Review: ThinkTank Restaurant/bar/lounge

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.

Photograph of Nicole and Vincent from ThinkTank.

Location:One Kendall Square, Building 300, Cambridge, MA, 02139

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Boston Wine Exchange now open downtown

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!

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New UBURGER Coming Soon!

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.

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Restaurant Week - Spring 2010

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.

Bon appetit. Enjoy!

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Grass Roots on Devonshire closing

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.

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The Evolving Downtown Sandwich Scene

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

I tried lunches there too but never became a fan.

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Special Election Tuesday

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).

The three candidates are:
Attorney General Martha Coakley, Democrat
State Senator Scott Brown, Republican
Joe Kennedy, Independent

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.

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Khayyam Restaurant review with interview!

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)

Soup: Aash Reshten (Persian soup: fresh vegetables & herbs, noodles, Black Eye beans, chick peas, & lentils flavored with sauteed onion & mint)

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!

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