I've always enjoyed Christopher's as well. Usually think of it as a fall/winter place with the fireplace, and I keep my orders basic, but have been consistently satisfied.

Ronnarong was open as of this weekend. Haven't been myself yet, but a friend gave me a report when he walked by -- seems to be the same menu for lunch, but evenings will now offer small plates. The space has been updated from what it was and now has some bar space. Looking forward to checking it out soon.

The code SURPRISE will currently get you $25 certificates for $2 and $50 certificcates for $4. Unfortunately I'm not wowed by the options and restrictions, so don't think I'll be able to take advantage.

Agree completely, bettlebug, but being the indecisive hound I often am, it never hurts to have suggestions!

Has anyone else been to Zing's yet? I'm hoping to try it this weekend but would love any other reccomendations on things to try.

Traditionally they have not distributed beyond NY. I pick up a stash every time I'm in NY, and when I'm back in Pittsburgh to visit my family I drink as much of it as I can!

I'm thinking the 'allegedly' refers to the possibililty of a second location...

I was craving pumpkin ravioli last night so I decided to put it on the dinner menu. I was disappointed when both Dave's and Capone's were closed (guess I should have expected it since it was Sunday!), but I was saved by Bella Ravioli. I had never been there, but the man I spoke with when I called to check their hours was nice enough to say they'd stay open for a bit longer if I was on my way, so I couldn't resist. Sure enough he had them waiting for me, and I was even offered some sage from the plant they had growing. But I digress....the ravioli were delicious, and I prepared them simply with a brown butter and sage sauce. There was a good amount of filling in each, and the flavor was fairly sweet but also good cinnamon taste. I will definitely be back to taste some of their other pastas, and may grab some more pumpkin to stick in my freezer!

I recently heard that there is some activity in this space and something is slated to open in November. Anyone know what it might be?

I think Sal is correct. I drove by yesterday and there was an Opening Soon sign up, and it had Thursday written on it in what appeared to be permanent marker. I was away last week so I wasn't sure if the opening was last week, but since they were closed yesterday I'll assume the 9th is the opening day.

Not in the requested area, but Chow Thai Cafe on Main St in Charlestown has it on their menu. I've never had it before, but the food there is fine...(read: not the best I've ever had, but convenient to my office)

I absolutely love Highland Kitchen, but would caution chnewbie that it can fairly loud in there some nights, so depending on how new the relationship is it might be awkward if you have to shout to hear each other. The food is great though, and I often go with a non-adventurous eater friend and we always find things we are both thrilled with. There is usually street parking available, and also a free lot around the back (enter from Central St). Have a great time!

Despite regularly hearing decent/good reviews of this place, I have never had a good experience and therefore now have a liquid-only rule if I go there. I've found the service to be consistenly slow and disinterested (both sitting at bar seats and at tables) and have never been wowed by the food. Unfortunately I can't recall exactly what I've had off the top of my head, but it's been mainly apps, although I do think I tasted a pizza once that wasn't terrible. Although the location is convenient and the outdoor seats/open windows is nice, I'll take my business elsewhere.

I got baklava on Saturday evening as well. I had never been to this festival, but did find the layout a bit confusing. I was just getting a gyro and baklava to go, so I never actually went inside where the bulk of the food was, but did enjoy what I got and was pleased to avoid huge lines.

Decided to check out Daedalus since the weather was perfect for outdoor dining. Overall, I was pleased with the experience, and the ambiance on the roofdeck is definitely the root of the appeal.

I'm usually a wine drinker, but also hate drinking out of small-ish low end bar wine glasses, so when I noticed those on other tables I opted for beer instead. Was quite pleased to see that they have Sankaty Light on tap, so I went with that. Roommate had a Grey Goose and soda.

For food we started with the calamari, and I'd echo litchick's comments. Calamari was nice and tender, and coating was perfectly light and crispy. I also enjoyed the crispy banana peppers. The aioli drizzeld on the top (can't recall the flavoring...maybe chipotle? it had a pinkish red colorign) was fine, but the hoisin definitely overpowered. Perhaps would have been better to just have the aioli on the side for dipping. Litchick is also spot on about the bread basket...initially we noticed it on a table near ours and were scouring the menu trying to figure out what it was, and then realized it was the standard offering. Yum!

For entrees he had the burger, but subbed in cheddar for the bbq onions and bleu cheese. Didn't taste it since he likes it med-well, but he did enjoy it. fries were also nice and crispy with some skin left on. I had the grilled cajun shrimp salad special. Cajun seasoning was nice, although the shrimp could have come off the grill a minute earlier. the salad itself was a pretty standard mix of romaine, red onions, and grape tomatoes; given the choice, I would have liked to see a bit more excitement there.

Overall it was a good meal, and the patio was perfect for a warm evening. Prices were a big above the quality of the food, but I'm willing to pay the premium for the location!

Let's hope this place lasts. I was thinking good thought when Union Square Pub opened initially, so hopefully this will be a place with staying power. I initially liked the idea of something in this space since it's close to my place, but I'm moving in a couple weeks so I may not see it open before I good. On the up side, I will now live around the corner from Highland Kitchen, so instead I'll just be living on a barstool there!

I went to Yoki for the first time over the weekend. I was a bit skeptical due to the mixed reviews on the board, but decided to keep an open mind. We arrived around 8 on a Saturday and there were not a ton of people dining. Initially were excited about the prospect of sitting outside, but the hostess let us know that their liquor license does not apply to the outdoor seats, so we stuck with an inside table.

I had sushi and was content with my order. Tried spicy tuna, rock&roll maki, and crazy maki (I think). I enjoyed the first two, but found the crazy maki to be fishy tasting. Wasn't sure if that was due to the freshness, or the fact that I don't usually order soft-shell crab in things, so perhaps just a flavor I'm not used to (I think it was the former issue though). Rolls were well crafted and stayed together well, even the ones that were larger in diameter.

My roommate had the habachi trio. It was a combo of steak, chicken, and shrimp in terryaki with noodles and mixed veggies. Shrimp were well cooked, and steak was a bit closer to med-well than medium. Chicken was dry. the veggies were just steamed and added to the plate at the end, so they didn't have any seasonings but were cooked fine.

Overall I won't be rushing to get back there, but won't swear it off either. The prices were fine, and I like the look of the interior.

I enjoyed the mussel appetizer at Union in the South End. Also, I haven't tried them yet (they run out every time I'm there!), but I've heard great things about the Mussels at Highland Kitchen in Somerville (not Cambridge/Boston, but close, and worth the trip, in my mind)

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Union Bar and Grille
1357 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02118

Highland Kitchen
150 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA 02143

I've noticed some progress in this space again...anyone have a current update? The Bull McCabe sign went up some time in the last week, but there is still a non-inviting piece of plywood over the old window.

Possibly only on their fall/winter menu, but Bambara at the the Hotel Marlowe does a grilled cheese trio with tomato soup that is perfect on a winter day.

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Bambara Restaurant
25 Edwin H Land Blvd., Cambridge, MA 02141

I enjoy this place as well, and I agree with Hedda that it was empty when I was there too. The renovations are nice, making for an inviting space, so I hope business improves. When I was last there I wasn't looking for a big meal, so I just had a chicken taco and some chips and salsa. I enjoyed both.

As for parking, it's not too bad. Ther is a municipal lot at Prospect/Washington, although it's not new...been there for years. I know there are also some spaces behind Ricky's on Washington. I can't remember the specifics of the legality though since I live nearby and don't need to arrive by car. You can usually grab a metered spot on Somerville Ave between the square heading towards Target, and it's only a minute or two walk.

I work just across the bridge in Cambridge, so I often go to the Harborwalk since it's convenient and has free parking on the side of the building. The outdoor space is wonderful on a nice day, but I don't think I'd want to end up inside (unless you want a conference-room feel); the indoor dining area definitely feels like a breakfast room at a basic hotel. Also, in terms of the food, I'd put it squarely in the "average" category. The menu is fairly basic, and I've really only had sandwiches, but you may want to try it out to make sure the options available meet your expectations.

I'd also second Rubee's suggestion for Dante--the patio is nice and the food is a bit higher end than you'll find at the Harborwalk, if that's what you're looking for.

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Residence Inn-Harbor/Tudor Wrf
34 44 Charles River Ave, Boston, MA

Not sure if it's technically East Cambridge (I'm not so good with exact locations...) but I enjoy the food at Atwoods on Cambridge street. It's basic bar-type food, but well executed and reasonably priced. I especially like their sweet potato fries, which they serve with a banana curry aioli that I've taken to reproducing at home.

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Atwood's Tavern
877 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02141

Good suggestion yumyum. I always seem to forget about City Slicker even though I live half a mile away! Their salads are good, as are their dressings. I always appeciate the fact that they grill the chicken to order, so you know it hasn't been sitting pre-sliced somewhere.

That's a great one, and I always forget about it. It is so refreshing. And as I read your post saying you like it in sparking water, BZ, I was thinking it might even be improved further with a splash of vodka!

I just had the cheese plate at Matt Murhpy's for the first time. Luckily I had seen notes about the size, so I knew to share it. Everything on it was tasty, but we were a bit disappointed that the waitress couldn't identify all the cheeses...some were quite tasty and I'd love to pick them up to have at home.

Just returned from Union Sq. Unfortunately I got there late so it was pretty picked over. I did get a nice bunch of leeks from Mass Audabon and a zucchini and some Armenian cukes from Kimball. The Hmong Farmers were there, so I'll look forward to shopping from them next week.

I was there for dinner last month and really enjoyed it. We started with an app of mussels that were so meaty and delicious, and well complimented by the sauce. I had the tuna entree, which is one of my favorites around. Can't remember the other entrees at the table, but I know we all sent back clean plates. A bottle of Cooper Mountain Meadowlark pinot noir went well with everything. Were so full after the meal that we decided to share a dessert and had the sorbets--light and refreshing, just what we wanted.

I've never been for brunch, but I was there for dinner last month and really enjoyed it. We started with an app of mussels that were so meaty and delicious, and well complimented by the sauce. I had the tuna entree, which is one of my favorites around. Can't remember the other entrees at the table, but I know we all sent back clean plates. A bottle of Cooper Mountain Meadowlark pinot noir went well with everything. Were so full after the meal that we decided to share a dessert and had the sorbets--light and refreshing, just what we wanted.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I ended up having the steak frites, which was quite good. The meat was cooked to a perfect medium rare, and the fries lived up to what many of you suggested. I tasted the Mahi Mahi (can't remember the exact preparation, but I think it had artichoke risotto or possibly Israeli couscous). It was okay...fish seemed a bit overdone to me. The rest of the group seemed to enjoy the items they tried as well. We only did one dessert, for the birthday boy, and it was ok. The flourless chocolate cake was tasty, but where I think they went wrong was in garnishing it with pink peppercorn ice cream. The flavor was way too strong, and did not compliment the cake at all.

I was not especially impressed with the drinks and found they sounded better on paper than in reality. I had the Cucumber Citrus martini, which was not far off from a martini glass of Hendricks gin with a cucumber floating in it...not a terrible thing, if that's what your expecting, but I was hoping for a bit more cucumber flavor. There was nothing citrus that I could detect.

Service was not too good. The waitress was not very responsive and had to be chased down for anything we needed. Many of us had empty glasses for a large portion of the evening.

Overall, I agree with previous posters that I wouldn't make this a destination, but a reasonable place if that's where you end up.