Posts Tagged “cambridge”

I hadn’t really thought much about local Chinese food with an actual Chinatown so close to home, but when Jason asked me to suggest a good Chinese restaurant in Central or Harvard, I realized that I’m living on a boulevard of pretty unimpressive Chinese restaurants stretching for miles!

Let’s start at Harvard and head North first.

Yenching, 1326 Mass Ave.  There are plenty of positive reviews, but I am not impressed.

Changsho, 1712 Mass Ave.  Grand and imperial looking, but not that exciting.  Plus, they slipped slices of ham into their vegetarian eggplant. And it looks like part of a chain now.

Wok n Roll, 1908 Mass Ave. Right in Porter, but never seems to make the list.  Maybe it’s the name.

Qing Dao Garden, 2383 Mass Ave.  We’re most of the way to the Arlington line and finally, an agreeably low-key joint with fresh and interesting dishes.

Back to Harvard now, heading South…

Hong Kong, 1238 Mass Ave.  OK, I get it, it’s a comedy club and they have really big scorpion bowls.  That in itself should disqualify it.  Do not eat here unless already drunk.

New Asia, 1105 Mass Ave.  Meh. But they do deliver!

(note the 600+ house numbers of nothing right through Central square)

Mary Chung, 460 Mass Ave.  Almost Halfway to MIT, we find the other border of the desert.  Mary Chung is an institution for good reason.  I think they have one of the highest food to decor rating ratios (over 3:1) in all of Zagat.  Don’t miss the suan la chow show. (And when a dish has its own wikipedia page that mentions a restaurant, that should speak volumes)

It’s 3.2 miles along Mass Ave – give or take – between Mary Chung and Qing Dao Garden, and as far as I’m concerned, there’s not much to eat Chinese-wise along that strip, which encompasses three of the major squares of Cambridge.  Sort of disgraceful, don’t you think?

Just for yuks, let’s venture past Mary Chung for a bonus round heading towards MIT and swerving on to Main Street a bit.

All Asia, 332 Mass Ave. Known for music not so much for food.

Pu Pu Hot Pot, 907 Main Street. Divey, but I like this place in spite of or maybe because of the name.

Royal East, 792 Main Street.  Fancier than Changsho and with more culinary chops to back it up if you ask me.

I’m sure plenty of differing opinions will surface, but I do want to recognize a place that I’ve omitted because it’s a bit off the beaten track of Mass Ave, but well worth the trip if you’re stuck in the 3.2 mile Chinese Rut: Zoe’s, at 289 Beacon Street, next to Petsi Pies.  I’m not even 100% sure they’re still in operation, but especially given the above, I’m going to make a point to seek them out again soon.

Looking for a place to get away from it all yesterday morning, I trudged a few blocks in the rain to the Atomic Bean Cafe, which had opened in the shell of Mojo Records a few months ago.  I knew I could go a few more blocks to Dado Tea for a nice savory scone, but seeing Aranciata in the case reminded me the arancini at St. Anthony’s Feast and so I ordered a ham and cheese croissant and settled in for a spell.

Wifi at Atomic Bean is free, but you have to remember to borrow (and return!) one of the secret password cards near the register.

Atomic Bean is also a gallery of sorts, and they currently feature paintings by Sara Theophall and others.  Wall text and price lists were scant, but the work is well worth a look.  Theophall’s work reminded me a bit of that of Ariel Freiberg, seen at least year’s Somerville Open Studios, where I also first met Tova Speter, whose woodgrain-based work has also graced the walls of Atomic Bean.  Small art world indeed.

Sometimes you’re in the mood for small plates.  Maybe it’s indecision or fear of commitment, maybe it’s a desire to eat a little less for once or to save some money, and sometimes they just look so good.

After taking in some First Friday art with the Beautiful People at Gallery Kayafas, I dropped in at Garden at the Cellar with erstwhile art buddy L.  Lots of things looked yummy, but oddly enough we ended up with an appetizer and four sides.

The seared scallops with romesco, hazelnuts and a green bean vinaigrette were sweet and cooked just right.  I thought the hazelnuts were a nice touch with the summery green beans.  We also had four of the six sides: roasted beets, pureed parsnips, hommade “tater tots,” and garlic spinach.  We passed on the other two potato variants, rosemary truffle fries and crispy potatoes with dijon.  The tater tots were fun and the beets were tasty, but the other two, both severed in tiny ball jars, were exceptional.

The garlic spinach wasn’t the usual spinach in garlic oil, it was spinach with a generous number of roasted garlic cloves interspersed for a warm, nutty, garlic mush that would have been delicious on its own.  The parsnip puree was pretty much just that – I don’t know where Gilson gets his parsnips this time of year – and it was simple parsnippy goodness, bitter and tangy and sweet all at the same time.  We were fortunate to have some bread left to swab the insides of the jars.

== update august 9 ==

Garden at the Cellar is boycotting Summer Restaurant Week (official and unofficial sites) which is August 9-21.  A little screed included with the check puts it thusly:

…Summertime foodie favorites now feature more than speedy service, unexpectedly long wait lists and menu changes that, let’s be honest, aren’t always for the better. … In fact, we’re going to to boycott restaurant week and stay just the same!”

It goes on to note that GatC will be adding some “brand new noshes” so I guess they’re not staying exactly the same, but restaurant week or no, I look forward to more local and seasonal goodness.

Last week, I dined with professor M at Mu Lan, an unassuming looking Taiwanese restaurant not far from Kendall square in Cambridge.  We ordered #54, sauteed shrimp with asparagus and #133, soft bean curd with green mustard and some brown rice.  The shrimp and asparagus were mild and done just right.  When #133 arrived, I at first thought we had received the wrong dish.  The tofu came as sheets, not the silken chunks I expected, and the mustard greens (we assumed they had transposed the words in an imperfect translation) were chopped finely and mixed with whole soybeans.  The waitress confirmed that it was what we ordered and we tucked in.  I can’t say that the tofu sheets had much flavor but they were more interesting texture-wise than the usual kind, and much easier to eat with chopsticks.  The greens (and I’m still not 100% sure they were in fact the “mustard greens” you find in southern cooking) were tender but still crunchy, lightly seasoned and redolent of fresh-cut grass. There are lots more Taiwanese dishes on the menu that you don’t see at the typical Cantonese or mainland Chinese places, so we’ll have to go back sometime. It was a very satisfying dinner – we even brought back leftovers – but at the same time, I can’t help but feel cheated by the Chinese lesson on the back of my fortune.

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.