With innumerable new establishments and favorite old haunts as well dotting the landscape, it helps to have a expert connect the dots on Greater Boston’s ever-growing food map. Lizzie Bell and Sam Schlussel of Off The Beaten Path food tours are up for the job, as the couple has been mining and exploring the food scene around here for more than a decade.
eats
PLEASANT CAFE, ROSLINDALE: OLD SCHOOL BOSTON AT ITS BEST
The vintage feel continues inside with the almost obligatory wood paneling, hissing radiators, narrow diner-like restaurant section, and old-fashioned bar area complete with a wood-paneled partition that separates the actual bar from another narrow dining area.
FIRST LOOK: CHIHARU SUSHI & NOODLE (BROOKLINE)
Chiharu Sushi & Noodle on Boylston Street (Route 9) has the makings of a real winner while also bringing to light a little-known section of Brookline.
SKAMPA, CAMBRIDGE: A LITTLE TASTE OF THE NORTH SHORE ONE MILE FROM DOWNTOWN BOSTON
The junior, large, and super beef sandwiches here rival the best that the North Shore has to offer, with the thinly sliced meat being slightly warm, the onion rolls being soft and fresh-tasting, and the BBQ sauce having a rich flavor but not so much as to overwhelm the other ingredients.
TASTY ON THE HILL, MEDFORD
A little cafe that features a big (and hard-to-find) sandwich
EATS: DOGWOOD CAFE, JAMAICA PLAIN
A laid-back neighborhood spot that gets little notice beyond JP
ATWOOD’S TAVERN, CAMBRIDGE: FOOD, BEER, AND MUSIC IN A RUSTIC SPACE
Well, it’s none of these, really, instead being a good, solid, midlevel place that oozes charm inside, with lots of dark woods, a bar that looks like it has seen its share of history, a small stage in the back that is integrated nicely with the rest of the space, and a hidden side patio that is accessed by a door beyond the bar.
FIRST LOOK: ITALIAN CAFÉ GELATO
Quincy spot has the best cold treat you’ve tried all summer
DELICIOUS (TASTE OF SOMERVILLE: THE INTERVIEWS)
DELICIOUS (TASTE OF SOMERVILLE: THE INTERVIEWS)
10 OUTDOOR PATIOS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT
Which patios and decks are good to hit? Well, all of them, really, but a handful of lesser-known ones are below, plus a few relatively popular spots that have patios literally hidden from view.