Boston's Hidden Restaurants:
Latest Entries from the Boston Restaurant Talk Blog
(Online RSS feed for Boston Restaurant Talk)
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| 01/08/2009 |
| Reef Cafe in Allston Is Closed |
| Reef Cafe, a Lebanese restaurant located in the heart of Allston, is just the latest Boston-area restaurant to close its doors. The friendly little spot on Brighton Street shut down around January 1, making it that much tougher to find a good Middle Eastern restaurant in the Boston area. A perfect place for college students and others looking for fresh, healthy cheap eats, Reef Cafe had some outstanding dishes, including a tremendous falafel sandwich that was made with falafel balls, tomatoes, yellow peppers, pickles, and tahini sauce. We will personally miss Reef Cafe very much. It was certainly one of our favorite Middle Eastern restaurants in the Boston area. |
| 01/07/2009 |
| House of Blues Opening on Lansdowne Street in February |
| The House of Blues, a small chain of blues clubs that feature live music and Southern cuisine, will be opening a new location on Lansdowne Street (across from Fenway Park) in February. After more than five years away from the Boston area (their Harvard Square location closed in 2003), the House of Blues is returning with a new, much larger location that will feature a concert hall with a capacity of nearly 2500, a full-service restaurant, and a retail store. A job fair for the House of Blues will take place on January 13 and 14 from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM at the Absolut Clubhouse at Fenway Park (72 Brookline Avenue). More than 200 jobs will need to be filled. The official opening for the House of Blues will likely be in mid-February. Here is a link from the Passionate Foodie with more information on the job fair for the House of Blues: The Passionate Foodie: House of Blues: Job Fair, Jan.13-14 |
| 01/06/2009 |
| Several Restaurants Destroyed in Fenway Fire |
| Six restaurants in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston were destroyed in a four-alarm fire early this morning. The fire apparently started at Thornton's Fenway Grille, a popular breakfast and lunch spot on the corner of Peterborough Street and Kilmamock Street, and quickly spread eastward along Peterborough, hitting a total of seven businesses, including six restaurants. According to Universal Hub and other sources, the restaurants that were gutted by the fire were Thornton's, Greek Isles, El Pelon Taqueria, Sorento's, Umi, and Rod Dee. This is the second time that El Pelon Taqueria was shut down due to a fire; it was closed for awhile after a fire damaged the Mexican restaurant in December 2007. According to WBZ, no one inside any of the buildings was hurt, though two firefighters were injured when they fell on some ice. WBZ also mentions that 100 firefighters were used to contain the fire, which started around 2:00 in the morning. For more information on the fire that hit the Fenway section of Boston last night, please go to the following links from WBZ and Universal Hub: Fire Destroys Fenway Restaurants Fenway restaurants, dry cleaners go up in flames; residents evacuated |
| 01/05/2009 |
| Highland Cafe in Malden Closes Its Doors |
| The Highland Cafe, a Malden institution that served pizza and Italian food for many years, had closed. An old-school neighborhood place and Malden's oldest restaurant, the Highland Cafe served countless meals mostly to a loyal working-class crowd over the years, with one of the specialties at the Highland being its simple thin-crust Italian pizza. No word as of yet on what might be going into the Highland Cafe, which closed around the New Year. Once we hear anything, we will post an update here. |
| 01/05/2009 |
| Poll Results: Effect of Proposed Toll Increase on East Boston Restaurants |
| Here are the results of the poll we took on the effect of a proposed toll increase on East Boston Restaurants: Substantial: 30% Moderate: 35% Minimal: 13% None: 9% Don't Know: 13% The original poll question can be found here: Poll: Effect of Proposed Toll Increase on East Boston Restaurants To all who voted, thanks again! |
| 01/05/2009 |
| Franklin Cafe Ceiling Collapse Injures 11 Diners |
| Part of the ceiling at the Franklin Cafe in South Boston collapsed on Saturday night, injuring 11 people and sending 8 of them to the hospital. According to the Boston Globe and several other news outlets, a 100-square-foot section of the ceiling fell while people were dining in the Franklin Cafe, which opened only a few weeks ago in the Allele building on Dorchester Avenue in Southie. The Globe mentions that diners complained of head, neck, and shoulder injuries. The restaurant will remain closed until further notice. There are two other Franklin Cafe restaurants, with one in the South End of Boston and the other in Gloucester. |
| 01/02/2009 |
| Latest Review: The Squealing Pig, Boston |
 The latest review on the Boston's Hidden Restaurants Web site is for The Squealing Pig, an Irish pub in the Brigham Circle neighborhood of Boston. Located just off of Huntington Avenue on a narrow side street, The Squealing Pig is just enough off the beaten path to make it a hidden gem of sorts. The pub consists of an open kitchen and two separate rooms, and features a menu that is a mix of Irish entrees and pub grub. To read more about The Squealing Pig in the Brigham Circle neighborhood of Boston, please click on the link above. |
| 01/02/2009 |
| Update: Brown Sugar Cafe to Remain Open Until Mid-January |
| A quick update on the Jersey Street location of the Brown Sugar Cafe: According to someone who works at the restaurant, they will remain open for approximately two more weeks (mid-January). The original Brown Sugar Cafe, a Thai restaurant which is located in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston, has been slated to close for a little over a month now. The Brown Sugar Cafe on Commonwealth Avenue will remain open, as will their sister restaurant, The Similans, which is across from the Cambridgeside Galleria in East Cambridge. |
| 12/30/2008 |
| Review: Kebab Factory, Somerville |
| Now that Classic India in Quincy is closed, the Kebab Factory in Somerville is one of maybe two or three restaurants vying for my personal number 1 spot for Indian restaurants in the Boston area. And after heading back there last night (this time with a large group), the place did nothing to change my mind. We were seated in the back of the restaurant, which has an almost trendy vibe to it with colorful lights throughout the place and a modern, industrial feel. Our servers brought over free cups of garlic potato soup (excellent), and shortly thereafter we ordered a number of appetizers, including lamb samosas, vegetable samosas, and peshawary naan (leavened bread with nuts and raisins). The samosas were good but not any better than what I've had at other Indian restaurants, but the naan was outstanding, with the nuts and raisins adding a nice texture to the bread. We were soon served our main entrees, which included chicken tikka masala (about the best I've tried anywhere, except perhaps Punjabi Dhaba just down the street), chicken saag (very nice, but not quite as good as last time I had it there), and lamb kebabs (a big hit at our table). Beers were generally excellent, including the barley-heavy Kingfisher, which I stuck with most of the night. Prices were about right for what we ordered, with the average cost being about $35 per person, including drinks. Service was just about flawless, with a number of different people waiting on us throughout the night. Overall, Kebab Factory greatly impressed once again. Other than perhaps India Quality in Kenmore Square and Shanti in Dorchester, I'd be hard-pressed to think of an Indian restaurant in the Boston area that I enjoy more.  |
| 12/26/2008 |
| Latest Review: McKay's, Quincy |
 The latest review on the Boston's Hidden Restaurants Web site is for a breakfast and lunch spot in South Quincy called McKay's. Located in a rather plain-looking building at a busy intersection on Franklin Street across from the historic Adams House (and about midway between Quincy Center and the Braintree line), McKay's is an unpretentious, friendly neighborhood spot that has all kinds of breakfast items, as well as a handful of meals for lunch. To read more about McKay's in South Quincy, please click on the link above. |
| 12/23/2008 |
| Forty Carrots Coming to Bloomingdale's, Chestnut Hill |
| The Bloomingdale's department store will soon be bringing its popular Forty Carrots restaurant to their Chestnut Hill Mall location. Forty Carrots, an in-store dining spot which first opened in 1975 in the 59th Street Bloomingdale's store in Manhattan, will feature mostly healthy foods, including a variety of breads, soups, sandwiches, and salads, as well as their trademark frozen yogurt. Bloomingdale's started out in 1872 in the Lower East Side of New York, moving to its flagship location on 59th Street in 1886. Today, it an upscale division of Macy's that has about 40 store locations throughout the country. |
| 12/23/2008 |
| Max and Dylans Opens in City Square, Charlestown |
| A second Max and Dylans has opened in the City Square section of Charlestown. It is located where Copia and Meze Estiatorio used to be, at the intersection of Rutherford Avenue (where it becomes North Washington Street) and Chelsea Street. The menu at Max and Dylans includes some interesting dishes such as miniature beef wellington puff pastries, chicken sliders, rock shrimp macaroni and cheese, filet mignon sandwiches, seared duck flatbreads, and Kobe meatloaf. The address for the new Max and Dylans in Charlestown is: Max and Dylans, 1 Chelsea Street, Charlestown, MA 02129. The phone number is (617) 242-7400. The original Max and Dylans is located on West Street in downtown Boston, just off of Boston Common. |
| 12/22/2008 |
| Brown Sugar (Jersey Street location) to Close |
| Thanks to posters on Chowhound for reminding us about the imminent closing of the original Brown Sugar location on Jersey Street in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston. This news had been made public by the restaurant back in November, with a note on their site stating that "it has been a pleasure serving you at the Brown Sugar Cafe in Fenway over the past 10 years" and that "we will continue to offer your favorite dishes at Brown Sugar Cafe on Comm. Ave....and The Similans [in Cambridge]." Both of the Brown Sugar Cafes have been among Boston's most popular Thai restaurants, in the Boston area over the past decade or so.. We're glad to hear that they will continue to operate the second location on Commonwealth Avenue as well as the lesser-known Similians. |
| 12/20/2008 |
| Chipotle Coming to Norwood, Woburn |
| Chipotle Mexican Grill, a fast-growing chain of restaurants that features mainly tacos and burritos, is increasing their presence in the Boston area. Two new Chipotle restaurants are coming to the area, with one in Norwood and the other in Woburn. They should both be open by the end of 2008 or early in 2009. The Chipotle in Norwood will be located on Route 1 (just north of the Dean Street exit), while the Chipotle in Woburn will be located on Commerce Way (a little north of the Woburn Mall). As we hear more on the pending openings of both Chipotle restaurants, we will post additional updates... |
| 12/19/2008 |
| Masa Southwest Bar and Grill in Woburn is Open |
| A new restaurant has just opened in Woburn. Masa Southwest Bar and Grill has opened its doors in the Horn Pond Plaza on Route 3 (in the same shopping plaza as Whole Foods) just north of the Winchester line. The restaurant is upscale but casual, and features mostly Southwestern-style cuisine including chicken with black bean and mango salsa, pork shoulder with borracha sauce, grilled catfish with verde sauce, tequila marinated shrimp, and chipotle apricot glazed short ribs. The address for the new Masa in Woburn is: Masa Southwest Bar and Grill, 348A Cambridge Road (Horn Pond Plaza), Woburn, MA, 01801. The phone number is (781) 938-8886. |
