Seems largely to be a good list. I think Laughing Monk, Brighton Bodega, and Sei Bar are the most glaring omissions. Possibly Amateras too, but I haven’t been yet.
I’ve been to:
2 - Terra
Everything grilled is just so satisfying, my favorites being the mushroom skewers and shrimp skewers. Enjoyable bruschette. Pasta can be hit-or-miss.
5 - Benedetto
Went a few days after they opened; very good but not as incredible as I imagined given the talent and the ingredient lists. However, the desserts are probably the best in Boston.
8 - Pammy’s
Beautiful room, thoughtfully put together. I found the food fairly interesting and well-executed but under-salted, but again this was within a week or two of their opening.
10 - Ruka
Only been for lunch (do they even still serve lunch?) but was pleasantly surprised by the amount of care put into my gorgeous mussels dish, which used luscious vinegared sushi rice when it didn’t need to.
11 - Mida
Went when it first opened so menu is vastly different; I recall good flavors but it can be too oily/heavy. I was surprised that I preferred the balance of flavors in a pasta dish they had at the time to a similar dish at Benedetto. They paired a complimentary splash of rose with our dinner which was a nice touch.
12 - Moona
Only went for their lamb dinner collaboration with Carl Dooley which had some genuinely outstanding highlights and a few less memorable dishes.
13 - Prairie Fire
Hard to go wrong with the creative pastas. Excellent hospitality. Not a huge fan of the pizza dough but the toppings are interesting. It had sizable shoes to fill with Lineage and I think it’s a more than worthy successor.
14 - North Square Oyster
The composed oysters are memorable. Our server was genuinely excited to recommend things and usually rightly so. Even dishes that sound pedestrian aren’t. I did find that some things on the menu taste surprisingly Asian, e.g. a tuna poke that reminds me of my own Chinese cucumber salad more than it does justice to its appealing list of ingredients.
19 - Mooncusser Fish House
One of my best meals in the past few months. Fresh, hearty, imaginative, and sophisticated.
23 - Buttermilk and Bourbon
Only had the beignets and pork belly cracklings, both competently done and indeed addictive, though former was not light and fluffy enough for my taste.
Was planning to go soon:
1- cafe du pays
3 - cultivar
4- ruckus
6- pagu (my friend who has discerning tastes dislikes it, so I’ll likely avoid everything she’s ordered)
7- les sablons
9- oak + Rowan (bought a good Gilt City deal that I’ve been planning to use)
17- frenchie
20- the automatic
22- puro ceviche bar