That was also my opinion of the few times I tried pizza at Posto. I was always under impressed. And I have never seen it mentioned a best pizzas of Boston list.
In the olden days, Zing shared an entrance with P^2 Books, but was otherwise a separate establishment (āown seating, own cash registerā). You could say the Zing was in P^2, but you could equally argue that P^2 was in the Zing. The separate entrance in the new location complicates the question of whatās in what. In an age where physical reality is subservient to electronic, the website for P&L is under that for P^2:
That makes then inside P^2 in my book.
All these trivialities apart, the new location is hard to get to. Parking is very difficult in those parts. I have tried twice in the last few days to get there and have failed. And I say this as a longtime fan both of the bookstore (oh, the countless points I have accumulated there) and as a longtime fan of Forge. Here, as an example of my fandom, is how I prepped one of our freezer drawers for the pandemic:
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I hadnāt really even thought about parking at P2 Bookās new location. For me, itās a walk so I was worried about pedestrian traffic which I suspect is also much less than at the old location. Good point.
Free parking in the lot behind the building with validated parking (free all day on weekends, 45 min on weekdays until 6, then free)
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Yes, but itās generally a crowded lot (Lesley), and not always easy to find a spot, especially in the day. I know this from years of visiting various Japanese places in that building, and taking my daughter to Bourbon Coffee after school where sheād do her homework. For those visits weād hook around the back and park on one of the streets behind the building. But it involves a slight detour.
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Little Q Hotpot in Arlington appears to be permanently closed. Itās too bad - we had dinner there last year and Spring Onion really enjoyed the experience.
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Several postings on the Medford MA FB page report that longtime Szechuan restaurant Chili Garden has closed. I went by today and there is indeed a closed sign on the door.
Reportedly the restaurant was sold to a new owner in 2023 and business was not good enough to continue operating.
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That is very sad news. BIDT friends and I loved that place. I taught their daughters how to use chopsticks there and the waiter gave them extras to take home and practice with.
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One of the directors at my old company (an Indian-American gentleman) loved spicy foods, and so we would head over there for lunch on occasion. One of the few old standing restaurants that offered a solid Sichuan menu. Sad news indeed.
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Great article in the Boston Globe today on the second Sofra, which just opened in Allston.
Behind a paywall, presumably unfortunately.
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Thanks for posting the link. I passed by there ten days ago, but one way I was heading to an appointment and on the return they were out of most things (I checked online) so I didnāt stop.
ETA: There seems parking off Bertram Street (the corner with which and N. Harvard theyāre on).
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Sora Japan opened in the old Wangās space on Broadway in Somerville. Menu has teriyaki and sushi - there was a post on Reddit that mentioned it was Seattle style teriyaki but I havenāt tried it yetā¦
Also Nibble Kitchenās latest email mentioned it is opening the āNibble Retail Market:ā ā Nibble Kitchen is excited to announce the launch of our brand new Nibble Retail Market! With the goal of providing a consistent sales opportunity and help Nibble Entrepreneurs more easily bring their products to market, the Nibble Retail Market is a rotational retail incubator featuring 3 Nibble Partner businesses at a time!ā - Matki Artisinal Kulfi, Bangla Adda Bengali Cuisine, Cocobelly Bites (Jamaican). Not sure where it is but I assume Bow Market? Am excited to try the kulfi!
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Awesome updates @Udonbou, particularly for this Onion stuck in the wilds of Arlington. TY!
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Wonder if itās the same as the one mentioned here. A true kulfi is a wondrous thing.
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I think so! Now that you mention it, I remember that post from when I was just a lurker. Hereās the blurb from the Nibble email:
āMatki Artisinal Kulfi - Kulfi is a rich and decadent style of ice cream from Indian. Instead of a custard base (with eggs) like most Western ice cream, Kulfi is made from high-quality milk that is reduced until the natural sugars begin to caramelize. The base flavor of Kulfi is green cardamom and Chef Ritiās offerings include Saffron & Rose, Mango, Coffee and Brown Butter, and the classic Matka, which is green cardamom with pistachios and cashews.ā
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Now, thatās the ticket!
I used to make my own back in day, and I still have the molds called ākulfi conesā. Iād make the base the night before, fill the molds and pop them into the freezer, leaving aside a small quantity in a separate small container. The next morning, before any water passed my lips Iād eat this cookās reserve. Oh, the cold on my parched tongue, that burst of cardamom!
Iād make it for company, telling my guests to roll the molds in the palms of their hands (traditional method), then let the kulfi slide out onto the special metal ice cream cups brought over by me around 45 years ago, and still going strong, though lately serving more Forge ice cream than anything else. My passion for standing over a stove, caramelizing milk, with the constant stirring involved, has waned over the years. But not my passion for kulfi. Hard to get the genuine article, though. (Iāve posted before about the abomination that Toscanini and others call āKhulfiā.)
For those who might be curious, the āmatkaā referenced in the name above refers to the traditional freezing method where the filled kulfi cones would be placed in a large earthenware pot (āmatkaā) filled with ice and rock salt, then rocked back and forth as the mixture froze (the equivalent of churning).
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That sounds amazing! I have to figure out a way to haul myself to Somerville for this.
Iām an idiot. There is also kulfi frozen in clay pots and thatās called matka kulfi. The version I was most familiar with in my youth was the one in the large pot that was rocked.
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You are a poet! Even more excited to try it!
Moldova in Newton announced their closure today. I never made it there, unfortunately, but I think it was reviewed here recently?
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