a to-do list of sorts (Boston-area)

[clauclauclaudia]

The Phantom Gourmet's latest Cambridge episode recommends:

Rendezvous, in Central Square (yeah, I've heard this from everyone): rating 86

1. Hi-Rise Bread Company (Huron Village) -- mmm, fresh-baked bread
2. Cuchi Cuchi (Central Square)
3. Upstairs on the Square (Harvard Square): all I know is when it was Upstairs at the Pudding in the last months, it was highly overrated
4. Cardullo's Gourmet Shoppe (Harvard Square): where I get my sammiches and chocolate bars
5. River Gods (Central Square)... you know, I don't think I even knew that was a bar
6. Sugar & Spice (Porter Square)... I really ought to make it over there some day, I live mere blocks away
7. Craigie Street Bistrot (Harvard Square-ish)... was tasty the one time I ate there with my folks
8. Central Kitchen (Central Square) -- Mediterranean numminess

• The Red House (Harvard Square): we ended up here unexpectedly--I need to go back sometime when the outdoor patio will be a pleasant option. rating 78
• The Harvard Square Garage -- okay, sure. They featured Flat Patties, which I've never been to; Felipe's Taqueria, about which I am agnostic; Crazy Dough's, which I hadn't known existed (but then I'm not big on pizza); the Doghouse ( = hotdogs ); and the obligatory Boston Chowda Co.
• Chez Henri (Harvard/Porter): rating 81

Viewers' choices:

• Changsho (Harvard/Porter) (which I just visited for the first time this spring)
• Jose's Mexican Restaurant (Fresh Pond)
• Bisuteki (Radisson Hotel)

• Helmand (Cambridgeside): rating 80 (I haven't been there in too long)
• Petsi Pies (okay, this is really Somerville, but there's a new location on Putnam Ave outside Harvard Square
• Harvest, Harvard Square (for brunch): 80

Cheap eats in each neighborhood:

• Cambridge, 1 (Harvard Square)
• Midwest Grill (Inman Square)
• Miracle of Science (Central Square)... again, I didn't quite realize this was an eatery
• The Blue Room (Kendall Square)... need to make it out there for brunch before a movie!
• Summer Shack (Alewife)

East Coast Grill in Inman Square.

And, aaah yes, Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage. I'm sure I've been there, I can't quite remember.... ;-)

And the cuban sandwich at the bar at Chez Henri was the dish of the day.

Comments

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

I'll have to stop in at the Hi-Rise sometime.

I wasn't hugely impressed by Bisuteki-- it's a meal and a show, but the show kind of takes precedence.

Sugar and Spice is gooood.

I've never actually been in Central Kitchen. Must check it out.

The hell is Cuchi Cuchi?

[clauclauclaudia]

A fair question. The "concept of Cuchi": http://www.cuchicuchi.cc/aboutcuchi.html

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

Cuchi Cuchi is a fabulous place to consume small plates of food and fancy drinks while being waited on by servers dripping in rhinestones. :)

[mangosteen]

The Summer Shack is cheap eats? I believe that's the most startling news of all.

[frotz.livejournal.com]

I find his taste in food equally startling. (To my tongue, he mixes the great with the awful with impunity.) Claudia, MoS does a decent job with burgers; not up to Bartley's standards, but entirely edible.

[clauclauclaudia]

I *think* the Cheap Eats are chosen by someone other than the Phantom--the guy who voices his reviews. I'm not entirely clear on that part.

[kjc.livejournal.com]

Sugar & Spice (Porter Square)... I really ought to make it over there some day, I live mere blocks away

It's quite tasty. I recommend it. Not a great restaurant, but a solidly good one.

And the cuban sandwich at the bar at Chez Henri was the dish of the day.

That's because it is a MIGHTY FINE sammich. YUM!

The finest cuban sammich I've ever had - although I admit, I've only had them in maybe 4 places.

[ceo]

Sugar and Spice is quite tasty, but not the place for an intimate conversation. There isn't a soft surface in the entire restaurant, so it gets really loud in there when it's crowded.

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

The finest cuban sammich I've ever had - although I admit, I've only had them in maybe 4 places.

My half-Cuban, Miami-raised fiance agrees that the sandwich is fabulous. :)

[lil-brown-bat.livejournal.com]

Concur with mangosteen: the "cheap eats" category is to laugh at.

The sad truth is, very much of Cambridge food is to laugh at. Sure, there's great stuff in there...but as a Doonsbury character recently remarked WRT a famous Cambridge institution, imagine having to get over yourself first thing every morning.

[clauclauclaudia]

I loved that strip. :) As I just commented, I think the Cheap Eats are chosen by someone other than the Phantom himself. They didn't seem as worth taking note of as the rest, but hey, while I was transcribing the whole episode anyway....

[totient]

I wasn't really impressed by Sugar and Spice.

The Blue Room has reasonably affordable and quite tasty lunches on nice days in the summertime. Not really "cheap" apart from that.

Hi Rise no longer has their ham, asparagus, and brie sandwich, and this makes me sad. Still very yummy, though.

In the "cheap eats" category, I'm fond of:
- Charlie's Kitchen in Harvard Square. Much better burgers than they had when we were undergrads.
- Anna's Taqueria. Of course.
- Cambridge Common. These guys are what Christopher's used to be: a reliable local.
- 2nd Street Cafe. No evenings, no weekends, but they have the best meatball sub in town and quite a credible Cubano. Run by the former chef at Aquitaine, for 1/5 the price.
- India Pavilion in Central Square.
- Qingdao. If you're car-enabled, Beijing Star in Waltham is even better.