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AN UPDATE ON BACKBAR, OPENING IN UNION SQUARE NEXT WEEKPosted by Leah Mennies on 12/8/2011 at 5:53PM | No Comments
 Drink up at Backbar starting next week. (Photo courtesy of Facebook/Backbar) In our October edition of Table Talk, I wrote about the then-unnamed Backbar, the new casual bar from the Journeyman team. I just hung up with Journeyman general manager Meg Grady-Troia, who filled me in on some new details about the concept—which will open to the public next week. READ MORE |
DETAILS ON BRICK & MORTAR, REPLACING THE ENORMOUS ROOM THIS MONTHPosted by Leah Mennies on 12/6/2011 at 1:52PM | No Comments
 Score one for B-Side Lounge fans. (Photo courtesy of Flickr/Dan4th) In October, we told you that the Enormous Room would close after nine years as a Cambridge fixture to make way for a new nightlife concept. I just hung up with owner Gary Strack, who shared some exciting news on the replacement, which will be called Brick & Mortar. Fans of the much-beloved B-Side Lounge should rejoice — the spot will be a joint concept between Strack, B-Side founder Patrick Sullivan, and other yet-unnamed industry stalwarts. “We just really, really love bars,” Strack says. “It’s almost a religious kind of passion.” READ MORE |
YOUR FIRST LOOK AT THE HAWTHORNE, OFFICIALLY OPEN THIS EVENINGPosted by Leah Mennies on 11/21/2011 at 7:30AM | No Comments
Ever since we heard that the Island Creek Oyster Bar and Eastern Standard team had plans to open a cocktail lounge in the old Foundation Lounge space in The Hotel Commonwealth, we were pretty psyched. And after waiting for several months, the official opening date has finally arrived—it’s tonight! Called The Hawthorne, the lounge is co-owner and local cocktail legend Jackson Cannon’s dream spot, with a sizable 18-seat bar plus a large communal high top table, lots of cushy lounge seating and a second lounge off to the side. Drinks-wise, Cannon says to expect a tightly-edited daily changing roster of specials, as well as a larger menu containing a mix of classics and seasonally-influenced originals. READ MORE |
THE TEAM FROM BLUE INC., PETIT ROBERT CENTRAL TO OPEN JULEP BAR DOWNTOWNPosted by Leah Mennies on 11/14/2011 at 2:26PM | No Comments
 A preview of what's to come at Julep. (Rendering courtesy of Tanya Nayak Design) Next month, aqua-haired chef Jason Santos’ downtown spot Blue Inc. (which we featured in our November issue here) will gain a “upscale lounge” sibling in Julep, which comes from an investor team that’s also behind Blue Inc., Petit Robert Central, and MacGreevy’s (who knew?). It’s taking over the former Revolution Rock Bar space. READ MORE |
50 BEST RESTAURANTS: CLIO BAR MANAGER TODD MAUL GOES LOWBROW WITH BLENDER DRINKSPosted by Leah Mennies on 11/11/2011 at 12:11PM | No Comments
 Get yours at Clio this Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Flickr/TheCulinaryGeek) While Clio’s bar manager Todd Maul is known for his complicated cocktails (and novel-esque 32-page cocktail book) he’s decided to go delightfully lowbrow once a week — with blender drinks! The idea to serve blender bevs started last Sunday, Maul told me, and the event was so successful that it will be be a regular Sunday tradition at Clio, one of this year’s 50 Best Restaurants. With Todd Maul behind the blender, of course, these drinks aren’t your standard Applebee’s pina colada variety. READ MORE |
YOUR FIRST LOOK AT SALOON, FOUNDRY ON ELM’S FORTHCOMING PRE-PROHIBITION-STYLE BARPosted by Leah Mennies on 10/20/2011 at 1:14PM | 1 Comment
While there hasn’t been a shortage of gussied up speakeasy-style spots opening in town (think Storyville, the forthcoming Descent at the W Hotel), Saloon, the forthcoming bar from the team at Foundry on Elm, is taking the idea of a classic pre-prohibition-style concept (so really, before speakeasies came into existence) and keeping it simple. “It’s not a lounge, it’s a true saloon,” says co-owner David Flanagan. “We’re not going to try to fancify everything.” READ MORE |
AFTER NINE YEARS IN CAMBRIDGE, THE ENORMOUS ROOM TO CLOSE THIS WEEKENDPosted by Leah Mennies on 10/5/2011 at 2:50PM | No Comments
 Bid the Enormous Room farewell this weekend. (Photo courtesy of Enormous Room) The Enormous Room, the influential music lounge in Central Square, will close this weekend, Chowder has learned. We just hung up with owner Gary Strack, who also runs Central Kitchen and Kendall Square newcomer Firebrand Saints, which is currently in its soft opening. “There’s a sort of history there that I have a reverence for, but I feel like it fulfilled its artistic mission,” Strack says of the Enormous Room, which first opened in April 2002. The reason for the closing is a rebranding, Strack says, though he’s ultra-mum on the details other than that it will be “nightlife-related.” READ MORE |
YOUR FIRST LOOK AT PARLOR SPORTS, BRINGING WHISKEY SHOTS, MEXICAN PRETZELS TO SOMERVILLEPosted by Leah Mennies on 9/29/2011 at 9:19AM | No Comments
We’ve long loved Trina Starlite Lounge in Inman Square for its chill vibe, excellent cocktails, and awesomely greasy snacks like onion strings and pepperoni rolls. By the middle of next month, Trina’s will gain a sibling, as owners Trina and Beau Sturm, J. Bellao and Josh Childs will open a adjoining new space, called Parlor Sports. Chowder recently stopped by to check out the in-the-works new digs. |
UPSTAIRS ON THE SQUARE’S MONDAY CLUB IS THE FIRST OF SEVERAL SPOTS TO GET A FACELIFTPosted by Leah Mennies on 9/29/2011 at 8:00AM | 1 Comment
 The Zebra Room in the Monday Club now has prancing zebras on the wall. (Photo courtesy of Mary-Catherine Deibel) Late this summer, UpStairs on the Square closed its more casual downstairs Monday Club Room, in order to give the famously whimsical space a bit of a facelift. It’s reopening next week, so we chatted with co-owner Mary-Catherine Deibel to find out what we can expect from the updated space and its accompanying new menu. |
THE FEDERAL IN BEACON HILL CLOSES, TO RE-CONCEPT UNDER SAME OWNERSHIPPosted by Leah Mennies on 9/26/2011 at 5:13PM | 1 Comment
 The Federal will become a new concept under Boston Nightlife Ventures. (Photo courtesy of BNV) Last night, news broke on Chowhound that The Federal, a Beacon Hill pizza/deli concept from Boston Nightlife Ventures (Forum in Back Bay, Noche in the South End, The Tap in Faneuil Hall) has closed, after owners posted “The Federal is closed. Thank you for your patronage,” on the door. We wondered if BNV had decided to sell the space to focus on newer, scene-ier spots like Noche and Forum, but we just learned this afternoon that the team is merely closing The Federal for a re-concepting. Below is the official statement that BNV gave Chowder:
Re-concepting spaces has been a trend recently—first Saint transitioned to Storyville under the same ownership, and late this year the same will happen to currently-shuttered Redline under the Grafton Restaurant Group. BNV is mum on what will come next, but we wonder if the new concept will fall into step with its flashier South End and Back Bay siblings. We will keep you posted as we learn more. [Chowder, Chowhound via Boston Restaurant Talk]
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