oh, this is good. I did go here once and just got a grilled cheese–it was great and at 5$ or so was a relatively cheap Harvard Sq meal. I would def. try other stuff here. thanks!
Oh, you should def. try other stuff there.
I don’t think it’s as good as it was when it first opened, but it’s still really pretty good all round.
I just went to Dumpling House and had this for lunch. It was reasonably good, tho I thought it was a little one note. The menu seemed to indicate it would be spicy, but my serving of it had no heat at all. Is it usually like that?
This dish has not been spicy at all when I have had it. You have to ask for it to be made spicy. Dumpling House can be a bit challenging in that way. Some dishes (szechuan fish, mapo tofu, northern style cold noodles, wok chopped dishes) are legit spicy; however others you definitely have to request spicy. Many of the wait staff don’t do a great job narrowing it down if you ask. It’s a bit of trial and error.
ah, ok. I’ll just be a little more aggressive in asking for spicy next time.
I’d recommended Crema Cafe up thread, but I must withdraw that recommendation. Their freshly made sandwiches have been poorly constructed of late, with fillings that fall out as you eat, and their premade sandwiches on pretzel bread have been soggy, and in the case of one tuna sandwich, off. (I complained and the person I spoke to said cheerfully, “oh yes, we try to serve fresh ones but sometimes you might get a left over one from the previous day.”)
Two visits to the Chik Chak truck at the Science Center have yielded better than average beef kebabs – tender, and well seasoned. Ask for the hot sauce for an added kick. Their felafel and hummus is only so-so, but the pita bread is thick and soft and very good. Whole Amazon at Fresh Pond has been carrying “local pita” in packages and it’s very similar. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a Chik Chak product.
Good to know! I sometimes swing by Saloniki or Central Sq. Clover to pick up fresh pita and like to buy directly from the local business, but sometimes convenience wins out.
heh. that is not what you want to hear about a tuna sandwich!
That location of Whole Foods has George’s Pita from Methuen. That’s local enough for me. We use the XL ones to make pizzas.
Oh, good to hear. I always wonder about the freshness of the pita when it’s not at the source.
I checked when I was there today. They may carry the Methuen pita elsewhere in the store, but the thick fluffy pitas I have in mind (located near the bread section that has Iggy’s and Hi-Rise loaves, among others) are labeled “Angel Bakeries”. That’s an outfit out of NY – perhaps “local” in Amazon’s Whole World domination, but not local by most definitions. The pita is quite good, though, and I wonder if Chik Chak uses the same source.
I tried to go here Monday after work, since the schedule on their website said they’d be there 'til 8. But they were nowhere to be found. Will try again at lunch sometime, thanks for the tip.
Sorry. I was thinking of getting lunch on Monday, myself, but the prospect of waiting in the heat (as I’d had to the Monday before) wasn’t attractive. I got a BLAT (BLT with Avocado) sandwich with turkey at Tatte instead. I may try Chik Chak next Monday for lunch if it’s not too hot.
The new (?) panelle sandwich at Clover sounds interesting, although a bit gussied up. I may have to overcome my antipathy to them and try it. The best version I’ve has was these beauties in Palermo, simply stuck into good bread:
I had the Clover interpretation of a panelle sandwich last week and it was ghastly. I know that I’m a Clover crtic, but I defy anybody – even the biggest Clover fan – to justify this pathetic excuse for food. You get a gluey, entirely tasteless, 1/2-inch-thick square of some substance that they’re fondly imagining they can pass off as chickpeas, in a harsh, astringent dressing of olives, etc. I ate about a third, then tossed it.
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Did you have another shot at it today? I was there at noon, but the line was too long (I looked at it closely as I sauntered by – yes, I was the the guy in the olive-green T-shirt who was doing all the flashy sauntering – trying to figure out which smartly-dressed bloke was passing through). So I grabbed an indifferent lobster roll from Captain Marsden’s instead. I had what-passes-for-work to return to.
I actually got there Friday but haven’t had a chance to mention it. The beef kebab in a pita was really good, and I’d sure get it again. Loved the kebabs themselves and the soft pita. One flaw was that all the hot sauce was in the bottom, but I could live with that.
One other thing I didn’t love was that at prime lunch time they were super slow and it took me like 20 minutes to get through the line and get my sandwich. Since I only take a half hour for lunch, that wasn’t ideal! On my walk home yesterday tho they were there at 5 (unlike last week) and I probably could have gotten one right quick.
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Glad the kebab worked out. Too bad about the hot sauce. It’s really good when eaten with the meat.
Yes, they are very slow. That was the main reason I did not stand on their line yesterday. I know from past experience how snail-like progress on it can be.
I’ve been to a few more places since I started this, and have repeat visited some others. Might as well do some updating to keep this thread alive, if there’s any other new intel please do let us know.
Did get to both Cafe Sushi and Santouka finally, and was largely happy with both. I went to Cafe Sushi before the renovation, but my lunch there was pretty great. Santouka I thought was respectable for ramen, though I’d rank it well below Yume Wo Katare and Tsurumen and it’s usually pretty crowded. Still, a good bowl of noodles and a worthwhile stop as they are well run and super efficient.
Cilantro and Dumpling House have proved steady if not spectacular. Good offerings to be had at both, though. Grafton Street (a work fave) is the sort of place you might take your parents to and get a nice meal. It’s y’know, fine, and they get bonus points from me for opening early for World Cup games this summer, though their coffee was terrible. They do make a perfectly good lunch sandwich, on the other hand.
Bonchon Chicken has ok Korean wings for a chain and I do like it once in awhile. Their daikon is way too sweet and the basement atmosphere plus the 57 JFK construction makes it kind of uninviting though, I’ll admit.
The Chik Chak truck only comes Mondays now, so I keep missing it–I always have my own lunch after the weekend. There’s one new truck this fall that’s called The Pull Up that does latino food that looks kind of promising.–will try and report back.
Lastly, the new Smith Center at 1350 Mass Ave has debuted some food options. (Aside: the redesign of this space is an architectural triumph, imo). Pavement Coffee is middle of the road and I have not gotten good reports on Swiss Bakers. But then there’s Blackbird Donuts. I’m mostly not all that excited about dessert, but I have to say that the donuts here are top of the line. On the yeasted side, the lemon coconut is aces and the Boston creme has an amazing interplay of just-on-the-borderline-of sweet layers of chocolate, donut and creme filling. As for the cake donuts? The chocolate old fashioned here is about as good as a donut gets, again treading just along the edge of the right amount of sugar. A dense, concentrated flavor of chocolate as well. Sublime.
I probably will try the Saloniki outpost that opened this week in the near future, so I’ll let you know how that goes!
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I went to Cafe Sushi for lunch today, and contrary to my prior experience I have got to say it was pretty average. My mackerel pressed sushi was good and the tsukemono are still aces, but the nigiri I ordered was fair at best. The rice seemed a bit soft, one nigiri was improperly formed, the tamago was eh and the salmon eggs tasted kind of flat.
It also was pretty slow and my waitress was much more interested in another table than she was in waiting on me. I know lunch is maybe not the best time to go here and maybe it’s much better later, but if I want a fairly run of the mill lunch sushi experience there’s plenty of other places to go in the square. Next time I’ll walk a little further and try out Sakana, the new place up the street.
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I think the best bets at lunch time are the Chef’s Special Sushi Lunch or the Chirashi. But the omakase at dinner is definitely in a whole different league, no question.
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