Well, I can’t claim quite the far reach of some you with John Harvard’s, but it will always hold a special place for me. In 2006 after our wedding reception in the cafeteria of the Episcopal Divinity School, about 2/3 of our guests walked through a misty night to arrive at John Harvard’s where they allowed us to stay past closing, made no fuss whatsoever about my underage cousins having a few pints, and generally provided the equivalent of a private party for us. Did we eat? Who knows. I very much doubt it. Since I can’t return in my wedding dress on a regular basis, I’ll say goodbye from afar.
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What a lovely story.
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Wasn’t it something like “Spaghetti Emporium” between 33 Dunster and John Harvard?
Ah, the Blue Parrot. I remember during the bizzard of '78 when nearly everything was shut down (all traffic was banned - only the National Guard was permitted on the streets), Blue Parrot was open - and serving fresh salads. They had a cross-country ski afficianado on staff who trekked over to the Chelsea produce market and hauled stuff back in his backpack.
An Ha’ Penny downstairs - you coud get the daily special from upstairs at Blue Parrot for less, and a cheap pint.
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Thai Noodle Cafe opened in what used to be Tong G’s BBQ in Belmont. Tony G’s took over Gustazo’s Cuban cafe that now has two locations. Looking at the menu for Thai Noodle Cafe I see nothing really exciting.
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Yes, I was wracking my brain and you nailed it. 33 Dunster Street is where I had my first underage Tequila Sunrise (dating myself as old).
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The turn this discussion has taken brings a smile to my face. Places and experiences from years past are part of lives well-lived.
I’m all for that.
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Elsie’s, oh how I loved Elsie’s! The best sandwiches.
Enjoyed,
CocoDan
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I enjoyed my share of roast beef specials but I always wondered about the pile of bacon behind the grill that seemed to be from another day, if not week 
I asked the people at M.F. Dulock about their move. They said it will be at some point this fall.
(I got some lovely chunks of chuck from them which I very slowly cooked just under “simmer” – 6 hours – with cumin, bay leaf, cloves, a cinnamon stick, and some cayenne, then stirred in some sauteed ramps before serving. The meat was meltingly tender and aromatic, and the ramps gave it a nice garlicky kick.)
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But before John Harvard was 33 Dunster, wasn’t is something like a Spaghetti Factory? I graduated college in 1977, drinking age still 18. We had a memorable meal there with a group of friends round about 1975. Waitress dumped a bunch of plates and silveware in the middle of the table and left. Then dumped all the orders in the middle of the table. I loved Elsie’s back then and the Oxford Ale House.
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Funny, I don’t remember the bacon. Probably wasn’t eating much then. I did love their tuna sandwiches and egg salad sandwiches.
Always Enjoyed,
CocoDan
I forgot I’d already posted on the greatness of MF Dulock, so I’m editing for not to repeat!
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cuong’s vegan on beach street in chinatown appears to have closed
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Cheers Cut!! & One-zo (combo place - same store front, both menus) opened last Thursday on Billings Rd in North Quincy. Cheers Cut!! (the name has the exclamation points – not indicative of my verdict on its food) is Taiwanese fried foods. One-zo is yet another bubble tea place whose claim to little fame is store-made fresh boba.
The drinks are good, but perhaps not particularly outstanding. The fresh made boba had a nice texture, and they have various flavored boba available that will rotate, such as sesame and cactus. The fried food was meh. I took it to go, which compromised quality for fried foods. But even not at its crispiest, the food wasn’t that tasty. They rely on sauce packets (of which I got none - more on that later). I would not go back just for the fried food.
Operationally, they are a mess! Crazy long lines that moved at a snail’s pace. This was because it’s new, and somewhat because the food is fried to order. But there isn’t tons of efficiency in how they’re set up. They need to separate out those who want drinks vs those who want food (or food & drinks). The only place with a menu was up front, so by the time customers are there, people have questions and slows the ordering process down. People lingered in front of the menu, so others couldn’t see what was available. It was an hour each time to queue up and get the items, and that’s insane for a fast food/snack place, and it wasn’t good enough for anyone to regularly endure that line. If i’m in the area, it’s fine to pop by for a drink, but with 2 other boba tea places literally within 5 mins of that store front, they have to get you your drinks (and food) waaaay faster.
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I was there last Friday and agree with your assessment.
Although to be fair, they had a buy-one-get-one special last weekend so that was probably what caused the long line. I will probably return once the hype dies down to try the charcoal milk tea and some other bubble flavor.
Fresh boba! Interesting–might have to check it out soon!
An email that I received via Moody’s mailing list says that their Backroom restaurant has reopened.
Last week we made a trip to Moody’s reopened Waltham deli. My feelings are mixed.
Thrilled: Seeing them open again and the space as beautifully merchandised as ever.
I was very happy to find their excellent house-made pickled red onions in the refrigerator case. Still great. Also I found pimiento cheese and meatballs in the fridge case—these I have yet to crack open.
Disappointed: The seasoning on the charcuterie, while tasty, lacked the refinement that I remember from previous purchases. Lomo and bresaola were assertively seasoned—too forward on what tasted like the paprika the former, too forward with juniper on the latter. On earlier versions you could taste the meat, not only the spices.
Mini baguettes we bought to enjoy with our at-home feast seemed to be day old.
Everything we tried from Moody’s deli in the past was a home run, so this return visit was somewhat of a letdown. I hope this experience was a blip.
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So do I!!!
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hmmm - I haven’t noticed a change but I’ll have to keep a taste bud open for that they of course could have changed a recipe along the way somewhere - but I wouldn’t think it would be related to the closing/re-opening, only because those salumi take months to age/cure, so it would have had to be a change from a while back at this point.
I thought the backroom had opened a week or so ago but I too just got the mailing - maybe they were doing a soft open for a while. I haven’t been since they reopened, I wonder if they were able to keep their staff during the closing.
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Yes, I wonder about that too. I did detect a change in flavor profile for those meats, lomo and bresaola, though I can only speak to what I experienced in the before and after.
If only I had time and means for in-depth reporting and recipe analysis, then I could truly take one for the team! 
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