Food + Drink
Standout breakfast sandwiches from the squares
Who doesn’t love a good breakfast sandwich? In Newtown, Conn., where my family moved when I was in high school, the Hawleyville Deli made one of the best breakfast sandwiches I have ever had: an amazingly airy poppyseed bulky roll, a perfectly jammy egg, melted American cheese, and a touch of butter and hot sauce. […]
Home style Afghan food in a regal setting
In the years after 9/11, The Helmand, owned by the brother of former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, drew curious diners who left well fed. The spotlight has dimmed, but the cozy restaurant, proudly decorated with Afghan artwork, still serves the same excellent food as it has for more than three decades. Read more Healthpeak gets […]
Feeling the flat
Did you know flounder, the freaky pancake-fish with both eyes on top of their heads, are not born that way? They hatch with their eyes on both sides, like a typical fish, but as they grow, one eye migrates to the other side — a literal wandering eye. The strange maturation process is an adaptation […]
Tampopo’s may be closed, but it’s still feeding us
Tampopo may have left the building — the Lesley Building, that is — but the mutual love and time-tested affection between the Japanese street food eatery and its customers continues. Tampopo proprietor Yasumasa Ito offered some recipes from his 34 years of business along with “insider how tos” on a Tampopo commemorative website. Read more […]
Clamoring for summer fare at Möeca
We’re at the end of Dine Out Boston, where epicurious eaters can get great prix fixe deals in Boston and Cambridge. Far more alluring to me have been pop-up concepts like Vinal’s burger night and the recent vegan feast at Season to Taste: varying concepts intrinsically baked with passion around a cuisine, season or specific […]
Lining up for Burger Night at Vinal Bakery and General Store
Overview: Tuesday nights Tuesday’s at Vinal Bakery and General Store have become an event on par with the block-wrapping lines at BerryLine and the weekend curb waits at Bagelsaurus. I ventured over last week for a burger — the Miso Maple, cheddar cheese, thick-cut bacon, bread and butter pickles, and of course, miso maple butter […]
Fermentation fanatics prep for second annual festival in Somerville
Flora Spivak loves fermenting so much that when a swarm of fruit flies invaded her kitchen to feast on her kombucha, she didn’t completely quit. She cleared out the wooden barrel it was brewing in and started over. And when mold began growing in the crevices of that barrel, she was still more inclined to […]
A harvest fit for vegans — and everyone else
It was vegan season Thursday night at the Season to Taste restaurant. Owner Robert Harris had created a vegan dinner last year that sold out both seatings, so he organized a second annual celebration of summer produce and plant-based eating, dubbed “Season to Vegan.” Harris said it both challenges him as a chef and extends […]
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 […]