Boston, MA and environs, August 2016 Openings and Closings!

It looks like the DTX location of Lukes Lobster is getting close to opening.

actually walked by again this morning and I’d be surprised if they are open by the end of august.

assorted reports out there that Totto Ramen is going to open a branch at Assembly Square. With that in mind, is there anything out there now that’s worth eating at? The SO really wants to check it out, and though I’m not all that enthused I’ll probably humor her at some point and go see what it’s like. Any opinions on the best eating choice out there now?

do you mean eating choices at Assembly Row or eating choices for ramen?

We live 3 minutes away so go there often when we need a quick outing away from home. But it’s out of default. I wouldn’t go there as a dining destination. If you go at peak hours, parking can get difficult.

But if you go to shop, or walk along the river, the newish Southern Kin Cookhouse has some options I’ve found interesting…I’m from NC…I really like their version of fried okra, pimento cheese fritters, biscuits, and some of the salads. I haven’t tried the fried chicken, alligator whatever, etc. It’s kind of expensive and the service is either really great or somewhat neglectful. It’s packed most of the time and the hours they serve the full menu are not posted on the website. They don’t answer the telephone.

The Legal there is OK. We’ve been to the Fuji several times; that ranges from good to OK. The Paul Bakery is crowded, counter service, OK but very loud and hassled. We went to the Outback once out of desperation and it was extremely loud and horrible. I’d avoid the chains there except Legal, perhaps. Only tried RiverBar once and that was for brunch and we were inside. Haven’t gone back.

Did you notice CJ was there for about an hour and a half. Let’s hope Winsor is there for at least a week. Sorry, but I miss the Alumni and its greasy pizzas.
CocoDan

Waypoint outside of Harvard Square looks very close. The paper in the windows is down as of this morning. Contractors are putting finishing touches on the space, but some of the opening staff was onsite this morning overseeing final details. The space looks gorgeous as expected. Can’t wait.

Just down the block, Tbaar is looking to open another juice/smoothie outlet next to Dumpling House.

Assembly Row was what I meant. Thanks for the tips!

Hidden Boston just posted some great sounding news about some new DooWee Tran projects. (sounds like the Monroe thing is toast).

Key quote from the chef’s Instagram account:

“I’ve signed on to do a 4500-5000sq ft seafood restaurant. Meanwhile while we secure a location for that, One World Cuisine who runs Dosa Factory and more wants me to take control of Bao nation to do my baos and anything I want so im turning it into a late night asian street food market since they have a walk up window, modeling it after Asia’s night markets. Baos, poke, wings, fries/poutine cones, papaya salads, skewers.”

some other stuff too, at the chef’s Instagram post about it:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJJSIJ6AaM2/

hat tip for Hidden Boston for the news.

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Wait, so this is a new location/partnership, right? Doo Wee has had so much transition, my head is starting to spin and keep straight as to what the plans are, where, and when.

@CocoDan " Did you notice CJ was there for about an hour and a half. Let’s hope Winsor is there for at least a week. Sorry, but I miss the Alumni and its greasy pizzas. "

Last weekend, there was a long line to get in to Winsor, and it deterred me from giving it a try. I hope that’s a good start. I’ve never seen anyone going in or dining at CJ for its short lifespan. The early reviews were fairly lukewarm to terrible. Seemed like CJ didn’t know what they wanted to be – Chinese? Vietnamese? Bar? Lounge? Neighborhood restaurant? The non-descript, ambiguous name didn’t help. If Winsor’s got dim sum on par with the one in Boston, I hope it survives.

kobuta, I didn’t realize it had opened yet. Driving too fast when I go by on my way home. I’ll have to give it a try soon (fingers crossed).

The food at CJ was so bad the one time I tried it, took one bite and threw it out. Awful!

Enjoy,
CocoDan

yeah, it’s new. in the Instagram post that I thought would link (I guess it just posts the pic, here) DooWee Tran says that 1) he has been left in the dark about what was happening at Monroe so that’s over with 2) that he’s signed on with someone new to do the seafood restaurant, no location yet 3) that in the meantime he’ll be doing the night market window thing at Bao Nation (which seems like it’ll start soon) and 4) that there’ll be an upcoming popup at Whiskey Saigon.

He says the main reason for all the new projects is that he had hired people for the Monroe gig, and now they have no jobs so he’s trying to get them immediate placements that he can control.

Lucy’s in Adams Village opened yesterday and it was mobbed. I had good food and excellent service.

Pretty eye-popping space for that part of town

I really wish they would get a proper website going or post a menu somewhere. The website linked on their instagram and FB page lead to a ‘sample’ page - no content.

http://i66.tinypic.com/25u4kkj.jpg

Nonna’s a short lived Italian-American, closed in Waltham. It was previously a long-lived Thai restaurant. Lincoln’s Whistle Stop Cafe is also closed, so Lincoln has only Country Pizza, a greek pan pizza place inside the gas station left.

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Didn’t Nonna’s just reopen after a renovation? (Or maybe I’m thinking of a different place - on Moody essentially across the street from Moody’s Provisions?)

Cool! Did you try? Thoughts?

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Went to the new Winsor yesterday morning. Pretty busy for 10am, but no lines. The space is about 2-3x as big as the Boston location (but that’s not saying much). Mainly big round tables, so peeps who don’t like to share tables may not find this location more comfortable.

Dim sum was ok to good. The standard dishes seem comparable to the Boston location. They did a nice job with the cheung fun (rice noodles). Smooth, slippery texture and a good filling ratio. The menu seems bigger, though I’m not a frequent visitor to Winsor Boston because of the wait. The big miss was their soup dumplings. Winsor Boston has passable soup dumplings; the Quincy outpost has decided to “dim sum”-ize the offering. It comes 4 in a little steel steamer. The result is a soup dumpling that isn’t hot enough, and what should be a soft delicate skin is instead hardening skin for not having a warm enclosed basket to keep it moist. Total fail on that dish. And they don’t have tieguanyin tea…hmm…

Generally good service though they missed one of our dishes, and I heard the next table complain of the same thing. In HK, they always circle, count and confirm with you before they place the order. I don’t know why they don’t do the same here.

This happened in July but I don’t see it reported here yet: Flora in Arlington is closed after 20 years. New people are going to open a new restaurant apparently.
http://www.florarestaurant.com/index.php?page=about&family=events

not August, but fwiw, here’s a Zagat article on some 18 fall openings in the Boston area.

There’s a restaurant called Pabu opening. There’s also a restaurant called Pagu opening.

https://www.zagat.com/b/boston/fall-restaurant-openings-boston?utm_campaign=-&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=Boston&utm_term=