Second on Park. They're serious about cocktails and the food is mighty tasty. Two of us made a meal of four appetizers and we took home leftovers.

Don't know who's teaching it, but there's a course in coffee being offered at the Cambridge Center for Adult Ed. this summer.

I bought a bottle at Marty's in Newton some months ago. Haven't checked for its availability there lately.
I like it a lot. Almost out, so I'll be searching for more.
I also am fond of Combier, another excellent triple sec/curacao, but it seems to have disappeared from local store shelves in the past year after its long-awaited introduction to the United States about three or four years ago.
But certainly there are many, many alternatives to blue curacao. Nothing wrong with Cointreau (except the high price), to name only the best known.

Made a long overdue first visit to the 88 food court on Comm. Ave. yesterday and got two banh mi at Pho Viet's. The beef version was very good, the pork even better. I asked for spicy and it was, just a total taste sensation, the heat mixing with the sweetness of the pork, cilantro and crunchy veggies. Each sandwich was $3.65 (I couldn't finish two; my wife devoured the leftover half-a-beef banh mi when I got home).
While Pho Viet's offers a full-menu of Vietnamese food, across from it is a banh mi-only stand whose name I don't recall (started with a B). Didn't see a single customer. I wonder how its banh mi's compare to Pho Viet's.
And I wonder if there are other delicious bargains available at the 88. The other places looked enticing, but they'd need to have something great to lure me away from another pork banh mi.

Tates are now abundant in Shaws/Star, too.

I never thought to ask a fishmonger to peel and devein shrimp. Can you same some places that do it? With a smile?

Osaka sounds right. It was a pleasant spot.

And I believe the Tokyo Restaurant used to be located in a small space on Concord Ave a few doors down from LaundroMutt before it moved to bigger digs on Fresh Pond Pkwy.
On the subject of long empty restaurant spaces, one wonders why the site of the former Chilis (and before that a Swiss restaurant, and others I can't recall) on Mt. Auburn in Harvard Square remains unused. I've heard the landlord is difficult to deal with and wants an exorbitant rent, but why not cut a deal and get something for your property? Or is there some sort of tax benefit in leaving these places shuttered?

I was wondering how Wang's dumplings compared to Golden Garden. How would you rate the different variety of dumplings at GG?

Highly recommend veteran food writer "Tom Fitzmorris' New Orleans Food." It's available in paperback, too.

You're not alone, Maillard. I've had some standout chow at Strip-T's, but last week I had a truly mediocre turkey reuben at lunch. Kind of like a very ordinary grilled cheese sandwich with some deli turkey added. The "house everything" condiments were barely present. And for $10, it was on the small side. Like the old joke goes, not only was the food not very good, there wasn't enough of it.

Wanted to go last weekend but saw they were closed. Now this on their Facebook page:
"Good morning donut nation!
We will be CLOSED today and the rest of the weekend. We'll be busily moving into your NEW SPACE!! We'll make the big announcement on Monday to let you know where our new home is."
Anyone know why and where?

Cuchi Cuchi would be a blast. Another thought: bet the girls would enjoy Painted Burro in Davis Sq., hip, fun and you can probably get a reservation if you go earlyish.

Love Iggy's, too. Just not the bagels.

Opin. Chef, I read your post and I thought you were talking about Trader Joe's because of the "no questions asked" return policy. Never knew Whole Foods has the same cheerful attitude.

More accurately, I should have said our community is losing a platform for MC Slim -- and a launching pad for future Slims.

Sorry if I overlooked a previous mention of Robert Nadeau. His restaurant reviews in the Phoenix (and before that The Real Paper, a 1981 victim of newspaper economics) showed the way for much of today's food journalism by combining culinary knowledge with humor, and treating low-priced ethnic restaurants with the same respect as top-of-the-price-line eateries (helping to set the stage for the Michael and Jane Sterns of the world). With the demise of the Phoenix, our community is now losing not only the excellent MC Slim JB -- a spiritual son of Nadeau -- but a newspaper where future Nadeaus could get their start. They'll find niches on the web, no doubt, but how many readers will find them?

I second that. I've never understood the Iggy bagel, which when introduced way back when were said to be their take on Montreal bagels (Mr. and Mrs. Iggy having lived in Montreal before moving to Boston). The result then was the same bagel they make today, which takes the chewiness of a good bagel to an unfortunate extreme. But when I finally went to Montreal and made my way to the legendary St. Viateur bagelry, their bagels were not anything like Iggy's. In fact, I found them rather insubstantial, though preferable to those horrible giant pillow bagels widely sold in Boston. I like Rosenfeld's in Newton and Katz's in Chelsea, but since I'm not often near either, Breugger's is my go-to.

Thanks for directing me. I just wish I could buy a smaller amount before investing in a $25 chunk. I'm guessing I'll like it, but I'd like a small taste first. And it's probably a lot more than I need, though perhaps it's one of those preserved type products that last forever or close to it. BTW, have you ever tried any? What you think?

I've run across bottarga (also spelled botargo sometimes) in recipes. Whenever it's mentioned, the writer swoons over its unique flavor, as if it's the marine world's answer to truffles. I know it's available online, but wondering if there are any Boston area sources. I asked about it at Formaggio's about a year ago and was told they stocked it briefly, but there was no demand for it.

I have to give TJ's croissants a try. Also, can you recall which Whole Food pastries in particular you like? I find their bakery products hit or miss -- mostly miss.

Thanks for the suggestions. Ended up trying Thai Moon, which was also recommended by a longtime friend and Arlington food maven. Sad to say, based on my very limited sampling of the menu, I would not return. Wife and I each had a soup, both of which were perfectly fine, if unexceptional, renditions. But my main -- pla rad pik (fried fish in chili sauce) -- was high class junk food. Tasty, yeah, but one of the ingredients in the chili sauce seemed to be ketchup. Tomato element in Thai chili sauce? That seemed wrong. I used up all the rice (which cost extra) to cut the cloying sweetness and still had about half the main left over.

Will be in Arlington this evening and craving either Indian or Thai. I've been to Kathmandu Spice which I liked, but some friends tell me Punjab is better. I've had food from Tom Yum Koong II, also good, but I know there are several other Thai spots. Do you have a fave?

Come to think of it, there is a catering company -- Basil Tree -- at 10 Fawcett that has a restaurant open from 10-2 on weekdays. I've never been. Anyone tried it?

You can already get a "decent meal" there. Good sushi at Genki Ya. Seafood at Summer Shack certainly qualifies as decent. Of course it would be wonderful to see an influx of Chow-worthy joints, but I wouldn't count on it. Been waiting for years to see somebody take over the Toyko Japanese restaurant space and for the something to be built in the wasteland where Fresh Pond Seafood used to be.
As for Panera, one in Harvard Sq. and another in Porter is already enough (maybe too much; not a big fan).

The thing with Po Boys is that it's half a po boy joint and half a sub shop serving breakfast -- which explains both the menu and the hours. The place is definitely not all in on New Orleans food. So you can get some very good sea food po boys, but instead of other New Orleans classics -- namely roast beef po boys -- there are lots of items aimed squarely at New England sub shop patrons with no interest in Southern exotica (though it would be great if Po Boys made mufullettas, I wouldn't expect to find them in a New Orleans po boy joint either, but rather in an Italian deli). As for Po Boys hours, they are similar to other sub shops that cater to day workers, which is to say, early morning to mid-to-late afternoon, closed on the weekend. My guess is that Po Boys owner figures there isn't enough of a demand for N'Awlins food to expand his menu and hours given the joints primary clientele and off-the-beaten path location. But maybe both will expand if Po Boys is successful. Let's hope so.

What quality makes Three Crabs superior to Red Boat (or one fish sauce superior to another)?

Where do you get 3 Crabs?

I've heard that Red Boat is the best. I have never found it in any of the stores I've looked. I'm almost done with the bottle of Squid fish sauce in my cupboard, thought I might give Red Boat a try. Is it really better than the others? Or are all fish sauces created equal?

And Grape-nut pudding. Which begat Grape-nut ice cream, obtainable at Toscanini's in Cambridge and probably elsewhere.