My wife tells a great story of being in Savenors and a guy in the front of the store is rudely yelling at his wife, “Julie! Stop talking! Hurry up, we gotta go!”
Then having the realization,
It was Paul Child.
and i also cant believe you didnt notice a bookish looking gentleman on a bicycle in Cambridge.
He would have been the only one.
Old school …rocks.
Just realized I saw Jerry Seinfeld opening night of Catch A Rising Star downstairs where Underground Camera used to be.
Late 86, early 87? great show.
Ferdinand’s
Taken there on a date once, I don’t remember the guy or most of the food. But the desert!!! A Mont-Blanc. Sundae sort of confection with the best vanilla ice cream, topped with chestnut puree and warm chocolate sauce. Ooo-la-la.
We must also not forget that terrific soup and salad place in the basement of the Galleria (was it?). Was it called “Soup & Salad”? Someone here will remember. Many flavorful hearty soups to choose from, a great salad bar, and endless hunks of rustic bread and butter.
I think it was called The Stockpot?
Yep, the Stockpot. Those soup, salad, and bread places were quite a trend for a while. I can’t remember if it was there in the Galleria before I graduated in 1977 or if I encountered it only after returning to the area in 1989. The Garage and the Galleria. Real old-school.
I loved Iruña; Grendel’s kind of deteriorated over the years. However it seems somewhat culturally fitting that Iruña was ultimately replaced with Orinoco, an interesting Venezuelan restaurant. I think there was a brief iteration of something else in between them…perhaps a restaurant called Conundrum? Never tried that one. It was always fun to walk down that little alley, and Iruña used to have a small but nice patio.
Ferdinand’s! I think THAT was the one that was above Ha’Penny, not Blue Parrot. But Blue Parrot was next door on Mt. Auburn?
Yeah, loved the tiered patio at Iruna
Hing Shing Pastry Shop had the best moon cakes, especially the ones filled with lotus seed paste. We used to eat all over Chinatown in 1980, but I remember Hing Shing was near master Bow Sim Mark’s school. She was the best and her son went on to achieve no small degree of fame too!
Wasn’t The Idler under the BP & HP under Ferdinand’s?
That sounds right. It’s all so hazy 
I would give anything to be able to take my wife to Upstairs at the Pudding. If I could reincarnate anywhere it would be there (and The Tasty).
They had the most delightful rooftop terrace.
Yes! Tough to beat that garden for al fresco dining ambiance. I liked the cozy inside as well with all the old Hasty Pudding posters. They want a bit more heavy handed on the decor when Upstairs on the Square opened on Winthrop St. It was almost too Alice in Wonderland.
Just after graduating college and really starting to explore and grow in my food adventures, I had Upstairs at the Pudding on my bucket list of places to eat. Sadly, they closed before I could actually get there. This place, and the old Salts near Kendall Sq, would be the two places I would love to have revived for a day (or two) so I could dine there. At least I do get to eat at La Bodega, which makes missing out on Salts a little more palatable.
Salts was fantastic. I think La Bodega was our last pre Covid dinner out. It’s been so long it’s had to remember…
Panache, the restaurant that preceded Salts in that space, was better.
When I worked at Widener in the early 90s (slumming after my MIT undergrad years haha), we did adopt the term ‘that makes me want to yench’ 
Then again we called the Hong Kong the Red Death and we still went (Scorpion) bowling there so…
