Me too.
Like @digga I haven’t been post-pandemic (have made a couple of attempts but was foiled by half the “H-Mart parking lot” being closed off). Before that, I’d certainly have argued that it had achieved essentialhood.
Your list is low on Indian and Chinese. With Indian I have no quarrel – the GBA places I’ve been to are mediocre at best (I have not been to places in the 'burbs). But, I think 5-spices or Great Taste or Windsor ought to be considered essential.
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Chinese and Indian are problematic. I would have put Joyce Chen on the essential list, during its run. But today I’d be hard-pressed to tell a visitor they’d be missing something if they didn’t sample our Chinese and Indian restaurants.
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Mulan definitely belongs on the list. Home Taste and Gene’s, too.
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i’ve always found modern’s cannolis far superior to mike’s.
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For sure. How could I have missed that?
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By far.
Also the sfogliatelle – the best, after Maria’s closed.
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maria’s had by far the best pizza gaina — well worth the trek from somerville:)
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Again, I can’t endorse that enough. As I’ve said before (elsewhere), after a brief, encouraging period when Bengal Cafe and Royal Bengal (on opposite ends of Mass Ave), and Tamarind Bay were simultaneously firing on all cylinders, and Bombay Club[*] was still decent, Indian food in the GBA took a nosedive – and it’s still diving. The only bright spark is the delivery from Bombay Brunch.
[*] We’ve had occasion in the last year or two to use a car service called Cabbies Cab. Their website is oddly organized and the tone in their confirmation texts can sound oddly threatening – “You be ready by 5:30” – but they are the nicest people and absolutely reliable. I started using them when I had extreme difficulty one early morning getting an Uber/Lyft to Logan and nearly missed my flight. The point of mentioning this here is that the owner of the company was the long-time chef at Bombay Club. We just found this out when one of their cars dropped us off at Logan for our Leeds trip.
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I’ve always had excellent food from the Watertown branch, but my neighborhood discussion group – taking time off from reporting people who they think are lurking in the neighborhood – says that they have badly declined in recent months. Some say there’s been a change in ownership. I wouldn’t put huge stock in anything they say, though.
I haven’t ever tried the Arlington branch. You’re in a better position to comment on whether there’s been a decline.
The Mulan of old was certainly great. I haven’t been for many years, though – fire, pandemic, etc.
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Looking more closely at your list, I have to ask – mildly and politely – why Clear Flour is on a restaurant list. It’s a great bakery, and is certainly an essential stop, but if we are expanding to food places then Formaggio Kitchen must (as in, like, must, must, must) be on the list, and possibly Christinas.
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Yikes again. FK is a huge oversight. It’s so “woven into the fabric” that my midwestern family knows about it. The new space ensures more people can enjoy it, while not missing a beat. They even transfered the wood shelves from the cheese cave in the old location to ensure continuity of mold spores.
Apropos “woven”, while there are several worthy suggestions above that are well known to Hungry Onions, they haven’t pierced the veil to reach the broader public consciousness. Perhaps we should start a HO “Best” list for Boston as a companion to “Essential “.
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The entire idea of ‘must’ anything is a bit arrogant. It combines the worst of childishness and self-aggrandizement.
I will allow that, if you find you self at a particular restaurant, something could be a must order, providing that you are open-minded. But even then it is bombastic. For me, it is meant to convey that the item is the real reason for going there. If you miss out, you might as well have gone somewhere else.
And what is this ‘pushed boundaries?’ I guess that rules out a ton of great eating. Also, I have learned that many culinary trends start somewhere else, and by the time they get to ‘your hometown’, the boundaries have already been pushed elsewhere.
Even though I understood roughly half of your words, I completely agree.
My musts, and essentials are different than the next guy. Its essential to me to have a place that offers a decent Falafel, over a pricy French restaurant.
I have a running of list of my favorite 30 in NYC. Essential to me, but unlike in smaller cities like Boston, look very random to others.
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@Ziggy, I’d love to see your NYC list. Post in the NYC section?
I’m a bit more sanguine about these lists, whether from Eater, Boston Magazine, …or my own. Eater, BosMag etc. know they are clickbait, and ephemeral. And fun to debate. The feedback above prodded me to revise/update/refresh my list.
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“I’d love to see your NYC list.”
Here’s the latest version:
It’s a fascinating list. I’ve only eaten in three of the restaurants on it, and 100% agree with Hometown Barbecue (on my top 15 of barbecue places in the country) and Foxface Natural. A group of us ate at Chuan Tian Xia a couple of years ago and were underwhelmed, so it’s good to hear that our meal was an off night.
(Chuan Tian Xia also has a branch in Rockville, Maryland that used to be excellent, but my last meal there was terrible - the receipt actually showed that the waiter had ordered the kitchen to tone down the spice even though I had asked for it to be made with full spice as it is ordinarily cooked.)
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Spouse and I went to La Brasa for an early (6pm) light dinner yesterday. First time I’ve been there in about 3 years. Food and drinks were both quite good but I know what you mean about the place being empty. Quite a large space, there was only one other table occupied and one couple at the bar. By the time we left over a hour later both had left, to be replaced by two additional groups, one at a table and one at the bar.
FWIW, Fat Hen next door had a single occupied table when we left.
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So sad. We have been going since they opened years ago. It used to be a very different place.
I am unclear as to why the original chef was replaced. The last time we went, it was early on a Monday to get the 50% off burger for our son. I have always loved the tacos. This time they were far less spicy than ever before. I mention it to the excellent, kind server. She said, yes, it does change depending on who is in the kitchen. I hope the trend is not to tone down the heat!
That’s really unfortunate. I had two really good meals there, and keep meaning to return…but it’s been at least three, maybe four years. (Time flies, we haven’t been going out as much as we used to, and there’s an ever-growing backlog of places we have yet to try…) Maybe I just described the problem, but I’m curious if anything was off? Why do these places have empty dining rooms?
