Please post here for April, May, June 2024 openings and closings in the Boston/New England area.
Reminder: please include [City, Neighborhood] in your post title above. If the topic is about a specific eatery, please click the ‘Add Location’ button to enter the address, so your topic shows up in the Topic Map.
Six Po Hot Pot in Brookline is papered over. Always seemed busy, so a bit of a surprise.
SOMERVILLE, MA
OK, I haven’t actually visited yet to confirm, but a couple of postings in the Somerville MA FB group have stated that Ciao Pizza (Broadway, Ball Sq. Somerville) has opened for business. Posts included pictures and a menu. If anyone beats me there, please let us all know!
I saw this too. But their website does not indicate any Somerville location. It’s always puzzling to me that when opening a new business, you wouldn’t update your website to help people find you.
that is so annoying! that and not have the address, phone #, and hours on the 1st page.
ciao’s in ball square, 688 broadway. i’m often in ball square during the day and would love to try a slice, but they don’t open until 5pm.
Biked by Ciao Somerville yesterday and tooks photos of the hours/menu, etc. (Sorry for the pic quality but it was hard to get non-reflective images with the bright spring sunlight, not that I am complaining!)
Estimate 25-30 closely packed seats, 5 of which are at the bar.
saw that while i was waiting for the bus. thanks for posting.
i remember that space when it was the urban gourmet and eat at jumbos. 25-30 seats? closely packed is an understatement!
That mafaldine with mushrooms is calling my name…but the $31 price tag is an ouchie, truffles notwithstanding.
Was reading a write up on the new Jamie Bisonette restaurant Somaek in downtown Boston. It’s serving Korean food, and looks interesting. I wasn’t aware of his spouse and extended family being Korean, so having direct influence on his menu sounds very promising. Any authentic, homey Korean food that isn’t BBQ is always welcome. But I will give a squint at their charging for their banchan. 
I know times are tough for restaurants with rising prices, but for something that is complementary in other Korean restaurants, charging $5 a pop feels excessive. I hope that’s not for a tiny plate, and is an actual shareable side dish. If anyone plans to visit this place, please share any feedback and reviews.
Sound Bites in Ball Square, Somerville has a sign on the door that they are take out only and “we hope to be back soon to eat inside.” It was dark and empty when I walked by during prime brunch hours Sunday a little before noon, and the line at Ball Square Cafe snaked well down the block. Have the Brunch Wars finally been won?
The owner Yasser Mirza apparently sold Sound Bites at the end of December and according to numerous yelp reviews, the famed hash browns were changed, some menu items were deleted, and the food quality has gone downhill.
Googling the owner’s name produces some interesting results not related to the conflict between the two breakfast places.
Two stories from 2016 and updated in 2022 in Boston Magazine about the feud between SoundBites and Ball Sq. Cafe:
not a restaurant, but valicenti pasta farm is no more.
i didn’t see them at the somerville or cambridge farmers markets over the winter. but, hoping hoping they’d be back come spring.
will miss their truffled wild mushroom ravioli — a true work of art.
Gosh, that is unfortunate. I liked having access to their fresh pasta.
I always bought their sauces at my local, LexFarm. I haven’t seen them this past season but I just thought that was the natural cycling in-and-out of producers.
What a crazy time that was. But I think folks reveled in it. And now, it seems almost quaint in the face of…now.
I really enjoy Bisonette’s food and hospitality. Coppa is still one of my favorite spots in Boston (although I do wish they were still open for lunch). I’m sure I’ll love the food at this new spot if I make it there. However, charging for banchan and ordering them like tapas is just antithetical to what I enjoy about Korean restaurants. It really does sum up the Boston dining scene in 2024 though.
Large review of Somaek and Sushi @Temple Records from Devra First in today’s Boston Globe/Food Section.
May I offer an alternative opinion? I always felt bad (there’s a specific term in Korean that is untranslate-able but “bad” is the closest I can come up with in English) about all the free all-you-can-eat banchan, especially at places where you knew the banchan was house-made. It’s a lot of work to make all of those dishes and my family appreciated the effort (and we never left any uneaten). For a time, I lived in Chicago which has a sizeable Korean population. I’d go to Korean restaurants where I would see customers (non-Koreans and Koreans alike) leave unconscionable amounts of banchan behind. Some restaurateurs rebelled and started charging for their banchan and, of course, the Korean patrons complained. I don’t know what happened in the aftermath, but I can see why places would charge for banchan. (1) Effort, and (2) cut down on food waste.
ETA: I wonder if $5 gets you, say, a set of 2 or 3 different banchan? That’s probably not likely, but they have just opened. There may be adjustments made after the inevitable backlash.
Yeah, I know I can be a Debbie Downer sometimes. 
Also edited a little for clarity/yucky grammar/syntax.
Never.
That was very useful perspective, cultural and otherwise.
