I was surprised the the Darling food menu is so limited. Mostly a cocktail bar, it seems.
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Tacos El Chikis (50 Northern Ave) has opened in Seaport. They took the space of what was going to be Menya Jiro. Early reports of the food is good to ok, but apparently everyone thinks its prices are too high. On top of that, they are charging a mandatory 12% “admin fee” to tip all staff. This is meant to be a fast casual spot, and not a sit down restaurant.
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Sorry, should have combined with the above.
Mai - Japanese French fusion izakaya - looks ready for a soft opening! Now this is something I would be totally up for. Walk-ins only for now on 9/10. Directly across from Stubby’s, address is 31 Northern Ave in Seaport.
https://www.instagram.com/mai.izakaya/?hl=en and https://www.mai.boston/
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Ouch – that’s like half the menu, plus the baos mentioned above as being not very good. So drinks only kind of place I guess? Oh well. I was really excited for those shrimp toasts.
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Shrimp toast Seems like one of those “retro” items that are not very common nowadays! Like the jumbo sized bubbly-skin eggrolls.
Shrimp Toast used to be a classic on dim sum menus (in HK at least), and I remember them on the menu during my (much much) younger years enjoying dim sum in Boston. Haven’t seen them on a dim sum cart or menu probably in at least 25 years.
The website definitely focuses on this place being a cocktail bar.
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I’m not sure I’ve ever had the Chinese version. I used to order it regularly at Vietnamese restaurants. I’m assuming they’re similar (probably minus the nuoc cham). Either way, the Vietnamese places near me (north of the city) no longer have it on the menu. Not sure why; I personally consider it to be a top notch starter.
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Yes, the Sweep the Leg was the one I liked the most as well. They weren’t offering the shrimp toast the night we were there, so we didn’t get to try it, but I’m sorry to hear your report.
@Madrid I think you’re right to label it as mostly a cocktail bar. Maybe a cocktail bar with light snacks!
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Temporary, I hope: City Slicker in Somerville had a fire and is currently closed. No idea if it was related to the electrical work being done on that block earlier in the week.
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Mimi’s Banh Mi is a newcomer to Billerica’s O’Connor Hardware Plaza at 446 Boston Road in the town center. I noticed their post on the Merrimack Valley Eats FB page, but have not been there. MBM has its own FB page but apparently no website thus far. B’rica, it seems, is still the caboose of the Boston area’s culinary gravy train.
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Looks like Shine’s Fresh Asian in Belmont has closed rather suddenly and I am sad. A friend reported that their website shut down a few days ago and saw some kind of permitting sign posted in a window. They’re now listed as “permanently closed” on GMaps and a recent review included a photo of a sign reading “Shine’s Fresh Asian is closed for business” on their door. Does anyone more local have more info?
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We tried TooHot with some friends this past weekend - new-ish-ly opened near the corner of Eliot and JFK in Harvard Square. It’s downstairs (subterranean) which lends it a cozy vibe, but nicely decorated and bright enough that it doesn’t feel like a basement.
We started with the appetizer duck and mushrooms, both of which were only ok. The mushrooms were advertised as being spicy “in a numbing, peppercorn-infused oil” but were not even faintly spicy, nearly flavorless. The others described the duck as “fine.” This was not an auspicious beginning.
Luckily the next round more than redeemed the kitchen. We had the Steamed Fish with Twin Chili Essence (after seeing our neighbors at the communal table enjoy it, we asked for the name as there were several whole fish dishes on the menu) which was fantastic - so much so that several of us were spooning the sauce over rice long after the fish was picked clean. We also enjoyed the Spicy Green Beans with Stewed Eggplant Strips, the Yibin Fiery Noodles (spicy but not overly so), and - the best dish of the night - Secret Sizzling Squid Tentacles. This last dish had dry-pot style seasoning and was served on a skillet (similar to a fajita serving platter). We again left not a single bite behind.
It was full with a slight wait (just after the Harvard-Brown game) and service was occasionally slow (we had to flag someone down for another round of Tsingtaos, hardly a crisis!). Overall, though, a great spot with a warm vibe.
Capped it off, as we (too?) often do, with a final drink and the oatmeal cookie whoopie pie at the Longfellow. We claim to want to try other spots, but rarely do - their cocktails are always outstanding, the cookie is fun, and the bartenders are excellent. Can’t beat it.
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It’s that time of year for seasonal closings. Sigh.
Two of “our” spots go into hibernation soon.
Hubba’s Real Pit BBQ truck in Westford wraps up the season on October 5. All locations of Kimball Farm ice cream end the season on October 13.
So if you’re like us, this could be the moment to make like a squirrel. Maybe stash a few treats in the freezer from your favorite local spots for colder days to come.
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What is that crinkle cut item in the photographed dish? French fries???
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Squash, I believe! We also wondered if it was a stray frozen fry before we tried it 
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Thanks for this report. We saw an awesome show at the ART a couple of weeks ago and we wandered aimlessly because we have that done that in a while. We saw Too Hot and wondered about it (it was closed at that hour). We ended up across the street at an oldie-but-goody, Shay’s.
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Because I have lots of work to do and I’m having writer’s block, I am procrastinating.
Couple of Japanese imminent (?) openings in my corner of the world: Sumen (ramen AND sushi which might not bode well but I’m being optimistic) in Arlington in a spot that has had a bunch of Indian places depressingly circulating in-and-out; and Hinoki in Burlington (Wayside Commons), which has a Greenwich CT location. Spring Onion has music class 2 days a week in that plaza and sometimes I’ll go to Seasons 52 to kill time with a glass of wine but it’s starting to get old (conveniently, B goes into the office both of those days so can’t take SO to class 
). Looking forward to something new.
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