Topped with a fried egg and melty American cheese, this sandwich is a home run.
 The BBQ brisket sandwich at Abigail’s. Photo by Katie Barszcz.
If you’re searching for a sloppy sandwich that causes sticky barbecue sauce to drip down your beard, the BBQ brisket sandwich at Abigail’s ($11) is not for you. But I’m quite happy with the more refined version here, which fits the warm bistro atmosphere of the Kendall Square spot. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say that this sandwich—loaded up with brisket, a runny fried egg, melty American cheese, and sauteed peppers and onions—is a home run in its own right. READ MORE
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The All Star Sandwich Bar team will offer pies with toppings ranging from grits to meatballs to figs.
 Above is the box design for All Star Pizza Bar, which will open next Month. (Photo courtesy of All Star Pizza Bar) In this month’s Where to Eat in 2012 issue, we told you about All Star Pizza Bar, the latest venture from the team behind Inman Square’s popular All Star Sandwich Bar. The pizza place—located across the street from its sandwich sibling—is gearing up for a mid-March opening. Co-owner Kosta Diamantopoulos sent me the pizza menu recently, which you can check out ahead. READ MORE
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Welcome to The Kitchen Spy, where we visit local chefs’ home kitchens, and force them to open up their fridge, drawers, and cabinets.
 Bissonnette works a Berkel slicer, a gift from two of his regulars, in his South End apartment. All photos by Charlotte Wilder for Boston magazine
For our first installment of The Kitchen Spy, I headed over to the South End to check out Toro and Coppa chef/co-owner Jamie Bissonnette’s two-floor pad. “I’ve lived in a lot of tiny apartments with shitty kitchens,” Bissonnette says. Now that he’s in nicer digs, he wanted to create a space that’s meant for socializing and hanging out. “It’s got high ceilings, I can decorate it with cool stuff, and it has a lot of space. If I want to make pasta or say, ‘Hey I want to have friends over and do a cooking class,’ or entertain and cook with other guys, we have plenty of space to set up and do productions,” he says. Ahead, get a peek at the chef’s home bar, Fernet obsession, cookbook collection and more. READ MORE
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Preview the menu of the reboot of the North End seafood restaurant.
 Try Mare 2.0 this Friday. (Photo courtesy of Mare.) Over the past few months, upscale North End seafood spot Mare has been closed for a renovation (sound familiar?) that will turn it into a more casual, oyster-bar concept. The revamped Mare opens to the public this Friday, and I got a hold of the the new menu, which you can find ahead. READ MORE
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Ken Oringer's sashimi bar gains a sleek interior and street-food inspired menu.
In mid-January, Ken Oringer’s Clio and Uni closed temporarily for some much-needed renovations. While Clio has since reopened (and now boasts a sleeker interior and an expanded, backlit bar), Uni stayed closed for an extra two weeks for a more extensive rehabbing.
The revamped space reopens tonight at 5:30 p.m. In addition to wood-paneled walls, a lowered sushi bar, and leather banquettes, the sashimi bar also gained some street food-inspired menu additions, like togarashi-dusted Japanese fried chicken and—oh yes—ramen (!!). Ahead, get a peek at some of Uni’s new dishes, Clio’s bar and bar menu, Uni’s space, and the newest addition to the burgeoning late-night ramen scene.
 All food photos by Chelsea Kyle/Boston magazine READ MORE
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Are the popular veggies best fried, shredded, or sauteed?
In Taste Test, Chowder contributor Fiona Coxe compares buzzy dishes around town — and finds out which ones are worth the hype.
 From left: Bristol Lounge, The Gallows, and Coppa. (Photos by Fiona Coxe).
Over the past couple of years, humble Brussels sprouts have undergone a major transformation. After spending decades as the sad vegetables that were more likely to be fed to the family dog than eaten, they have since fought their way on to menus everywhere and, some could argue, have become the most popular veggies in local restaurants.
Since Boston has fully embraced the Brussels sprout, I set out to see who is serving up the best ones in town. The three varieties I tested couldn’t have been more different: buffalo-style at the Bristol Lounge, jazzed up with horseradish and pecorino at Coppa, and smoky-sweet with bacon and raisins at The Gallows. Get the Brussels breakdown — and find out the winner — ahead. READ MORE
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Co-founder Michael Oxton gives us the scoop on the new Everett-based nanobrewery.
 As soon as next month, Night Shift Brewing, a new nanobrewery, will be joining the local beer scene. Based in Everett, the group consists of Michael Oxton, Michael O’Mara, and Robert Burns, three guys who got their start running an extensive home brewing operation — just for fun, at first — out of Somerville (you may remember this piece in the Dig about their experience then).
It’s always exciting to see a new brewery launch, and we are particularly excited about Night Shift, which features some unusual beers created in collaboration with local purveyors. I recently chatted with Oxton to get some more details on the new nanobrewery — ahead, find out more about their three debut offerings and forthcoming brewery tours. READ MORE
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Dig into the city's newest, and most unexpected, dining hot spot.
 Head to Kendall Square for gravy fries from Abigail's. (Photo by Scott M. Lacey/Boston magazine) Boston and Cambridge diners may not be accustomed to thinking of Kendall Square in the context of food. After all, for most of its existence, the neighborhood’s been better known as a tech haven. But with countless restaurant gems popping up right and left, that’s changed and Kendall’s officially the city’s new successful culinary underdog. Everything from gastropubs and sushi stops to Southern-themed restaurants serving comfort food done right are either alive and well there, or coming soon.
To prepare you for this unexpected foodie hotspot, we’ve collected our past coverage of the restaurants. Read through for some dinner ideas — and for you Foursquare enthusiasts, check out our new Kendall Square tips list. READ MORE
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The tacos here are great in theory, but not so great in execution.
Welcome to Man Food, where burger pro Richard Chudy steps away from his usual beat to explore food challenges, street eats, and other gut-busting delights. Ladies are welcome, of course.
 The pescado taco at El Pelon. (Photo by Katie Barszcz.)
After being decimated by a fire in 2009, the Fenway’s popular El Pelon Taqueria finally reopened the doors of its rebuilt Peterborough Street location in November. It’s a small space, with walls filled with pictures of satisfied and loyal customers from all over the world. On a recent lunchtime visit, the crowd was a bustling cross section of hungry students, young professionals, and locals crammed into the mostly take-out operation.
A fairly traditional Mexican menu is available here, with a ubiquitous variety of burritos, tacos and enchiladas. Catching my eye were the pescado tacos — cornmeal-crusted cod tacos topped with chile mayo, limed onions, pickled cabbage, and cucumbers. READ MORE
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Find pricey steak frites, upscale tater tots at the forthcoming Euro-themed dining spot.
 That'll be EIGHT for tater tots, please. (Photo courtesy of Brand X Pictures/ThinkStock) Late last month, Stuff alerted us to the opening of GEM, the latest eatery/lounge hybrid from Big Night Entertainment Group, the group behind high-end party palaces like Shrine at the MGM in Foxwoods, The Estate downtown, and most recently Red Lantern in Back Bay.
In the latest issue of The Improper, a few more details emerged: the space, located in the former Kennedy’s Midtown on Province Street, will seat a mere 35 diners (small by BNEG standards) and sport a 1940s European vibe complete with textures like dark leather and mohair (fuzzy walls, again?).
I recently got a hold of a copy of the opening menu, which you can check out ahead. READ MORE
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