Waltham, MA--current picks?

Regional Dining Discussions Boston, New England
#1

my so called life means that every weekend, I drive into Medford from the west via the Pike-95-Route 2 angle every Friday morning. I discovered that on this route it’s reallllly easy to stop in Waltham which has led to a previously mentioned delicious rut where I stop pretty much every week at Tacqueria El Amigo and pick up platos mexicanos, lengua tacos or al pastor burritos.

But I’m looking to expand beyond, and I know there are board contributors who have knowledge of the area. I went last week to the Waltham Indian Market to pick up some supplies & it was great, but I’m unsure about the food offerings there. I also know that I need to get to Moody’s Provisions and get a sandwich there one of these weekends, because the praise for that place puts it on my radar. That seems like a great stop.

But: any other ideas, food friends? If you needed to make a quick stop for lunch in Waltham on your way back to Medford, where might you go? Thanks in advance for any pointers.

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#2

MuLan can’t be missed. Charcoal Guidos do lunch Fri-Sat. Bonefish Grill has some decent lunch dishes, especially the Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos. Garcia Brogans has a limited lunch menu, go for the Guack for $2. Pho & Spice Waltham has excellent Pho. Gustazo Cuban Restaurant & Cafe is excellent.

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#3

A lot of my favorites don’t do lunch. But to add to the list above -

Domenic’s on main st makes great sandwiches too

I’ll second Mulan and Pho & Spice but have never really understood the allure of Gustazo’s.

Russo’s makes a few decent sandwiches at their cheese counter (and you can pick up some other stuff while you’re there).

Not lunch but Alba’s on Moody has awesome house made Greek yogurt. They also do some take-and-bake items for dinner (not sure what they have out for lunch).

In the basement of the Indian market there is also a restaurant that I’ve yet to go to but others have said they liked.

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#4

+1 on Domenic’s. Also we like getting their filled-to-order cannoli to take out.

I have had a Moody’s sandwich for lunch only once, though we have bought their charcuterie, sausages, duck confit legs (frozen), pimento cheese, and various house-made pickles many times to savor at home. I am a fan girl. Looking forward to their expansion along Moody Street. According to the article below, Moody’s hopes to have the additions up and running by October. Other Onion-ers may have more recent intel.

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#5

Domenic’s Italian take out 987 Main St, Waltham has excellent everything! I usually get the meatballs or chicken pam. They even make their own bread.

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#6

I second Moody’s sandwiches, Mulan, Charcoal Guidos, Gustazo, Domenic’s sandwiches. I’ll also throw Brelundi for Neapolitan pizza or panini into the mix. There’s a small cafe on Felton St. (but enter by the commuter rail parking lot and park in one of the few reserved spaces for the cafe) or, better yet, go to the ristorante in the Waltham Watch Factory building at the corners of Crescent and Prospect. They also have pastas and okay gelato, and the arancini are very good.
Pho 1 on Moody also has In Boston Korean fried chicken (it’s been quite a while since I’ve gotten it but it was good back then.)
The food court in the lower part of Waltham India Market has some passable steam-table choices, but also lamb, chicken or paneer tikka kabobs and naan cooked to order.
Taqueria Mexico on Charles street is homey and good, although I think that Taqueria El Amigo has the edge there.
Mi Tierra on Moody has good Salvadoran, especially the pupusas.
A new Haitian place, Tap Tap Station Cafe, has opened at the corner of Moody and the commuter rail station, but I haven’t been and there is no chatter online.
Paisano on High St. has decent Mexican and Guatemalan.
For a snack, my son likes the empanadas at Tara on Moody.
On Pleasant St. near Belmont Center is My Other Kitchen, run by the son of the owners of the old Andros Diner. The chicken souvlaki is good, and they also have a chicken gyro, spinach pie and some other lunch offers. You could continue on to Rte. 60 to get to Medford. The online reviews are quite good so I should get back to try more.
Please report back!

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#7

thanks for all the great suggestions! a few of these are totally new to me, so these are all really helpful responses. I’ll see if I can check some out in the upcoming weeks and will be sure to repay the tips with reviews!

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#8

oh, and a special thanks for this one. Rt 60 is the way I always go back, so this sounds really promising…

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#9

karibu
tara restaurant
taqueria el amigo
taqueria mexico
mulan
gustazo
panela de barro
lizzy’s ice cream

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#10

Tell us a little more about Karibu, Tara, and Panera de Barro. I’ve driven past all of them but never stopped. I’ve heard mention of them before but never any details.

#11

realized today that I drive right by Domenic’s on the way to India Market, so I stopped an got a sandwich. Got the Serena, pistachio mortadella and provolone with house dried tomato and house marinated eggplant. It was fantastic! Loved the bread. Also scored an arancini with sauce on the side for breakfast tomorrow. Eyeballed the baked goods, but held off.

Since it was early and I had an hour’s parking, I left the car by the cinema and strolled up Moody for a pork and cheese pupusa at Mi Tierra. Pretty solid, and I liked the curtido that they had with it.

Noted the nearby locations for some other spots mentioned above–Pho 1 (which does still have the Korean chicken, too) & Pho and Spice, looked into Moody’s, and saw Tara Restaurant, the charcarero place. This whole strip has good pickings! Will try soe of these others soon.

Also fwiw, it looks like Dosa Factory from Cambridge is opening a restaurant on Moody soon.

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#12

Not to burst the bubble - but the Dosa factory has been “coming soon” for at least 3 years.

Though, Moody’s does has 3 new concepts slated to open sometime in October (we will see) which will be fun. Fingers crossed.

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#13

Mmmm. Haven’t had one from Domenic’s in awhile, though I do remember their arancini being rich and reheating well (in oven).

#14

Ha, it’s been “opening” so long that some of the the thali dishes decorating the outside have had to be replaced!

#15

Great report, passing_t. I usually get the Dom’s special or the eggplant, but that Serena sounds awesome. You’ve inspired me to get there soon. Those are some of my favorite sandwiches anywhere.

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#16

I haven’t been to Karibu or Panela de Barro. Tara is a fairly typical pizza/sub shop and nothing I’ve had has stood out. My son likes the Sicilian pizza, but I haven’t tried it. He says that Armando’s has the edge, though.
The owner is Chilean and they do offer some chacareros, empanadas and Chilean plates that I really should try.

#17

haha, that’s hilarious. I just saw the signs! I don’t even know if Dosa Factory is any good, I have never gone to the one in Cambridge.

The Moody’s spinoffs sound great. Looking forward to those.

#18

Update: Husband stopped by Moody’s yesterday to pick up charcuterie so that we could have an indulgent dinner at home. The person who helped him said that the additions to Moody’s will probably be ready late this year because of the construction involved.

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#19

the Dom’s arancini reheated great for breakfast. Loaded with cheese. Delicious!

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#20

The Cambridge Dosa factory is bad.

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