It’s a new month again! These things sure do come around quick-like. Got any cool news about openers in your neighborhood? Gone down to your local spot only to find the shutters drawn and a sad note on the door? Well, here’s your chance to let us in on the straight dope.
Me, I’ve got nothing brand new to report. Still eyeballing those Wusong Road IG posts, though. Sounds like maybe there’ll at least be tiki drinks and a limited menu before XMas…
Just saw on Instagram that Loyal Nine will close in about two weeks
That’s too bad. Seems like they were putting out earnest, good food. A place that we never visited as we thought it would be too out-of-the-realm for Spring Onion.
Very sorry to hear this. We’ve eaten there several times and have always liked it. I happened to be up when you first posted (watching a historic cricket match between India and New Zealand), and I immediately grabbed a farewell reservation during their last week.
@digga: they tend to have some straightforward food as well, such as a burger and fries, and during the day they have very good sandwiches, pastries and coffee, although for a while they were going a bit overboard with the whole pickled thing.
Heights Pub in Arlington is finally open…we’ve been to busy to check it out yet but plan to try this week.
Also, we were driving home from the Museum of Science today (Spring onion got his second Covid shot there today) and I saw a “for rent” sign at Bistro 5. This might be old news to others but not for me. Another place that we’ve never checked out.
Don’t think I saw this back in November thread, but apparently Yakitori Totto has opened up at Assembly Row. I’m really looking forward to a legit yakitori place to open up locally, and hope they give you the full on charcoal grill experience. Most of the izakaya places we have offer a more blended menu, and not as much of the “interesting bits” that the traditional yakitori places offer. If anyone has any reports, please report back! 
Not opened yet, but we did get intel in the Patriot Ledger this weekend that BB.Q (stylized as bb.q) will be opening up in North Quincy. I’m surprised it’s taken this long to get a Korean fried chicken chain there. Never had their chicken, but this certainly doesn’t bode well for me getting back to pre-pandemic weight.
I don’t know when this place opened exactly, but it’s newish and hasn’t been mentioned before.
Flourhouse bakery, in Nonantum (Newton, MA), from the bakers behind Mike & Patty’s. I have not yet been. They have some good looking pictures on their website, and no doubt the breakfast sandwich-type things are good, given the pedigree. Between Antoine’s (old-school Italian), Koko (Japanese/french), and this place, the neighborhood seems to be overflowing with bakery options.
This is exactly why I’m bitter! Why no love for the South Shore (or near South shore, as it is in my case). In general there is a dearth of excellent bakeries in our fair city and state, but the really good ones are almost all North or West. Everything really requires a 1+ hour train ride from me, or a car that I don’t have. There is no love for the areas immediately south of Boston, and we have to rely on a local Whole Foods or specialty market that brings in bread from other bakeries.
The trip downtown is ok to hit up a Flour or a Whole Foods, but we’re more skewed towards pastries than bread. I just did a 3 hr commute (total) this Saturday to hit up Clear Flour in Brookline. 
I would KILL for a good bread baker by me (ideally, breads and pastries/sweets) that I could walk to on a weekly basis. We get the occasional cake shop and plenty of Chinese bakeries, but that’s it.
The Finagle-a-bagel Test Kitchen/Cafe in West Newton/Auburndale closed this past weekend. It was a mainstay for us for the several years it was open (decent product, close, inexpensive, easy parking), so too bad. This was the main bakery for their other locations and their wholesale business. Word is they moved that function elsewhere for cost reasons, so it didn’t make sense to keep the retail location, tucked away as it is in an industrial park.
Sounds like a business opportunity, maybe time for a career change??
I don’t want to start a new thread just yet because I’m not sure it’s warranted. After an intense morning involving car troubles and trying get my mom back home to RI, B and I received horrible news about someone I know and love. (And work, but for once, I told work “I just can’t get my shit together today.”) I needed to cry into a beer tonight. And we did at Heights Pub this early evening. Feels very much like their other joint in Winchester, First House Pub. Friendly service, decent pub grub (big salad, nachos with Buffalo chicken, hot dog and fries, big wine pours and good draft beer). It was just what we needed tonight.
yeah, I really feel like what an actual izakaya is escapes near everyone who opens one around here. there are places in LA and Toronto that get it right that I’ve been to. why can’t we have one that hits the right relaxed, chummy notes and doesn’t also feel the need to also have sushi?
I am so sorry, digga, for the car troubles and especially the news about the person beloved by you. I hope you can take time off work as you need to, and that you find whatever you need to help you cope in the days to come.
Wasn’t there one in the South End a few years ago that was authentic? Maybe too authentic?
huh, I don’t know. If there was, I missed it!
Admittedly, the current climate sure isn’t the greatest for opening a dimly lit place that involves groups of people sitting around big tables, sharing various plates of food and drinking for hours. Maybe I need to wait a couple of years for the right sort of thing to show up here.
I miss this kind of joy. Before the pandemic I didn’t fully realize what the simple conviviality of restaurants has meant to me. Sigh.
Yes! Same with enotecas. Coppa comes closest around here. Both are used as a generic tag for an ethnic restaurant. Shame on both counts.
To Digga…
Weeping is greatly under-rated. Sometimes you just need to let it all out, and these days there is plenty. My thoughts are with you. Also, I have always enjoyed your posts. Would a hot butterscotch sundae help? Just wondering.
I am more likely to take solace in a giant bowl of mashed potatoes (I have no sweet tooth whatsoever, but B and Spring onion do). Thank you for your sentiment, though. We are pushing through these rough times and even had a birthday party today for someone who turned 7!
