February 2019. Boston MA and surrounding areas - Openings and Closings

In the much-lamented absence of passing_thru I guess I will start posting these threads. Any news?

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Yassou (presumably Greek gyro-focused) finally opened in Arlington Heights, at Mass Ave and Park in the old Capri space.

PS Thanks for starting the February thread @GretchenS , but I miss @passing_thru already.

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That’s in my neck of the woods but I haven’t even made it to Home Taste yet. I clearly need to focus!

And I miss passing_thru very much too.

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thmor da on shirley ave in revere is on vacation until 2/8

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Thanks so much for picking up the mantle, Gretchen. passing_thru will be sorely missed and I guess we all need to consciously contribute to this board if we want this community to stay together.

I read on Bring Retail to Waltham’s facebook page that Aries Noodle and Dumpling, a hand-pulled noodle place, has opened on Main St. in the old Sushi Box space. It sounds like they’re still working out the kinks but I’ll give them a try when they settle in.

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Oh, I should have posted. I got the oil-seared noodles with bok choi from Home Taste in Arlington, as well as some pan-fried dumplings. Both were very good. The noodles held up well to the 10+ minute ride home.

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That is excellent intel, thanks!

Truer words have never been posted. passing_thru has long been incredibly generous in this regard.

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Can’t believe if I haven’t noticed it opened - they’ve been doing a lot of work on the inside - thanks for the heads up. I’ll try to go by this week!

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Ooohhh, please do. I don’t think I’ll be able to get there this week.

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Was going to go for lunch - closed - of course lunar new year (I’m assuming) … will try tomorrow.

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Bummer!

Los Amigos is open in Davis Square in the former Blue Shirt space. They were doing a brisk business at 1pm when I walked by today.

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Today’s closure may not be due to LNE. Hometown in Arlington is closed on Tuesdays (but I still haven’t visited). Might be similar to many Western restaurants being closed on Mondays?

Interesting point, Taipei Gourmet is also closed Tuesdays.

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Think you’re right. Google says they are closed Tuesdays - good to know!

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Well I guess now I know why I couldn’t reach China King last week for days. They are now closed. (Or their windows are papered up). Bummed that I didn’t get a last helping of that duck before they closed. I guess this means they closed in January, but I only found out on Friday the 1st. Sorry if I missed an earlier post on this.

Oh, no! I’ve been meaning to head back for the duck, and especially those chewy, savory noodles. Bummer.

So I made it in for dinner tonight. We weren’t that hungry, so didn’t eat very much - but here I go (and for the record, I’m no expert in Chinese, so descriptions are meant to relay my experience not a comment on the food culturally - anyone who can help me out with more accurate evaluations by all means chime in)

First - the space is very similar to the old Sushi Box in layout and design. They clearly replaced the carpet but I was surprised there wasn’t more noticeable reno based on how long they were closed. But maybe they did a lot in the kitchen because there is still a huge metal commercial counter section in the front of the dining room. The waitress had no idea why it was there either. And for me, the lighting needs to be on a dimmer - it was very bright.

Second - the three people that waited on us throughout dinner were all very pleasant and personable. That alone will get me back to try more.

Alright - the food - the are still in a soft opening phase so don’t have everything on their menu right now.

But what we had -

Hand Pulled Noodle soup - not what I expected but we very much enjoyed it. The noodles are not in the vein of Gene’s/MDM/Home Taste (wide, flat noodles) - they are (from a shape standpoint) like super long spaghetti noodles - though they have the chewiness of the other style. They reminded me of the noodles I had in China (years ago) that were made by a guy holding onto a big twisted rope of noodles, bouncing them up and down to stretch, then folding in half and repeating. I have no idea if they make their noodles there - or buy them - or whatever. So I need someone else to try them, maybe ask (they were a little busy while we were there - short staffed it seemed - I’ll try to ask more next time I’m there). They were served in a broth that was similar to a pho style broth with thinly shaved beef on top. Nothing spicy (a la the other places) about it, but very much enjoyed it, just not what we expected.

Chinese Crepes (which are adorably typo’d as creeps on the menu) - I’ve only ever had these at IQ Kitchen in Newton - which people have posted has gone down hill since the owner sold it. I preferred IQ Kitchen, SO preferred these. They were tasty - something about the soft eggy crepe and the crispy part inside is very satisfying - we had it with shredded beef inside, asked for it spicy but it wasn’t spicy at all. IQ’s had a “funkiness” to them (maybe a fermented something) that I liked but the SO liked this flavor more. IQ also served theirs in a paper/foil wrapper to help eat it - these are just served on a board - they are a little hard to eat that way (not sure the proper etiquette for them) but we certainly managed. Happy to have these close by now.

Pan seared pork dumplings - I’ve never had one I don’t like. These were a little different for me in that they weren’t sealed at all. They were essentially round wrappers (from the look I’d guess purchased but menu says homemade) folded in half around the filling (not sealed) and seared in a hot pan. They were tasty.

We tried to order the chinese burgers but they didn’t have them available yet. There are still several items on the menu that aren’t “up and running” yet - but you can see their menu in the images loaded on google.

we will be back a few times and will report more as we try more - and they have more available.

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x89e3836d6536baf7%3A0x68e4d6ac46d68e1d!2m22!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m16!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e6!3m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNS-hiiMd3XyABCkfXcyPkaSoxP-1TRXDMcl5fC%3Dw426-h320-k-no!5saries%20noodle%20and%20dumpling%20waltham%20-%20Google%20Search&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipPrNoqbnYCYvZ8FSFDj0ElUL7O9N-ysoOnh1Ve8&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjeif-x36jgAhXpg-AKHbymCkQQoiowCnoECAUQBg

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PS - Did a quick google search for LanZhou Noodle soup - that is what they served and I described it pretty well. (patting myself on back LOL ) But they didn’t serve it with chili oil but it was on the table. Now I do wonder if they make the noodles in house, I’ve always wanted to try doing that but figure it would make a huge mess! Online videos make everything seem so easy . . . .

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Thanks for the report! We don’t make it out to Waltham much, but this place looks interesting.

Were the dumplings like this? https://www.chinasichuanfood.com/chinese-cabbage-potstickers/

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