What’s a restaurant, now closed, that still lives rent free in your head and that you’d die to have another meal or drink at?
I was hanging out in Cambridge this morning and ended up having brunch at Vincent’s and it made me long for the days of John Kessen’s now defunct Hungry Mother, which was such a great gem of an establishment with its delicious Southern-inspired food, attentive, friendly service and excellent cocktail program. I miss that place a lot.
Just curious about other spots that people miss dearly and what specifically, if anything they miss about it?
Strip-T’s when Tim came back from NYC to start dinner service. I loved his cooking so much I would even order things I normally don’t like (zucchini), confident I would like it if he made it (I did). It remained great when Jared took over. Such fond memories!!
How the mighty fall! I never made it to Ribelle, content to keep on at Strip-T’s (which, as @GretchenS observes above, continued to be great post-Tim).
I’ll forever miss East Coast Grill and Blue Room, both in Cambridge. Big flavors, unfussy, and never a disappointing meal at either. To this day, the cooking at both places informs the food we enjoy at home.
Also the original Spoke in Somerville. Each plate was prepared with such care. And oh, the lesser-known and delicious wines were a treat. An incredibly kind experience every time we went.
Ribelle was great too, you’re right @Trumpetguy. I took my cousin there when he was in town for a Cousins Weekend and we both swooned over the food. Another time I went with one of my long-time friends and her adult son, who had spent a lot of time in France working at various vineyards, and he wowed the staff by correctly naming the two unnamed wines (remember they did Red #1, 2 and 3?) we ordered. They then brought him tasters of the rest of the wines and as I recall, he got 9 of 11 right and the last two he correctly named the grapes. All of us were in awe. He was in awe at the food. Great night, fabulous memories!
Oh my, where does one begin? I think the places I miss most, I miss the faces behind the food. And mostly simple places, cuz I’m kinda simple. I recently mentioned Matt Murphy on another thread so that’s a start. Does anyone remember Great Bay (Sichuan) in Teele Sq? They had a fire and never recovered. East Asia in Powderhouse, also in Somerville. They had “secret menu” items in plain sight that were awesome. The Paddock (where Sarma is now) was a hoot and slung surprisingly good pizza. Forest Cafe in mid-Porter/Harvard Sq, mostly to hang out at the bar but decent Tex-Mex to soak it all up. Rendezvous, Central Kitchen, Enormous Room in Central. There was nothing I loved more than settling in at the cozy bar at Central Kitchen on a Sunday evening for lovely, cozy food. The Other Side Cafe on Newbury because they flew in the face of Newbury St. The G’s - Goemen Noodle, Gyuhama, original Ginza in Chinatown. East Ocean in Chinatown. The latter 3 for late night post-clubbing meals.
So many others…
This is going to be the post that I will be eternally editing and thinking, Wow! I actually had a life back then! The original Cambridge 1 in Harvard Sq and that group’s middlesex (Central Sq) and the original Audubon Circle (Fenway).
Rendezvous is probably the one that I miss the most, but a lot of great ones already mentioned that I are with. Also, RIP China King. Every once in a while I get a duck craving and nothing here now really fits the bill.
And more of a dish/food, but the original thick cut steak fries from Clarke’s (pre-late 90s). They changed their recipe, and they became just regular fries.
I miss Something Savory too. Great food! Neighbors used their catering which always made for great party eats. There was a nice place in that space before them, name escapes me, lovely folks, killer Italian sub that was my Friday night indulgence for a period of time.
