Celebrating the Life of Strip T's [MA, Watertown]

The post-Tim Maslow Strip T’s was an extraordinary restaurant, and I had a number of extraordinary meals there. Its imminent closing is a cause for sorrow, but also a cause for us to celebrate its history and its food. It’s also worth sparing a tribute or two for the “old school” pre-Tim Strip T’s of his father, Paul. Here are some historical links I’ve quickly put together, with various menus, pictures, etc. , in them. Please add others, as well as memories of your meals there. If anyone has a copy of the menu prior to 2011 (the restaurant goes back to 1986, I believe), that would be fun.

2006 onward: Yelp comments on the old Strip T’s, transitioning on page 3 to the new

6/16/2011: Early rumblings of the new Strip T’s

7/14/2011: Chowhound thread

4/2/2014: New menu, new attitude, post-Ribelle

4/29/2015: Yet another new menu, new attitude

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From oldest to most recent. Never a bad meal.
http://thedailylunch-woburn.blogspot.com/2013/01/strip-ts-watertown.html
http://thedailylunch-woburn.blogspot.com/2013/09/strip-ts-watertown.html
http://thedailylunch-woburn.blogspot.com/2014/05/strip-ts-watertown.html
http://thedailylunch-woburn.blogspot.com/2014/07/strip-ts-watertown.html
http://thedailylunch-woburn.blogspot.com/2014/11/strip-ts-watertown.html
http://thedailylunch-woburn.blogspot.com/2015/08/strp-ts-watertown.html

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wow, it was cool looking back at those threads, the 2011 ones especially. I do remember that soft shell crab po’ boy. Dang that was good.

Does anyone know when exactly it closes? I really need one last cauliflower sandwich with sweet potato fries.

I was there for dinner tonight (details tomorrow). Their last dinner is on Saturday, June 2. They plan to serve lunch at least through early June, and possibly all month (but they were a bit vague on that). Their menu is shrinking, though, so even if they’re open cauliflower might not be in your destiny.

The cauliflower sandwich was on the menu when we went to lunch, but I didn’t remember seeing the sweet potato fries.

Dinner at Strip T’s last night (5/31/2018), two nights before they plan to close dinner service for good:

Menu:
StripT'smenu20180531_sm

Pickled fries (lovely, as always, and very crisp):
pickledfries20180531_sm

Cabbage salad (the second time we’ve had it – fantastic both times; finely slivered cabbage with a slight bitter note from the fenugreek, crunchy with bread crumbs, and topped with crisply fried cabbage leaves):
cabbage20180531_sm

Meat loaf (rich, and a bit too dense for me, but nicely complemented by a chopped version of their pickled fries – tiny cubes of pickled crunch – and radishes with their greens):
meatloaf20180531_sm

Taugtog (Blackfish – crisp exterior, tender interior, and a lovely combination of colors and flavors on the plate):
blackfish20180531_sm

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So there I was in Watertown, doing the usual (picking up bricks and sand at Home Depot – from time-to-time I like to pretend I do real work) and I realized I hadn’t had food from Strip T’s in hours. So I phoned them and picked up three sandwiches to go. The one I really wanted to try was their softshell crab:

softshellcrab20180601_sm

It was wonderful: cleanly fried, crisp, with sweet meat at the center. The orange stuff dripping onto the pickle is a spicy salami remoulade.

For old times sake I also picked up a cauliflower sandwich (hey, Parsnipity, you reading?) and an eggplant banh mi. Sunnyday has complained, correctly, of the oversalted nature of their food (from a few months ago) but their new chef has righted the salt ship.

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Two great write-ups, thanks @fooddabbler!

Thanks! I really don’t understand why they’re closing. There are so many places with inferior food. If it weren’t a hike from me over here in Davis Square, I’d honestly be there all the time. As it is, I’ll make a trip next week for sure. Think the cauliflower will freeze? Like a dozen of them?

From Eater, Jul 16, 2013: Paul Maslow on 27 Years of Strip-T’s

I think that’s precisely the problem - they don’t get nearly the amount of foot traffic as those places in Davis square.

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Apparently a bit too late, lots of new housing along Arsenal Street coming online soon would have created some foot traffic.

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Strip T’s closes its doors for good on Saturday, June 30.

I stopped by today to take away some sandwiches (all excellent), and they threw in a container of chili as a farewell gift. What an extraordinary restaurant it was!

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