ceo's Profile
Five Horses Tavern -- promissing
Hopefully they'll last longer than Sauce, 400 Highland and Sagra. Wish they'd lose the 20 giant TVs, though.
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Sagra
400 Highland Avenue, Somerville, MA 02144
You know those delicious looking half moons in the front case of Lyndell's in Central Square?
And the birthday cakes with Red Sox games and Barbie dream castles on them? Only edible if you're 5 and already hopped-up on sugar.
Lunch pre or post duck boats
When I worked in the area, I was a big fan of 2nd St Cafe, on, er, 2nd St a block south of the ex-courthouse. Tiny, with like 5 tables (most of their business is takeout), but cheap, fast and good. (N.B. I haven't been there in over 2 years, so apply salt to taste.)
If they like Thai (my 6-year-old loves pad thai), try Similan's on First St, a few blocks south of the Galleria. Might not be speedy enough for your needs.
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The Similans
145 1st St, Cambridge, MA 02142
Wolfgang Puck Catering
I'm sure their food for catered events is excellent. But my first association with Wolfgang Puck is the MoS cafeteria, and the food there is so heinously awful that I'm astonished they allow their name to be attached to it.
Fresh Pond Fish reopening
Right off the bike path. Excellent. I expect I'll be stopping there on the way back from Trader Joe's sometimes.
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Trader Joe's
1427 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington, MA 02476
Breakfast spot near MIT?
Au Bon Pain is across the street; it's a chain but for a quickie take-out breakfast they're not terrible.
About a 10-minute walk away is Beantowne Cafe, in the 1 Kendall Square complex, which I think would fit the bill nicely. If you're in the mood for a more serious breakfast, the Friendly Toast is right next door. Turn left out the Broadway entrance, walk a few blocks, cross a railroad track and go under a pedestrian bridge between two buildings, bear right and it's half a short block down on the right.
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The Friendly Toast
1 Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA
Beantowne Coffee House
1 Kendall Sq Ste B2105, Cambridge, MA 02139
favorite breakfast places
I'll add a cautionary note about Deluxe Town Diner: You only want a short stack of pancakes. No, really, unless you haven't eaten in like three days. They're the size of manhole covers and not significantly lighter (but very very yummy).
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Deluxe Town Diner
627 Mt Auburn St, Watertown, MA 02472
ISO Best Price?: Laphroaig 10 year old Islay Single Malt Whisky 750ml
That's a reasonably widely-available Scotch, but I expect you won't find it as cheap in MA as in NH. The liquor store next to the Fresh Pond Whole Wallet has a good selection; I'd be surprised if they don't have it.
Early Dinner near Museum of Science ?
I'd suggest Bambara, just up Land Blvd, but they don't open for dinner until 5:30. In the Cambridgeside Galleria are CA Pizza Kitchen, Papa Razzi and Cheesecake Factory . :-/ A slightly longer walk away is Similans, a decent Thai place (same owners as Brown Sugar Cafe, I think).
One Green Line stop away puts you by North Station, which has Boston Beer Works and similar options. Not the best plan if it's a game night, though.
Best sandwich in boston?
I was hoping someone would bring that one up, as I'd forgotten the name of it. When I worked in the area, I had to limit myself to one of those a week.
Best pick-your-own farms near Boston
My 5yo son, his friend and I pulled in a nice blueberry harvest at Honey Pot Hill (http://www.honeypothill.com) in Stow this past Saturday. I think that's the only PYO crop they have going right now.
(edit: and why doesn't Chowhound let me use HTML links? grumble.)
Flatbread Company Moving into Sacco's Bowl Haven
It's still there. I'd never actually been to Sacco's, so I didn't miss the way it used to be. :-) Went there Friday before last with my 5yo son planning to just split a pizza, but he took one look at the lanes and wanted to try it, so we had a truly excellent pizza and a truly shameful round of candlepins. :-) Liked the beer selection; even if it doesn't measure up to Redbones' it's still more interesting beers than I can reasonably consume in an evening.
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Redbones
55 Chester St, Somerville, MA 02144
Where have you always had a bad meal?
The Chateau in Waltham. A company I once worked fro used to order in from there a lot; I couldn't believe they managed to make ziti with red sauce that unspeakably vile, and we won't even mention the chicken with broccoli. We went there for company meals a few times and the rest of the menu wasn't any more appetizing. That and the Hacienda in Somerville taught me to beware of places where the ethnicity of the name doesn't match that of the food. Or maybe it's just Italian places whose name means "The Mansion" in a different language.
The Great Boston Pastry Hunt
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the Danish Pastry House in Medford Hillside.
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Danish Pastry House
330 Boston Ave, Medford, MA
Spün finally has cönsistent hoürs
Someone may want to mention to them that cutesy pseudo-Scandinavian names for frozen desserts got tired and annoying in the late 1980s.
Rao's Coffee Roaster Co. Ethiopian Yrgacheffe
Mr. Crepe in Davis Square serves Rao's, and also has a limited selection of beans.
Good Food & Kid-Friendly
Full Moon in Huron Village, Cambridge is a decent restaurant that caters specifically to families with kids; they have a play area with a train table etc. The menu is a bit limited, but the food is good, for both kids and grownups.
Moving to Arlington Center - good idea food-wise?
There's also the TJ's in Arlington Heights, which is right on the bike path and a 1-block walk from the 77 bus.
Anyone Remember this Place in Lexington Center?
I think Bel Canto's temporary location was actually the former Kentucky Fried Chicken (which closed long before it became KFC) in East Lexington, that was later New Asia and is now Three Gorges.
The last time I ate there, which was well over a decade ago, I was sorely disappointed that they no longer made their distinctive deep-dish pizza and instead licensed some other restaurant's pizza (Regina, I think). I don't think they lasted long after that.
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New Asia Restaurant
326 Somerville Ave, Somerville, MA 02143
Three Gorges
211 Massachusetts Ave, Lexington, MA 02420
Best Boston Burger
I have to agree about Boston Burger; nothing all that special and the fries are lousy (and cost extra). And to think we could have gotten Ten Tables in that space if they'd been able to get a liquor license.
Truth be known, I had one of the best burgers I've ever had the other night, and I made it my very own self. Good grass-fed beef with chopped onions mixed in, grilled just right, some organic Monterey Jack melted on top and spicy seedy mustard on a freshly home-baked bun.
Boston Chow Myth-Busters
I was reasonably happy with Dali the time I went there, but I'm notoriously easy to please in this regard, as my foodie sister will tell you. The one thing that concerned me was that the place was so unbelievably jam-packed I made sure to locate all the fire exits just in case.
Best Liquor (and wine) Stores in Greater Boston
I should put in a plug for my local purveyor of booze, Ball Square Fine Wines and Liquors in Somerville. They used to be ridiculously undersized, but last month they expanded into the space next door. Good beer selection (not as extensive as Downtown Wine & Spirits in Davis Square, but nobody's is), wide range of good wines, extremely friendly and knowledgeable staff, wine and/or beer tastings every Friday night.
Best Breakfast or Brunch spots
I'm very fond of both Sabur and Renee's (though I haven't actually been to Renee's for a few years.) Sabur's menu is a bit limited, but the French toast with figs is to die for. Generally pretty empty too.
I can't believe nobody's mentioned the Deluxe Town Diner in Watertown, near Cushing Square.
