Late again: Boston, MA, June 2018. Openings and closings!

Slept on this a bit again, but things are busy. Please to post your June openings + closings for Boston here!

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kabob hut is opening in the old jing’s garden location on squire road in revere

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This isn’t exactly an opening, but Pemberton Farms in Cambridge has done some fairly significant reorganizing and expanding. I found the shopping experience to be much more enjoyable and the selection more useful. I rarely stopped by before, but will add it to my list of places to stop for a few quick items when I’m in the area.

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They have an expanded wine section – and that certainly makes my shopping experience much more enjoyable.

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Yes, the beer and wine section is lovely now.

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That section of Mass Ave, starting with Pemberton and ending with Curio Spices on one side, and the Bangladeshi grocery across the ave, is a very good food destination now. (Although I miss Bengal Cafe on that strip, with its harried owners and their wildly uneven food: they had hard-to-get Bengali dishes on the menu, and when they got things right – which was often, but not always – they really hit sixes [the cricket equivalent of home runs].)

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I stopped at Pemberton Farms a couple weeks ago for the first time in a long time and discovered that they carry Kinneally meats, the same as the late highly lamented John Dewars used to carry! Boy, did that discovery make me happy, been meaning to post about it.

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Yes, the meat selection in general has expanded. Good to know about Kinneally!

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We were just in the area last night, visiting the sweet Cafe Barada. I noticed Curio Spices and mentioned to my husband that I need to check it out, so thanks for the mention. I’ll have to check out that Bangladeshi grocery as well.

A few months back, Boston Restaurant Talk reported that Sheger Cafe, an Ethiopian place, was on the way. There don’t seem to be any recent updates, but it sounds hopeful. https://bostonrestaurants.blogspot.com/2017/09/sheger-cafe-and-ethiopian-restaurant.html

And we only got takeout a few times from Benal Cafe, but my son did enjoy the vegetarian options, including a couple of egg preparations that he couldn’t get anywhere else.

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FWIW, Google Maps for 2376 Mass Ave has a March 2018 photo of an “opening soon” sign for Sheger Cafe and Ethiopian Restaurant. Thanks for the heads-up; I’ve been pretty happy with Habesha in Malden and Fasika in E. Somerville but would love another Ethiopian resto option in greater Camberville.

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So I made it to Hakata Ramen in Waltham for lunch the other day. They technically opened May 30th I think but I was out of town, so here we are in June.

I’m so happy it’s there and finally open! I wasn’t in the space prior to their renovation but the inside is clean and apparently newly redone (top to bottom would be my guess) based on the exterior of the building. There is a small sushi counter when you walk in and then a fairly good dining space (for Waltham). The decor is a little sparse but it was fine.

I was one of only 3 people there when I went (2pm) and the servers were very nice and attentive. I must have been checked on by 3 different people over the course of my meal - which might seem a little much but it didn’t feel that way and everyone seemed genuinely interested how things were going. So I"m really happy about that - I’ve been to too many places where you feel like a burden.

It appears they are trying to be 50/50 for sushi and ramen. I was interested in the ramen so didn’t try any of the sushi but the other two tables were having sushi.

I had the Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen. I loved it. The broth was rich and milky and pork-y and spicy - everything I wanted it to be. I’d have it again today if I had the time! I’ll be curious what others think as time goes on - my experience with ramen is long but sporadic and I don’t always have the same type of ramen, so I don’t have a solid baseline for tonkotsu to compare it across other outposts.

I’m trying to let this aspect go but 3 years into Boston life it still gets me - 1 bowl of ramen, bottle of iced green tea, tip, tax . . . .$22. The ramen was $13.95 (if memory serves) and not a huge portion (not small but not huge, I was able to finish it all, broth included - which I can’t do with the pho places on Moody). That’s an expensive lunch for essentially a bowl of soup. . . . . it will limit how often I get there but I will go back and enjoy it.

If no one has started a thread on it after I get back a second time for a better baseline to start a conversation I’ll try to remember to do that.

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Oh, cool. I couldn’t remember the address when I was there to check it out.

And, it would have been helpful if I had posted the address! Thanks for doing that.

How was the chashu and the egg ? Do they make their noodles in-house ?

I used to like that place a lot. Had some really good meals there.

I also had some sort of drink once that I think was a lassi that was one of the worst things I have ever ordered. It tasted like seawater.

There are savory lassis, too – could it have been one of those? (It’s also possible some fish curry fell in – you’ll remember how cramped that kitchen was from having to pass it on the way to the bathroom.)

The chashu was very tasty, the egg was a little too cooked for me (I don’t like the yolk runny but it was essentially hard boiled) - I didn’t ask about the noodles (should have but it was a hectic day and I just wanted to eat).

Yes, the Opening Soon sign for Sheger Cafe has been up for ages. I have been checking it out for signs of an opening, but haven’t seen anything promising yet. (Same for the place in the former Taipei Tokyo spot in Davis Square, across from the Somerville Theatre.) I am looking forward to having Ethiopian cuisine in the area!

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it was def. supposed to be one of those, and my palate is generally accepting of a broad range of flavors. But the thing was just unsurpassingly awful. Became a running joke between me + my gf that I was going to order it again every time we went.

what is this going to be? as far as Davis goes, I’m waiting on Dakzen too in the old Palm Sugar spot–have been following their Instagram and have to say that at least the marketing of their “Thai street noodles” makes it look sorta promising.

It will be a Mongolian BBQ place if/when it opens. https://boston.eater.com/2017/11/13/16643102/hulun-beir-mongolian-barbecue-somerville

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