00pm and is located at 435 S. Huntington Ave. Stop by!
Lastly, stay tuned for Bondir opening in Cambridge and the Staff Meal Truck in JP. More to come on those soon.
For those who live or work in Kendall Square, most of us know that the only coffee shops around are the Starbucks located in the hotels near the T stop. But there is something new in the Square today - Voltage. And its pretty great. Voltage started out of JP in 2008 when the owner launched Voltage as an espresso catering service. Since then, she found a storefront in Kendall Square where she brews up great coffee (this morning's latte=no need for sugar) and tea. In addition to drinks and some snacks, Voltage offers a gallery of wall space with works of art from local artists. It has, as Lucy, the owner, described this morning "a warehouse vibe."
For menu and other info on Voltage, click here. Voltage is located at 295 Third Street as is open 7am-7pm Monday-Saturday.
Cheeseboy : Grilled Cheese to Go opened recently in the train concourse of South Station. The Boston Globe had an article about the food, and it was only a matter of time before a grilled cheese urge would result in a visit.
Alas, the photos of the actual grilled cheese were not saved on my phone as I got overly excited to wolf it down.
First impression: the line. It looked long but the owner insisted that it would take only 15 minutes to get our order. He was correct. It took about 10 minutes to get to the register and then 5 minutes to get the sandwich. For commuters on the go - one of the target customers of Cheeseboy - this is probably something to keep in mind if your train is about to leave soon. During non-lunch hours, however, the line is likely to be much shorter.
After some contemplation, I ordered The Classic (sliced Italian bread with American cheese) for $2.99 and the Cheddar Delight with bacon and tomato (sliced rye bread with Cheddar cheese) for $5.27. Though tomato soup is available, I did not order it. I ate half of it right away and the other half after getting back to the office to see how well it would travel.
The Classic is very basic but also very good. The bread is lightly crisped on the outside and the cheese is a decent thickness to it. Eating the second half back at the office, unsurprisingly, was not nearly as good. The bread had gotten cold and a bit chewy.
The Cheddar Delight with bacon and tomato on rye was a bit disappointing. The bacon flavor was a good addition, but the cheese did not have that thick quality to it. With so many different ingredients than my first sandwich, it's hard to know if it was the Cheddar vs American cheese change or the addition of the tomatoes and bacon that made it less thick.
One of the nicer aspects of the "to go" idea is that the sandwiches came in mini pizza box. This prevented the grease of the sandwich from soaking through and helped prevent any unwanted smushing. Also, don't forget to grab some napkins as they will definitely come in handy. Overall, I'd say Cheeseboy hit the spot. The taste was good and the price is about right. A single sandwich may not be enough for a full meal, but adding tomato soup or chips or getting a second sandwich would suffice. Finding a table at South Station is a bit difficult during lunchtime and grilled cheeses do not travel well, so I'm not sure what the optimal consumption plan is yet.
As a footnote, today's profits were being donated to Hole in the Wall.
Sorry folks, I was a bit delayed on the weekend picks this week - a little too preoccupied with getting my Lady Gaga glasses. :)
But, for those not hitting up a Halloween party this weekend (so many- Phoenix Landing, Middlesex, Machine, Beehive!) let me recommend hitting up some other fall/holiday fun. Starting today, Clover Food Truck opened their first store - Clover Food Labs in Harvard Square, on Holyoke Street. The food lab is planning to be open until 11:00pm and Clover offers a variety of fresh, healthy fast food that I'm addicted to. My recommendation - the cider-apple fritters. For more info on Clover in Harvard Square, follow their Twitter feed.
Head over to my 'hood on Saturday for Cambridge Brewing Company's Great Pumpkin Fest. From 4pm to 1am enjoy thirty different pumpkin ales including eight CBC pumpkin brews and at least twenty-four guest brews. The night will also feature pumpkin and Oktoberfest inspired cuisine as well as the 10p.m. ceremonial tapping of The Great Pumpkin, a giant pumpkin filled with our Great Pumpkin Ale. Admission is $10 and includes a limited edition festival glass and an event map. For more info, click here.
And lastly, on Sunday for us grown ups, head to SOWA's Market of the Living Dead. Join 130 vendors for the last market of the season. Best costume (theme - zombies) wins $250! For more info, click here.
So this weekend is jammed packed with classic fall goodies, like Second Glass' Wine Riot, Head of the Charles and Nashoba Valley's Bluegrass and Blues Festival. Second's Glass' Wine Riot starts Friday night and heads into all day on Saturday. For all the ticket info and fun, click here. I would recommend hitting up opening night on Friday.
Head of the Charles will run all day Saturday and Sunday. I mean, talk about the fall people watching! Click here for all the regatta info. See you at the Reunion Village where for a $3 entry fee, you can get access to race info and beer. :)
Lastly, head out to Nashoba Valley for Sunday's Bluegrass and Blues Festival. From 12pm-5pm, enjoy hand crafted micro-brewed beers, bluegrass music by Southern Rail. The festival also offers pulled pork sandwiches and other BBQ fun. Click here for info.
A friend and I grabbed lunch today at Foundry on Elm in Davis Square. Though the decor was great (it reminded us both of Eastern Standard), the food was so-so. Foundry on Elm has been open for about a month. As we blogged about before, the restaurant/bar took over the old space at Bowl and Board and the Jimmy Tingle Theater. The bar and and menu definitely has a french bistro feel, with poutine, shellfish and steak frits on the menu. The servers were fine, but our ham and cheese sandwiches were both brought out cold and the cheese was unfortunately not fully melted. The poutine appetizer was just the right size, but the gravy could have been a little less watery. Prices were reasonable.
Unfortunately, we didn't grab any cocktails, but I think Foundry just may be good for just that. Foundry on Elm is located at 255 Elm Street, Somerville.
Maybe I should be called Cambridge gal. :) But head over to my side of the river with Central Bottle's $1 dumpling night on Thursday and East Cambridge on Sunday for the 1st Annual Rib Fest! Central Bottle is one of our faves in Central Sq. Located next to Flour the store offers Thursday night wine bars where the store becomes like a mini bar. Tomorrow night, the wine bar is offering from 5pm-9pm $1 dumplings from Myers and Chang along with the wine by the glass (prices vary on wine). Central Bottle is located at 196 Mass Ave in Cambridge.
Along Cambridge Street in East Cambridge this Sunday, enjoy ribs and other side treats from Art Bar, Atwoods Tavern, Bambara, East Coast Grill, East Side Bar and Grille, Formaggio Kitchen, Hungry Mother, New Deal, Pugs Bar and Grill and Tupelo. Inman Square's new butcher, Vadim Akimenko, will also be doing a demo at 1:15pm and there will be live bluegrass music throughout the day. For more info on this event, click here.
Financial District has a new outpost for lunch and dinner - Battery Park Bar and Lounge. Thanks to Thrillist, we know that Battery is (another) after work sports/bar and lounge with 87 indoor seats and a huge (100 seat) outdoor patio. The mahogany bar offers you 16 flat screens, five spacious beige high-backed banquettes w/ directional speakers and touch screen TV controls. Patriots against Miami at Battery, anyone?
The menu seems pretty similar to what you'd expect at a sports-lounge - battered haddock, Shepard's pie, sammies and burgers and something with a twist - steamed Guinness shrimp w/ white onion seasoning. The bar also offers 16 brews on tap.
Battery Park and Lounge is open for lunch and dinner (starting at 11:00am) and is located at 33 Batterymarch Street. Click here for more info.
To celebrate Boston's first wine week, this Thursday, the folks from Second Glass are getting us to dress up and get down for a night out of drinking wine. Second Glass is organizing a bar crawl to some of the best bars in Downtown Boston. Second Glass will be hitting up BiNA osteria, Lock Ober, Woodward and more as part of this wine week fest. There is no price to for attending the event (only $9 a pop for glasses of wine and some awesome deals of food) but if you register in advance you can win fun prizes along the way. There is two after parties for this event, so bring your A-game. Some prizes include tickets to Second Glass' annual Wine Riot event and fun stuff from the sponsors. For a free ticket and more information, click here.
Locavores rejoice- Journeyman, a 36-seat restaurant opened yesterday in Union Square. The restaurant will be offering dinner Wednesday-Sundays, with the occasional special event on a Monday or Tuesday evening. The restaurant offers three-, five-, and seven-course menus (both omnivorous and veggie) with seasonal ingredients sourced from local farms and the dining room’s own garden. The 3 course menu is priced at $39, 5 course $69 and 7 course at $85.
The restaurant is also is staying true to its local-ness in its bar by offering a season beer list focusing on American microbreweries, especially from Massachusetts.
Journeyman is open Wednesday-Sunday from 5:30pm to 10:00pm and open Saturdays as well for lunch between 11:30am-2:00pm. Journeyman is located at 9 Sanborn Ct, Somerville. Click here for more info.
Last week we gave you photos of the Baily and Sage menu, and now a quick review.
Bailey and Sage opened recently at 103 State Street, featuring sandwiches and salads. Upon walking into the store, there are two lines, the closer one for salads, where you walk through the line specifying the ingredients and toppings you want, and the second line towards the back where you can order a sandwich.
The layout of these lines definitely leads something to be desired, as the salad line can get congested and makes it difficult to get to the sandwich line. Once in the sandwich line, there is not much space so it gets confusing to determine who is in line and who is just waiting for their order to be filled.
In any case, about the food. Pictured above is half of the Prosciutto and Brie sandwich, which was very good with a generous portion of prosciutto. The dried roasted peppers had a raisin-like flavor and was a a tasty and interesting topping. A friend who is a chicken salad connoisseur had the Bailey and Sage Chicken Salad Wrap and was very impressed.
BUT, the prices are just a tad high for lunch. For the taste and size $10 is probably not a bad price to pay, but it's hard to imagine going there too often.
(BTW, there is no Read More ... this time. Sorry.)
The website for Bailey and Sage (www.baileyandsage.com) is not ready yet, but the restaurant is open at 103 State Street serving salads, sandwiches, and wraps for around $10.
Hoping to get a chance to go, but in the meantime pictures of the menu are located below since their menu seemingly cannot be found anywhere else.
Both Boston and Somerville are getting two new local bar/restaurants this week as the Foundry on Elm opens in Davis Square and Darryl's Corner Bar & Kitchen opens on Columbus Ave in Boston. The folks behind the Independent in Union Square bring you The Foundry on Elm, which opened to the public last week. The Foundry is replacing the old Bowl and Board and Jimmy Tingle Theater location. The Foundry is finally bringing back the classic cocktails and food that those of us in Boston and Cambridge have enjoyed for awhile, such as classic cocktails and poutine. Have I mentioned I love poutine?
The Foundry is not just for the swanky cocktail drinkers - this two floor bar is also offering 32 local and Belgium beers on tap. The menu offers items such as confit pork belly and a raw bar featuring scallop ceviche and jonah crab claws. (I want the basic, but delicious roast chicken with fingerlings and kale).
Foundry on Elm is located 255 Elm St in Somerville and is open daily until 1:00 a.m. For more information, click here.
Darryl's Corner Bar brings a nice hangout to the South End. Darryl's give me the feeling with its simple (but yummy) menu that this is the place where everyone will now your name. Darryl's offers a variety of classic drinks and their own versions (I thought the mimosa was funny of PBR and OJ). The menu has good bar food like fried calamari, pulled pork sandwiches and lobster rolls. Darryl's also offers a late night menu from 11:00pm-1:00am. - a nice touch for those of us who had too many martinis down the street.
Darryl's Corner Bar & Kitchen is located at 604 Columbus Ave, Boston. For more information, click here.
From the folks behind Dorchester's dBar comes Deuxave (pronounced doo-ave). Deuxave at 371 Commonwealth Ave (corner of Mass Ave and Comm) is officially open this weekend folks, but has already been softly opening. :) The restaurant will be featuring "American Nouveau Cuisine" with concentration on using seasonal, farm-fresh local ingredients. The cuisine is strongly rooted in the nouvelle techniques of contemporary French cuisine, with some help from American ingredients. Sounds a lot like many other restaurants around here? (That's what I thought).
Menu includes a lot of local seafood and veggies, such as the Scituate Lobster Gnocchi appetizer, Seared Hawaiian Ahi Tuna, vegetarian ragoût and meats such as Moroccan spiced Colorado lamb and a duet of Giannone Farms Organic Chicken as entrees. Deuxave states right off the bat to have a vibrant bar scene, with the bar manager coming from Eastern Standard, so hopefully that means will see a great selection of beers and unique cocktails.
Deuxave is open for dinner Sunday thru Wednesday from 5:00 PM-10:00 PM and Thursday- Saturday 5:00 PM-11:00 PM. Saturday and Sunday brunch is planned to start within the first year. For more information, click here.
Recently opened on Devonshire Street is D'Guru, a lunchtime spot for Indian food. Prior cravings for Indian food were only partially satisfied by trips to Indian Entrees at the Corner Mall or Bombay Club in Faneuil Hall, with perhaps an occasional trip to the fancier Mantra.
At D'Guru, entree combos are 6.95 for vegetarian, 7.95 for chicken, 8.95 for lamb, and 9.95 for seafood. Samosas are 1.50. Combos come with a veggie side, rice, and bread.
This is primarily a takeout place, as there are only a couple of tables and some high top seats. Given the limited space, the owners of Guru the Caterer had planned to cook the food at their Somerville location before bringing it downtown. This may or may not be the case, but the food seems to confirm transport. Overall the food is quite good - full flavored and some decent heat. But the chicken is a bit overcooked, perhaps sitting in the high temperature sauce for too long, and the naan is a bit thicker and less puffy than normal.
So while the food tastes better than that of Indian Entrees or Bombay Club in the food courts, there are fewer menu options and some drawbacks of their kitchen being located elsewhere. Nevertheless, D'Guru is a great place to work into the lunchtime rotation.
The newest Lyons Group restaurant, Towne is open for business. It's sure to be a hit, considering Jasper White (Summer Shack) and Lydia Shire (Scamp, Lock Ober) are the chefs behind it! For more info on Towne, check out its website here.
Is it just me, or does Jaws turning 35 years old make you feel ancient too? Good. Well come by the Somerville Theater Thursday and Friday and enjoy some beer and sharks! Watch Jaws at Somerville Theater and drink some Narg. Four showings each on Thursday and Friday (Narragansett Beer is sponsoring the event. However, no free beers :( ).
Tomorrow down at 500 Harrison Ave (SoWA market area) from 1-6pm b.good is hosting a family BBQ for local artist Sidewalk Sam and his organization, ArtStreet. For $15 at the door (kids are free) the BBQ is offering local burgers, local beer, & local bands. A ticket gets you burgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, corn, salads, ice cream, shakes, a beer, live music, and live sidewalk art. Click here to buy tickets ahead of time and for more info.
Legal Seafood adds a new venue today in South Boston - the Legal Raw Pop Up. Legal Raw Pop Up is located on the waterfront by the Fan Pier Cove Marina and Boston Harborwalk. This new outdoor restaurant is a self-service café offers a limited menu of summertime favorites including lobster rolls, hot dogs, clam chowder, shrimp, oysters and burgers along with wine, beer and cocktails.
Legal Raw is open daily (weather permitting), from 11:30am till 1:00am. Legal Raw is located at: 28 Northern Avenue, Boston, MA 02210. Legal raw will only be there until mid-September, so don’t miss it! Photo courtesy of Legal Seafood.
Enjoy a free day at the MFA this Friday from 10am-9:45pm. That's right, those of you 21 and over can get into Summer Fridays for FREE! Enjoy free general admission to explore the MFA's galleries, exhibitions, and guided tours. Guests 21 and older also get in free to MFA Summer Fridays, which this Friday from 5:30pm-9:30pm offers a bar and live music from Little Bang Quintet. For a listing of all the exhibitions, etc happening Friday, click here.
It's hard to tell from Coming Soon signs when a restaurant might actually open (interminably long for UBurger on Tremont St ... not too long for Bostone Pizza on Batterymarch St).
In any case, there's more Coming Soon signs for restaurants sprouting up around the city. See what some of them are ... Boloco (yup, another one of them) - at 569 Boylston St, the old Winston Flowers location
Petit Robert - at 101 Arch St, the Vinalia Lounge spot
Café de Boston - at 75-101 Federal St, the old Rebecca's Cafe location
For many of us, Helmand is the go to for those craving Afghan food in the Boston area. Thankfully, for those in Allston/Brighton, there is a new location closer to home. So far reviews have been stellar with friendly waitstaff and a variety of options for both vegetarianism and meat lovers. And thankfully, the prices seem very reasonable. For a look at the menu and more, click here. Ariana is located at 129 Brighton Ave in Allston.
Eat, drink and watch trailers! The Brattle’s summer celebration is back! Join the Brattle for a night of fabulous (and fabulously horrible) trailers from the Brattle’s collection. Enjoy trailers from the Brattle’s collection, terrific live music from Poverty Line Band, BBQ at Casablanca, cold, refreshing PBR, and, of course, a ton of fun! For the fourth year, we’ll also be featuring the finalists in our TRAILER SMACKDOWN competition and you, the audience, will get to vote for a winner – this year’s faux-film is entitled LABOR DAY!
Tickets are $12/$10 Brattle Members, Students, and Seniors. For more info and to order tickets, click here.
This year, three free movies are scheduled for Mondays in July:
July 12th Gremlins July 19th Beetlejuice July 26th Where The Wild Things Are
All movies are at Devotion School Field, 345 Harvard St., near Coolidge Corner. All shows are free and open to the public and begin at dusk (approximately 8:30 p.m.). Bring your picnic blanket or folding chair for comfortable viewing under the stars.
The past few days the Great Lawn at Post Office Square has undergone a transformation. A lot of Asian lanterns have been hung, high tables set, and a stage erected. All of this is for the movie 'What's Your Number?'
A sign says there will be movie stars in the area, but looking at the IMDB page for the movie, the term "stars" is probably used a bit liberally ;)
Leisure Station opened a few weeks ago in Kendall Square, near by the Genzyme building and offers an array of tea, treats and karaoke! At Leisure Station, they are going the extra mile with bubble tea by customizing it any way you like, whether it be decaf, lactose-free or soy milk, etc. What's also nice to see - they make the boba, bubble or tapioca pearls every 2 hours. Talk about fresh. Regular teas and smoothies are also available.
Leisure Station offers more than just drinks - there are cake slices and fusion rolls, which is like a large maki roll sandwich. The $10.99 special includes one maki roll, side salad and a boba drink.
The store is thankfully open late, which I cannot say for many other eateries in the area, so bonus for that and will start karaoke at 7:00pm. And if you are not in a walkable distance - don't fret - Leisure Station delivers in a snazzy smart car.
Just read about some new restaurants and cafes in Somerville. The old Bowl and Board and Jimmy's location on Elm Street in Davis Sq will be a new restaurant, lounge and theater called the Foundry. The Foundry will be open (hopefully) in August, with a raw bar, with beer and wine specialties.
Up on Highland Ave, a new Chocolate bakery opened, called The Chocolate Tarte. The bakery sells cakes, truffles, tarts and coffee/tea.
Also at 278 Highland Ave, the old Cafe Rossini/Cafe Lola location is a new Aroma Cafe, serving sandwiches and coffee, specializing in Greek/Mediterranean cuisine.
And Teele Square Cafe closed - this place, which is on a corner shouldn't be so cursed. In its place a vegan restaurant called True Bistro will be opening and will have liquor.
This week, Flatbread Pizza reopened the Davis Square favorite - Sacco's Bowling Haven. As someone who haunted the old alley, the combination of pizza and beer are a nice addition to this great place. Flatbread Pizza touts itself as a local, organic pizza/salad restaurant, which it is. The menu features a good variety of classic and specialty pizzas, and the salads feature a light dressing with the option of goat or blue cheese (cheese is extra). My friends and I found it a little annoying that our waitress kept saying "organic" for everything - to be honest, it would be great to learn more about where they get their food (such as our pizza had farmer market tomatoes) than to keep hearing the word organic. But if that is the only thing I have to complain about, then it's not a major issue. Pizzas are big - there were three of us and we still had a few pieces left over and one salad could definitely be shared by two (the addition of seaweed on top of the salads was great).
The best thing about the new Sacco's? Probably that you can drink awesome local beers (pretty things!) or speciality drinks and candlepin bowl for cheap. Rental for 3 and two games only cost us $25. (Better than Kings, right?) And if you don't want to bowl, have no fear, there is a nice new bar for those who just want the liquor.
Flatbread and Sacco's is looking to stay open in the beginning at least until 10:00pm (for bowling/serving food) but there are talks to expand the hours. The new Sacco's is a nice place in the Square for families and those of us who just want to play around with some balls. :)
Flatbread Pizza at Sacco's Bowling Haven is located in Davis Sq at 45 Day Street.
Starting this Thursday night, the ICA once again partners with Berklee College of Music to present HarborWalk Sounds, the free summer concerts on the Boston waterfront. HarborWalk Sounds takes place on the ICA’s stunning Putnam Investments Plaza (100 Northern Ave, Boston) from 6 – 8:30 p.m. on Target Free Thursday Nights in July and August. For a full list of musicians, click here.
Boston's French Culture Center is celebrating its 35th Bastille Day on Friday night with a fun and food filled street party in the Back Bay. The 35th French Cultural Center Bastille Day celebration returns to Marlborough Street for what promises to be the street party of the summer! This year’s line-up, programmed by World Music/CRASHarts, Inc., features two incredible francophone acts: Caravan Palace with their irresistible gypsy jazz electro-swing rhythms, and the high energy Tabou Combo, the “Ambassadors of Konpa”, Haiti’s national dance music. Marlborough Street will be closed off from Berkeley to Clarendon Streets just for the party.
French food and drinks, including beer & wine will be available for sale from Beehive, Bistro du Midi, Brasserie JO, Mantra, Petit Robert Bistro, Sandrine’s, Sel de la Terre, the Waffle Cabin, Perrier and Stella Artois.
Tickets for the event are $28 before or $35 day of event (subject to availability). This will sell out - so get your tickets early! Click here for tickets and more info.
The Peabody Essex Museum is always a great trip, and this new event happening this Thursday is just another good reason. As history class should have taught you, the Mayans loved their caco, or chocolate and gave it as gifts to the gods. Recent archaeological research has confirmed that a fermented chocolate "beer" preceded the non-alcoholic chocolate drinks of the New World. Chocolate continues to inspire brewers today. Who knew?
To learn more fun facts and to enjoy a night of art, culture and drink, join Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) curator George Schwartz and locally-based Taza Chocolate co-founder Alex Whitmore at Beer + Chocolate = Food of the Gods on Thursday, July 8 at 6:30 p.m. Admission for this event is $55; Nonmembers $65. For more information on this event, click here.
When I lived in Davis Square in my early 20s, I adored Sacco's Bowling - niot only for its retro vibe, but more importantly for it's candle pin bowling - the only type I'm remotely good at! And thankfully, after a short period of rehab, it's back, with food! As I learned from Thrillist today, Flatbread Co.revived the old Saccos into a more modern bowl/bar/restaurant by completely gutting the place and making into a 180-seat space that still has ten bowling lanes. What was added - two domed wood-fire clay stone ovens, rust red colored/exposed brick/wood-planked walls, hand-blown glass billiard ball light fixtures, and a massive 40-seat bowling alley-length bar made of wood from the old lanes. The menu of flatbreads features Homemade Sausage (nitrate-free maple fennel sausage w/ caramelized onions, sun-dried tomatoes, and organic mushrooms); and a Kalamata and Vermont butter goat cheese number with red onions and fire-roasted red peppers called the Co-evolution. For drinks, the new bar will offer craft cocktails featuring Gloucester-distilled Beauport Vodka, and organic liquors from other local small batch distilleries, plus 40 taps w/ 20 mostly Mass-based drafts including Pretty Things, Opa Opa, and Berkshire. They had me at hello. One thing I hope that's still left from the old place - the jukebox with JT and Pure Disco CDs, and the old ads with how much tuition was at Tufts back in the day. Flatbread Co's Sacco Bowling Haven is located at 45 Day St in Somerville.
Chutney's, a new Indian restaurant, has moved into the old Flat Patties location in the Garage at 36 JFK Street and is opening today. The menu is based on wraps of Indian classics like chicken Marsala and sides like samosas (all the wraps are made with Indian flat bread). Their is a variety of specialty Indian drinks and chutneys for your meal too. I'm not clear on the pricing, but I've heard that most items are under $10. For more information, click here.
Recently, we managed to get our arses over to Kendall Sq. in Cambridge to check out the newly opened ThinkTank Restaurant/bar/lounge. Here is our brief review. Enjoy!
ThinkTank is definitely is a change to Kendall Sq. scene. It's not quite pub & bar such as Cambridge Brewing Company, Tommy Doyle's and Flat Top Johnny's, but it's not quite the foodie's paradise such as Hungry Mother. It is somewhere in the middle, which is a good thing for its location.
Place is a hybrid of restaurant, bar, and lounge and has a bit of a dressy yet casual feel. There were peeps who were fairly dressed up, but i didn't feel out of place with my t-shirt, jeans and flip-flops. There are a few TVs to catch some games, an area to stand and chill (later in the night, it will turn into a small dance floor) and several tables and a few booths.
Food is American with Asian and middle eastern twist. We had several appetizers and a couple of sandwiches. We recommend you try siracha wings, pork belly for appetizers and Seoul burger! Food is good and different from what other places in the area offers. There were some interesting cocktails and good selections of beers both on tap and bottles.
Service was great. Staff are friendly and attentive. One of owner/manager, Vincent, came by our booth and talked to us for a bit. Just on a side note, Vincent is a burger connoisseur and gave us a great tip to check out a burger joint in CT which is home of the eldest burger joint (hopefully, we can go there soon and post it on the blog).
Weekends and few times during the week, it will have DJs for music and dancing in the evenings. It is also one of few places in Cambridge with 2am closing time and in couple of weeks will have several outdoor seatings as well.
This is a brief review of ThinkTank. If you want to try something new or are coming to see a film at Kendall Sq., then definitely stop by and check it out.
For the second year Berklee is bringing free musical entertainment throughout the summer. On select Saturdays throughout June, July and August, visitors to historic Fort Warren will be captivated by the sounds of Berklee’s notable up-and-comers playing original jazz, bluegrass, soul pop, indie rock and more while taking in the sites of Georges Island.
Take No Prisoners: Berklee at Fort Warren is free to the public. Each concert features three Berklee artists performing back-to-back, so all you’ll need is a ferry ticket for an entire afternoon of music under the sun. Ferry tickets can be purchased online or in person the ticketing booth near the Marriott Long Wharf every half-hour from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. For the full ferry schedule, visit www.bostonharborislands.org The first concerts begin at 12:00pm.
Do you love Neil Patrick Harris and Joss Whedon? Well, aren't you in luck! Cause tomorrow night at the Coolidge you can enjoy a Dr. Horrible Sing-Along.
On Friday, June 18th we will be screening Joss Whedon's award-winning Internet musical sensation Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog featuring a shadowcast performance by The Teseracte Players of Boston, followed by a special treat: A shadowcast of the musical DVD Commentary of Dr. Horrible. There will also be a Dr. Horrible/Captain Hammer costume contest. Come as the "Evil" Doctor or the "Good" Captain for a chance to win great prizes!!! The event starts at midnight at the tickets are $15. Click here for more.
South End just got a new restaurant - The Gallows, which opened this week in the old Sage location. The Gallows is a new American bar feel that I've heard from some early reviews has a pointed The Gallows to a real affordable place, such as the apparently delicious $9 burger and a peanut butter, chocolate, marshmallow creme brûlée ! The bar shucked the bowled pretzels for Pepperidge Farm goldfish and has cheaper beers such as Miller High Life, Narraganset and PBR all for $3. Hopefully I'll have a full report for you soon...The Gallows is located at 1395 Washington Street near Union Park.
Think Tank in Kendall Square and Noche in the South End open this week. Think Tank has a soft opening today, and Noche on Tuesday. Think Tank opens at One Kendall Square today under/near by the Friendly Toast. The Tank is a new addition to the after work/late night spots in the area with bar bites, interesting entrees (bulgogi burger) and classic cocktails - Manhattan anyone? The old school vibe is also represented not only in the food and drink, but in the 1970s inspired wooden bar and design.
If the food is not the best part for you, Think Tank also features a rec room with a jukebox, Ms Pac-Man and late night live music on Thursdays-Saturdays. Think Tank bar opens open Tues.; restaurant opens Wed. Mon.-Wed. & Sun., 4 p.m.-1 a.m.; Thurs.-Sat., 4 p.m.-2 a.m. Click here for more information (menu is not currently online).
On the other side of the river, Noche is replacing Icarus in the South End. Noche is a new lounge with new American fare. Noche will be open TuesdaySun.-Tues., 5 p.m.-1 a.m.; Wed.-Sat., 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Noche is located at 3 Appleton St. For reservations, click here.
Somerville Local First is hosting a FREE street festival this weekend in Union Square.
The street festival will have 50 participating organizations from Local Retailers and Artisans to Farmers, Nonprofits and Artists. SomerFun has something for everyone!
Activities include art installations, farming demonstrations (like canning...and we’ll be milking animals!) and multi-cultural youth group dance and the Somerville HS Marching band will be playing.
And many of the local Union Sq bars will be open for "refreshments"...so there is something for everyone! SomerFun will be held from 3pm-7pm in the Square. For more info and updates - click here.
Harvard's newest 30-room boutique hotel, Hotel Veritas, is open and its new lounge is too.
Simple Lounge exclusively serves Ice Glen Vodka, Greylock Gin, and Ragged Mountain Rum – each hand crafted in small batches at Berkshire Mountain Distillers, the Berkshire’s first legal distillery since prohibition. They use local crops and fresh water sources - talk about local! The Lounge's beer list includes Boston-based Harpoon Brewery and Cambridge-based brewers Pretty Things.
For more on Simple Lounge and Hotel Veritas, click here. Hotel Veritas is located at One Remington Street, at the corner of Remington and Mass Ave.
Join The Phoenix, Vitamin Water, Metro PCS, San Angelo, Casillero del Diablo, and Budweiser on June 8, 9, and 10th from 5-8pm on Summer Street in the heart of Downtown Crossing for the Best Music Week concert series! Three nights of high energy performances, featuring some of the local talent in New England. Free and open to the public, all ages are welcome. For a list of bands and more, click here.
Canteen, Cambridge's newest breakfast/lunch/dinner place started its soft opening today.
Canteen is filled with a variety of breakfast and lunch sandwiches, using Iggy's bread whenever available. Items were very fresh, and the sandwiches were well portioned and filled with interesting goodies. Most of us stuck to the sandwiches at lunch today, so here's a quick review- the Cubano was spicy, the Crafty was a good take of the turkey BLT and the European looked good as well. Most sandwiches were under $10, which was reasonable, but we had difficulty in ordering drinks. Canteen also offers soups and salads and healthy snacks for those on the go. Canteen is going to be open 6 days a week (closed Mondays). For its full menu and more check out their website here. And bonus points for Canteen for using all recyclable/biodegradable products!
A new cupcake joint is opening up in Brighton Center this weekend!
Cherry Bomb will be featuring scones, cupcakes and drinks for the baked good lover. What's nice about their menu too is that its accessible to vegans and the gluten-free folks, that normally have hardships at other bakeries. Cherry Bomb is also offering free Wi-Fi. My choice for cupcake - the Double Chocolate with Chocolate Covered Bacon....hmmm, bacon. :)
Cherry Bomb Bakery is located at 379 Washington St in Brighton, and is open daily from 7:00am-10:00pm.
Things are happening over at Downtown Crossing - whether its Jazz in July or Art Fridays. Tonight, head over to Summer Street near Macy's for music, drinks and more. The Boston Phoenix and WFNX radio are sponsoring the “Downtown Crossing Block Parties” every Thursday evening on Summer Street in Downtown Crossing. The bloc parties are FREE outdoor events in association with Anheuser Busch and will feature music, food from local restaurants, and beer and wine service, all in the biggest patio party in the city. For more information on this event, click here. The event runs from 5:00p-8:00pm. Enjoy!
Liberty Hotel has a great series of events, from Fashionably Late to Yoga on the Yard. To add to this roster, they have added a new dog and dog lovers party.
From 5:30pm-8:00pm in the Yard, dogs and owners can enjoy snacks and drinks (Clink snack menu is offered for owners). There is no admission fee and the event is weather dependent. For more information, email yappierhour@libertyhotel.com or 617-224-4000. Liberty Hotel is located right near the Charles/MGH T stop.
This Friday night the Arts at the Armory in Somerville is hosting a great food event for the ethnic food lover in all of us. Sample the delicious tastes from participating immigrant owned Somerville restaurants at YUM: A Taste of Immigrant City. Some of the participating restaurants include: Machu Picchu Charcoal Chicken & Grill (Peruvian), Fasika (Ethiopian), Highland Creole Cuisine and Cafe Belo (Brazilian). The event will also feature music from Somerville-based Ecuadoran band Yarina and international dance performances by the Greater Boston Nepali Community Youth and La Salsa. You'll enjoy artwork around the Armory, too.
Yum is to sponsor The Welcome Project, and tickets are $40 for the event. For tickets and more information, click here.
Enjoy the kick off to the Cambridge Science Festival this weekend with their Big Top Carnival featuring science fun for all ages.
This Saturday from noon to 4pm at the Main Cambridge Public Library Branch (449 Broadway) enjoy variety of science fun like Pfizer blue slime, learn about what the pharmaceutical companies are doing and one of my favorites, find out about liquid nitrogen ice cream making! I hope it's as good as Wiley Dufrain's! :)
The festival is also offering free shuttle stop locations at Harvard Sq, Cambridge Public Library, Museum of Science, Kendall T, Stata Center, MIT Museum, and Central Sq. so you have no excuse not to stop by. For a list of all events, click here.
Join Second Glass for their annual Wine Riot event at the Cyclorama. On Friday and Saturday, swirl,sniff and sip over 250 new wines from all over the globe, soak up knowledge from the experts at Crash Course Wine Seminars and grab tasty food pairings under $5 from the hottest local restaurants (Legal Seafood, Masa, Upper Crust, and Tremont 647 to name a few). In addition to the wine, the event includes music, photo booth and more. For more on ticketing and to purchase tickets, click here. One day riot tickets are $45.
Join the 19th Century Society for a really old-school pub crawl tomorrow, though the classic bars of Boston. The group will meet promptly at 5:30 PM at Eastern Standard (528 Commonwealth Avenue) for classic cocktails and complimentary appetizers; then proceed to Red Hat Café; Union Oyster House; Bell in Hand Tavern; and, if you are still sober, head to one of my favorites, Drink.
19th century attire is encouraged, but by no means required. So basically, if you miss the group at Eastern Standard, sounds like you'll be able to spot them at Red Hat! :)
The crawl is FREE to join. For an itinerary of the night, click here. RSVP on Facebook here.
The folks behind Central Square's Clear Conscious Cafe are bringing a new join into the Harvard/Porter Sq area - a locally and organic bistro. Rafiki Bistro's objective is to create a premier Bistro built around an organic and all natural offering whenever possible - or, sustainable. The bistro will be offering breakfast, lunch and dinner. The dinner menu previews have everything from potato latkes with North American caviar to salads and an all-natural gourmet burger selection. The wild mushroom ragout sounds delightful.
Rafiki Bistro is planning to open soon - it will be located at 1620 Mass Ave, in between Harvard and Porter Squares. For more information, click here.
Davis Square Suneri Boutique opens its 2nd location at 205 Newbury Street. The hours for the new location are Monday-Friday 11am-7pm, Saturday 10am-7pm, and Sunday 11am-6pm.
A new joint has already filled the old EVOO location in Somerville. Bergamot, a progressive American cuisine restaurant, is soon to be opening up. The menu is not up yet, but for pictures, check out the restaurant's Facebook page. I noticed that they are testing an oxtail ragout with potato gnocchi (yum) and they are going to be open for brunch on Sundays. For more information as it comes, click here. Bergamot will open up at 118 Beacon Street, Somerville.
I found this event and thought it was worth pointing out to those of you getting ready for travel this year - Saturday, March 27th enjoy easier passport services at the federal headquarters in Boston. On Saturday, March 27 only, you will not need an appointment to apply for a U.S. passport at a regional passport agency. You will be able to apply for either routine processing or pay an additional $60 for expedited processing.
Lobby Bar is hosting Mid Week Treats the next few Wednesdays for ladies. Enjoy cocktails, $3-$5 appetizers and other special treats. Each Wednesday from 6:00pm-9:00pm, Lobby features a girls night with new creative cocktails and local businesses such as hair salons, spas, boutiques, jewelry designers, tarot card readers, etc. for complimentary or heavily discounted products. Tonight will feature some purse and jewelry designers and the April 7th Mid Week treat will feature the chance to win Red Sox-Yankees tickets! Space fills up quickly, so RSVP to Shannon@LobbyBoston.com. For a list of all events, click here. Lobby Bar is located 131 Broad Street in Downtown Boston.
Enjoy a free cone at the Ben & Jerry's of your choice. If you are in the Boston/Cambridge area, stop by the Newbury Street, Harvard Sq/Garage location or the Park Plaza location today! Click here for other locations. Available 12pm-8pm.
Recently opened downtown on Devonshire St (next to the closed Grassroots Deli location), is Boston Wine Exchange.
If seeing the beautiful shelves of wine and liquor and refrigerators of beer isn't enough to entice you, maybe their tasting events and wine tasting machine will do the trick.
The hours are convenient, but seem to be tailored to the downtown area office schedules (Mon-Sat 9 to 9, Sun 12 noon to 6). And to make the store even more convenient, there is curbside pickup and delivery options available!
All that's left is convincing work to do beer Fridays!
Some of us may have known it as the small Tibetan restaurant or the recent home to the Holland Street Cafe, but there is a new place is in town - Istanbul'lu. The new Turkish cafe is going to be offering Turkish food and other delights. No word on when the new spot will open, but signs are going up in the window, so hopefully soon. Istanbul'lu is located right next to PJ O'Ryans at 237 Holland St. in Somerville.
RIP Corey Haim. I loved you in License to Drive, Dream a Little Dream, and of course, the Lost Boys. And tonight, to celebrate your movie career, the Brattle Theater is showing the Lost Boys at 10:00pm. Adult tickets are $9.75. Enjoy!!
J.LO did recently come out with a single on some famous footwear, so it's not surprising there is a high heel club for ladies out there. So tomorrow night, head over to Beacon Hill's Hampshire House for some cocktails and shoe watching. Hello Stiletto's "High Heel Happy Hour" is on Friday from 5-8pm at the Hampshire House. Put on your favorite footwear and come enjoy cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and a chance to take the title of "best in shoe" in a pink carpet walk-off. The Hampshire House will be serving up complimentary refreshments and a cash bar of stilettotinis, Louboutinis, fine wines, and more. To attend, RSVP here. Any non-members wishing to attend should sign up for the club before RSVPing (membership seems to be free). The Hampshire House is located at 84 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108.
So NM Boston is hosting a party Thursday night filled with fashion, music and more. Starting at 6:00 p.m. enjoy The Art of Fashion® tribute, benefiting The Women’s Lunch Place, visit the Mandarin Oriental “inspired M Bar” and receive a key and a chance to “Unlock your Fashion Fantasies” and enjoy makeovers by makeup artists from Le Métier de Beauté and a jazz performance by Ski Johnson. This list is just a taste of what will be happening a the event...one clue - DVF. Reservations are limited for the event, so please reply to 617.585.6000. Click here for more information.
Poe’s Kitchen at the Rattlesnake is bringing the Olympic Games to Boston – Wii Style. Tomorrow from 6:00pm-9:00pm join fellow miis and play wii. Try to win medals, enjoy $5 Olympic inspired cocktails and complimentary, globally inspired fare. Folks at the Rattlesnake are even going to have an ice luge on the roof!! Best part of the event? A portion of the $10 cover charge will go to the Special Olympics Massachusetts. Poe's Kitchen at the Rattlesnake is located at 384 Boylston Street, Boston. Get there early if you want to play - signs up for the Wii games start at 6:00pm.
Head over to the Middlesex Lounge in Central Square tonight for Nerd Nite, a gathering of nerds, their ideas, drinking and those who love all of the above. So what is Nerdnite? It's a monthly event (last Monday's of the month) where nerds get together and drink beer and give power point presentations to other nerds on subjects that are ostensibly of great interest to nerds. Tonight's talks are:
Talk 1: Cross-Cultural Revolution: Contemporary Chinese Music in Exile by Danny Liss
Talk 2: The Neurobiology of Zombies by Jeremy Kay
Talks begin at 8:00pm. Middlesex Lounge is located at 315 Mass Ave. $5 cover after 8:00pm. For more on Nerdnite, click here.
Folks in the downtown area can rejoice that UBURGER will add a location at 140 Tremont St ... near the Park St T stop, in the Stearns building, next to the Lambert's market there.
If you're wondering why we're giving such specific information on the location it's because a good and reasonable burger is hard to come by in the downtown area.
Burger options in the area come down to fast food, bars, and high-end restaurants so to get something like UBURGER or Four Burgers is pretty sweet, though the lines are bound to be pretty insane. Now if we can get an Anna's Taqueria/Boca Grande and a good Indian restaurant downtown, we'll be in good shape.
Roadhouse BBQ in Brookline near Washington Square is turning into American Craft, a new bbq and bar venue. The menu still touts beer and beef and beer with menu items such as stout braised short rib plated w/ wilted spinach and whipped potatoes and the "craft your own" burger menu section that features burger meets of beef, spice trail turkey and veggie with up to 27 toppings. Sounds like a cardiac arrest worth taking! In fashion to sibling venues Publick House, American Craft will offer hard-to-find beers - over 40 to be exact. American Craft will be located at 1700 Beacon Street in Brookline. Click here for updates.
It's become a spring and fall tradition in Boston to have Restaurant Week, where many local restaurants participate by offering three-course lunch menus for $20.10 and dinner menus $33.10. Dates are March 14-19 and March 21-26.
For a list of participating restaurants and their menus (most) visit this site.
Reservations are encouraged - availability at some of the most popular locations are certainly already booked. And be sure to check the menus - some restaurants will frequently produce a mediocre menu hoping to make their normal profit margins. But for the most part, thankfully, restaurants use this as an opportunity to attract new clients and to showcase their wonderful menus.
Sadly Grass Roots Deli will be closing their 183 Devonshire St location on February 26th. The owner mentioned not being able to reach an agreement with the landlord as a reason for closing. This is truly unfortunate as their lunchtime options were always great - oven roasted turkey for sandwiches or plates (where you always ended up wishing there was more delicious turkey) and specials of pork loin, fried chicken, pulled bbq pork, chicken pot pie, and bourbon chicken.
Grass Roots opened another location inside 101 Arch St over a year ago, but that location appears to be smaller and seems not to have the space to offer as many fresh, home-cooked options as they currently do.
Next to the Devonshire location remains signs for a Roly Poly wrap franchise opening soon and supposedly an Indian restaurant that will serve food prepared at their Somerville location will be moving into 185 Devonshire St.
If you don't want to spend the day watching Ashton Kutcher in Valentine's Day coming out tomorrow, may I recommend a weekend of singing to Moulin Rouge and 80s hits? Coolidge Corner Theater is hosting a double whammy of sing-a-long this weekend with Moulin Rouge on Friday night and 80s Love Songs on Saturday. Can it get any better?! For more info, click here. Members of Coolidge pay $8, non member it's $10. All shows start at midnight.
I have to admit, I am not a big V-day person...perhaps it's because I've never gotten flowers...awww...no, just kidding. But I will admit this year I'm happy to say there is a lot going on for lovahs, and those who are looking for one. Here are my picks.
Friday- For those of you who follow the Love Letters blog on Boston.com, you may want to check out their party at Noir on Friday night - 8:00pm-10:00pm, passed snacks, cash bar. Maybe it's a bunch of people looking for love? Go find out and report back to us.
ICA Experiment - Hand down, my favorite thing the ICA does. Bar, DJs, art. $25 GA, $20 for ICA members and students. Click here for ticket info.
Saturday- Saturday's Local Artist Market @ the Burren in Davis Sq - hmm, good lunch with the chance of grabbing some local jewelry or art? Check. Fellas, kill two birds with one stone - grab a pint with your friends and get something special for the lady. Starts at noon. Click here for more.
Franklin Park's Snow Day - After today's blizzard, this event is sure to be fun. Come sled the hills of the golf course, try out a pair of snow shoes, or join a search for animal tracks in the snow. If you have your own cross country skis, there will be a park tour at 1:30 led by the Franklin Park ski club. Warm up with hot chocolate and board games indoors. Starts at 1:00pm. Click here for more.
Coolidge Corner's 80s Love Song Sing-a-long - I always have a totally eclipse of the heart. And I'm planning to go sing my heart out at midnight on Saturday at Coolidge Corner's Singalong. See our upcoming post for more. $10 GA, $8 for members.
Sunday- I would recommend grabbing your loved one, skating at the Charles Hotel and warming up at LA Burdicks. If you don't have dinner reservations or just don't care, check these events out:
Alibi's One Night Stand Against Valentine' Day - Celebrate being single, set aside the bitterness of Hallmark's official day of love and do some good for humanity. Alibi is hosting a "Gold Diggers" party to raise money for the Esplanade Association. The $10 ticket gets you in, along with an allotted amount of funny money to spend on the guy/gal that catches your eye. At the end of the night, the guy or gal with the most funny money wins a cash prize. Party starts at 8 p.m. Click here for tickets.
Savant Project's Love It or F*&k It, 3rd annual Valentines Dinner - Whether you desire the classy dining experience of champagne, fillet and chocolate dipped strawberries, or you would prefer to drown your mired status in stuffed burgers, PBR and fried twinkies, we have the solution for you. They will even have a dart board for your exes. Ha! They had me at friend twinkie. Click here for all the details.
Happy Valentine's Day readers! We love you all. :)
Yesterday Pressed Sandwiches announced that they are temporarily closing their doors - signs to lease their Oliver St location are already in the window. No specific reason has been mentioned yet for their closing.
In the meantime, a new sandwich place, Theo's Sandwich Shop, opened a couple doors down a few weeks ago. Theo's is in a very small location (takeout) and focuses on cheap and large portions.
In contrast is Aristo Cafe, which we blogged about back in December. Aristo Cafe's sandwiches are priced higher for smaller portions than Theo's, but the quality of the ingredients seem better and the sandwiches are light and delicious.
For more thoughts on these restaurants ....
A photo of the menu from Theo's:
I've only had the chicken parm there, which was pretty good. On the plus side, they use breaded chicken cutlets as opposed to a lot of delis in the area that just used grilled chicken. The portion size for a large was ... quite large and at a low price. The downside is that the sauce was fairly plain. Definitely worth a trip back to try out some other options.
I've been to Aristo Cafe three times now - once shortly after they opened and a couple times since then. Aristo has definitely succeeded in creating a European-style dining option. The contents of the cold sandwiches are displayed in a case, and upon ordering the tray of ingredients is taken out and transfered onto fresh baked bread.
The Di Parma is highly recommended, with the subtle addition of melon complementing the prosciutto nicely. The Egg Salad is good with the egg not being overwhelmed by the mayonnaise. The hot sandwich Croque Monsieur is a bit disappointing - the taste of gruyere is lost somewhere along the way. So while Aristo is higher priced, the sandwiches are light and refreshing and are quite fulfilling.
One last personal note on Pressed Sandwiches, I would frequently go there for breakfast sandwiches until about a year ago due to several reasons: - they stopped doing breakfast specials - this would help lure you in hoping for the prosciutto, fontina, and egg sandwich, and even when it wasn't that special, you would usually get a breakfast sandwich anyway. For me, the Bagel Press. - for a rather basic breakfast sandwich, the price was a bit high. - there was a lot of staff turnover
So we hit up the sneak peek party at Stoddards Fine Food and Ale last week and looks like Boston has another VIP club in the works. See our video at Stoddards' event after the jump. Stoddards in located in Downtown Crossing in an old historic building, once the home of a cutlerly shop with the same name. The owners, which own Ivy Restaurant across the street, have been working hard stripping the venue to its original late 18th century roots. Steel beams, beautiful brick work now shows at the bar area.
Unfortunately, the speakeasy downtown stairs was not ready yet, but we were told (check out Sand Lad's video) that the speakeasy will be a members only venue, featuring a private entrance from the back alley and will have a "males only night." Now, I'm sure there are a bunch of you out there thinking that sounds awesome, but I got a bit turned off, especially when I heard that the club was aimed towards elite clients and athletes. So us normal folk, we stay upstairs at the pub and just pine away at who comes up those stairs...(let's hope for Brady and Rondo).
Stoddards' drinks are great old throwbacks, like Moscow Mules, Stoddard's punch and a variety of local ales. Menu you will offer deviled eggs, a pot of pickles (starters) and a variety of meat, such as oxtail, rabbit and quail. One of the more interesting items on the menu is an aged gouda and cask ale pudding - an English style cheese pudding made with pretzel bites and chestnut bread pudding.
Stoddards is still in the making, and is planning for their soft opening in about two weeks. Stoddard's Fine Food and Ale is located at 48 Temple Street. Click here for more information.
So tha Pats are not in the Superbowl, but who cares. New Orleans could use some good news like a Superbowl Champ so I'm going to be eating wings and cheering for the Saints. But before Sunday, I'm going to get my BBQ-on at the Formaggio Kitchen Superbowl BBQ. This Saturday and Sunday (February 6-7) at Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge, join the team as they hold two special wintertime sessions of their popular sidewalk barbecue, and welcome a slew of Formaggio Kitchen's favorite beer brewers and other producers for free tastings. Grillmaster Eric will be outside manning the grill both days starting around 11 a.m. Formaggio will have their usual summertime BBQ menu, as well as a few specials. People can also call up till 5:00pm on Friday at advance order specials. Click here for more and the menu.
Apparently old school games are in thing. Tomorrow night (Wednesday, Jan 27th)Union Square in Somerville hosts the 2nd Annual Rock, Paper, Scissors Tourney and Bella Luna/Milky Way in JP features Bingo. Fun on either side of the river! The Rock, Paper Scissors Tournament starts at 8:00pm at PA's Lounge, but register with your "battle" name from 6:30 to 7:30pm-the registration fee is just $5. Awards will be given for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place!
Rock 'n Roll Bingo starts up with games at 9:30pm, but you can grab treats (cupcakes) and music starting at 9:00pm. There are 6 rounds of Bingo, so sounds like people will have a chance to win a prize. Rock n' Roll Bingo is at the Milky Way, and it's free to play.
The folks over at EatBoston are hosing an event on Wednesday to support ArtsUnion. Ginger Explosion event will be gathering some of the best in Boston at Grand in Union Sq, Somerville to give their finest ginger themed dish. And you can be there to share in the tasty, gingery glory. Participating restaurants in in Ginger Explosion are: Picco, Ronnarong Thai Tapas, Petit Robert Bistro, Bambara, Tupelo, and more to be annouced. Space is limited, if you plan to attend, please RSVP here. Suggested donation to ArtsUnion is $5.
This Saturday (Jan 23rd) enjoy Hot Chocolate Tasting - from 1:00pm-3:00pm at Brattle Plaza (in front of Hidden Sweets) in Harvard Square. Taste samples of Hot Chocolate from some of Harvard Square's Finest Restaurants and Cafés and Vote for the People's Choice Award for Best Hot Chocolate in Harvard Square! There will be musical entertainment and you can always try your hand at ice skating at the Charles Hotel, too.
You may not be Apollo Anton Ono, but you can get excited about the Winter Olympics tonight at the Charles Hotel's party. Friday, Jan. 22nd, 2010, from 7:00pm-10:00pm, for $10 admission enjoy free ice skating rentals, DJ, prize giveaways, and more. Cash bar will be available. Spaces are limited, so RSVP to rsvp@charleshotel.com if you are interested.
update: Thanks Anonymous for catching the mistake on the date! This event is on Friday, Jan. 22nd, 2010.
As most everyone knows by now through the countless TV advertisements, news articles, and robo-calls, there is a special election in MA on Tuesday the 19th to fill the Senate seat once held by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (filled in the interim by Sen. Paul Kirk).
This election, which is too close to call between Coakley and Brown, could very well determine what, if any, bills and policies will become law since, with a Brown victory, the Senate Republicans will have an opportunity to filibuster any future discussions and votes.
Since the election is expected to be sooo close, remember to vote as every vote this time will be important.
For more information on the election and where to vote, please visit this website.
When it comes to Persian restaurants in Boston area, there are few options. Let me see, there is Moby Dick near Symphony, La La Rokh in Beacon Hill, and Jasmine Taste of Persia in Watertown.
Now, there is a new Persian restaurant in Coolidge corner, Brookline! It's called "Khayyam Restaurant" and it is a sister restaurant to "Jasmine Taste of Persia". Click "Read more" to read a short review and to hear an interview with the owner, Alex. Enjoy! Last Sunday evening, I was craving some Persian food and having heard from Boston Gal that there is a new Persian restaurant in Coolidge corner, I decided to give it a try.
Here are some of the things that I have tried:
Appetizer: Kashk Bademjan (a puree of toasted eggplant with sautéed onions, mint & Kashk (Persian cream)
Main Course: Mixed grill dish, Barreh Soltani (skr: 1 Lamb Kebob & 1 Beef Kebob). Comes with saffron rice, oven stewed tomatoes, hummus, & persian salad
Main Course: Vegetarian plate from lunch special: White basmati rice with falafel, grape leaves, some hummus & persian salad
and of course, the meal wouldn't be complete without having some "Doogh" (Perisan yogurt drink).
I have to say that it was pretty good over all. Appetizer and my mixed grill dish were very tasty and I highly recommend them. Soup was good. The vegetarian plate was good over all, but falafel was a wee bit dry. However, delicious grape leaves, hummus and Persian salad made up for it. Staff were friendly and helpful even though it was almost closing time when I visited and the owner, Alex, was nice enough to talk to me regarding his restaurant.
Anyhoo, if you are in a mood for some Persian food or Kebob then check out Khayyam restaurant. It is located in 404 Harvard St., Brookline, MA. 02446. Tel. (617) 383-6264.
Also, not sure when it will end, but they have a grand opening lunch special that is all day long (all 8 lunch specials are $5.99 each)!!!
Now, check out the interview with the owner, Alex!
Along Cambridge Street, in the old Benatti location, a new Asian restaurant opened in Cambridge called East by Northeast. The restaurant is small restaurant that's a nice addition to the neighborhood. Click on "Read more" to hear the interview! Inman/East Cambridge is known to foodies, and East by Northeast fits in perfectly. The chef has experience working at Hungry Mother and other local restaurants, so they know the scene well. Food ranges in price form $4 for starters (carrot chips are recommended) to $9-$12 for soups, noodles and dumplings. The pork belly sandwiches (under the pancake section) are delicious - it's been a long time since I've wanted seconds of something. The specials are good, but I highly recommend the homemade dumplings.
The space is small - a cozy 25-seats - and last week it was filled with local Cambridge folks. The servings are small, so we recommend (as the staff did) to share some items - think Asian tapas!
East by Northeast is located at 1128 Cambridge Street, near the Columbia St intersection. Dinner starts around 5:00pm.
Update: Check out Boston On The Go's interview with East by Northeast!
So two new places have opened - one in Cambridge and one in the Fort Point Channel. So much for the economy hitting the food industry! :) East by Northeast opens this week in Cambridge along Cambridge Street. The restaurant will bring Asian treats such as handmade dumplings, pork belly and a variety of local ales. Click here for Urban Daddy's full review.
On the other side of the river, Barlow's has opened on A Street in the Fort Point Channel area. Barlow's is brought to us by the folks behind Orleans, Warren Tavern and others. Reviews on yelp are saying the people, food and ambiance are worth checking out.
Miss those Free Film Fridays at the Museum of Science? Me too! Well they are back this month. All films at the Mugar Omni Theater are free on Fridays and show include: Antarctica, Dinosaurs Alive! and Adrenaline Rush. Tickets should be picked up day of and are first come, first serve. Click here for more.
So since the blog's beginnings, we've seen three different cafes/restaurants open along Elm Street...first it was O'Natural's, then Boloco, then Green Tomato 2 and now, Pizzeria Posto. Pizzeria Posto will offer wood fired pizza, a wine bar, craft cocktails and small plates. Add in some gelato and I think we got a winner. For news and pictures, check out their Facebook page here.
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