Food + Drink
Bento boxes and bowls to fit your mood at Nagomi Bento’s new spot
Simple and savory, Nagomi Bento brings a new cuisine and dining style to the Mass. Ave. restaurant row between Harvard and Porter squares. The bento-to-go spot, which also has a few tables, notches the second locale for the concept Nagisa Ikemura launched in 2022 at the Bow Market in Somerville. Read more Lobsters are smart, […]
Surf and turf dogs and scampi calzones at Alice & Monarch
We’ve long been fans of the sourdough pizza at Source in Harvard Square. The eatery is named for the cultured yeast, called “Mother,” that is the source for their pies. Proprietor Daniel Roughan and executive chef Brian Kevorkian kept with that matriarchal theme when they opened Alice & Monarch in Kendall Square this May, its […]
Dear Annie will close, though its owner says she’ll start something new
Dear Annie owner Lauren Friel shocked the local dining community when she posted on Instagram that it would be ending nightly service as of July 31. Friel posted that “Dear Annie as we know her—in both name and being—will cease to exist.” Read more Community members criticize city officials in meeting following Bautista’s death Friel […]
Goodbye for Charlie’s? Beer garden is cleaned out
Social media was rife recently with photos of Charlie’s Beer Garden being cleared out, along with speculation about what it meant for the future of Charlie’s Kitchen, one of the oldest dining establishments in Harvard Square. Read more Meet the candidates: Brownsberger and Lander emphasize similar issues, different approaches Charlie’s was devastated by a water […]
At Urban Hearth’s new Inman Square locale, a feast for the eyes as well as the palate
Urban Hearth, Erin Miller’s intimate 24-seat bistro in North Cambridge, closed at the end of May in preparation for its move to Inman Square. Its stylish new space has more than double the seating capacity but has not lost the sense of having your own personal chef. Read more Developer releases designs for affordable housing […]
So far, so fun for Cambridge’s version of Bourbon Street
From the Tartan Army to the Tall Ships, Cambridge is a prime beneficiary of the legislative mouthful called the Act Authorizing Municipalities to Opt-In to a Temporary Pilot to Extend the Hours of Liquor Licenses and to Allow for Public Consumption in Designated Districts in Summer 2026. Maybe we can just call it Bourbon Street […]
Back to Sumiao for spicy seasonal fare
We didn’t need much of a reason to wander back to Sumiao Hunan Kitchen. There’s always the prospect of something exotic, like pork kidney, lava fish or sizzling crystal vermicelli. And of course, Sumiao made culinary news last year by being one of the few area eateries to make the Northeast Cities edition of the […]
Best bites and sips at Taste of Somerville 2026
The Taste of Somerville returned to Boynton Yards in Union Square on Wednesday for the 28th year of the food festival. Read more Immersive play at City Hall revives 1976 recombination debate The 55 vendors dished out their bites and poured drink pairings as quickly as they could to the 1,500 attendees with several vendors […]
Winding down with old friends at Tampopo
When 2025 became 2026, Yasumasa Ito decided 34 years was long enough and it was time to shut down Tampopo, the venerable Japanese noodle and donburi bowl bodega in the Lesley Building in Porter Square. Cambridge Day posted an appreciation piece highlighting our favorite dishes, and lauding Ito for maintaining high quality over the years. […]
The best hoummos in town at Cafe Barada.
Hard to believe that Cafe Barada, the quaint Lebanese eatery just north of Porter Square, has been serving up traditional Middle Eastern fare for over 40 years. Then again, comfort and quality will do that. Read more Mt. Auburn Cemetery’s green transition happening at the right time The family-run biz began in Arlington back in […]