Posts Tagged “02138”

Will Gilson of Garden at the Cellar fills spiced donuts with duck liver mousse at the Flavors of Fall benefit for Second Chances, held at Regattabar at the Charles Hotel.

What have you done today that’s as awesome as that?  How about making a donation of clothes or cash to Second Chances, an organization that provides people in need with clothing?

Not that long ago, I used to travel a lot for work, it seemed I was never home.  Occasionally I would join newoligarch for “neighborhood patrol” wherein we would walk around our neighborhoods, taking conscious note of stores opening and closing, construction, homes for sale, and other changes that can pass you by when you’re out of town.

In that spirit, I present some local square updates:

1. Davis Square

The shell of CD Spins didn’t have much time to get cold before a hermit crab of a new business moved in.  They don’t quite have all the signage yet, but La Chic Boutique is definitely open for business at 235 Elm Street.  It’s a fashion consignment shop that also carries (or aspires to carry) according to their literature (abridged), “Hummels, Swarovski Crystal, Frankoma, Hobnail, Lunchboxes, Weathervanes, Transformers, Acoustic Research, Duck Decoys, Doorstops, Microscopes, Old Tube Radios, Ambrotypes, Tiffany Lamps, Folk Art” and more.

2. Harvard and Davis

I had blogged briefly on Bowl & Board earlier.  This bit from NPR makes it sound like things are even worse, and the Globe also mentions their exodus from Harvard Square.  I went back and bought that cutting board like I was talking about.  I hope that little bit helps them some. It’s a nice foil to the granite counters in limeduck kitchen stadium.

3. Harvard Square

Crema cafe was mentioned in the Globe piece above as a sign of life and business in the square, and I’ve been tardy in visiting.  Professor M lured me there yesterday and I had a double espresso while she enjoyed mint tea and an eggplant sandwich.  The place was packed but still relatively calm.  My espresso was good but not outstanding, having a bit of a sour tang.  The eggplant was crisp, with entertainingly stretchy cheese and excellent (house made?) bread.

There’s still life in these old squares yet.

I met up with L after work one day last week and we dropped in to Wrapro, a newish Lebanese falafel and wrap place on Mass ave between Porter and Harvard.  I’d been meaning to check it out for a while.  The place is modern (IKEA furnished if I don’t miss my guess) and clean, with a large case of baklava and other sweets on the counter and slowly spinning shwarmas behind it.

We ordered up a vegetarian platter and the special, pumpkin kebbee (I’m more used to seeing it with meat and spelled kibbeh)  The platter contained some falafel, grape leaves, tabouleh and hummus with bread on the side.  Not terribly photogenic but awfully tasty.

I’ve talked before about having a soft spot or a sweet tooth for pumpkin, so I was extra happy to find a vegetarian version of my favorite kibbeh and delighted to find it with pumpkin.  I don’t really think of pumpkin as something you substitute in for meat like you might with mushrooms for example, but it worked well.  The sweet pumpkin matched up well with the cinnamon and bulgur without being cloying.  The texture was maybe a little mushier than I would have liked, but it was crisp on the outside and moist on the inside.  I have no idea how close it is to Wrapro’s, but here’s a recipe for pumpkin kibbeh.

I plan to return and fully evaluate the falafel and check out the baba too.