Three local restaurants invite the outside in with street art on their walls.
 One of the graffiti-covered walls at Firebrand Saints in Kendall Square. All photos by Charlotte Wilder for Boston magazine.
Street art isn’t just for the street anymore, as Boston restaurants are now sporting graffiti-adorned walls. I stopped by three of the restaurants behind the recent movement: Firebrand Saints in Cambridge’s Kendall Square, Backbar in Somerville’s Union Square, and the soon-to-open Happy’s Bar + Kitchen in Boston’s The Fenway, to find out what is is about this gritty style that has restaurateurs whipping out their spray cans (well, rounding up artists with their spray cans) and tagging their walls. Continue reading “Behind the Design: Graffiti, No Longer Just for Underpasses” »
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Man Food heads to Harvard's Peabody Museum for an education in all things BBQ.
 Above, Steven Raichlen lectures about bbq. Photo by Katie Barszcz.
Earlier this week, I took a break from the restaurant scene and headed to Harvard’s Peabody Museum to learn more about the history and origins of barbecue, at the aptly-titled “Man, Food, Fire: The Evolution of Barbecue.” The lecture, centered all all things smoked, marinated, basted, and charred, was led by barbecue icon Steven Raichlen. His bestselling books, including Planet Barbecue and The Barbecue Bible, exemplify the universality of great barbecue across the globe. Ahead, what I took away from the educational evening. Continue reading “Man Food: Learning About “Man, Food, Fire” at Harvard” »
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The wine shop will be opening a 2,100-sq ft. space on Columbus Ave. in early fall.
 Photo courtesy of The Urban Grape. Great news for South End oenophiles: popular Chestnut Hill-based wine shop The Urban Grape will set up shop at 303 Columbus Ave. by early fall. “We have lived in the South End for almost 10 years now,” says TJ Douglas, who co-owns the shop with his wife, Hadley. “I have always wanted to be in the city, hence the ‘Urban Grape’ name.” Continue reading “Chestnut Hill’s The Urban Grape to Open in the South End” »
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The Hoboken, NJ-based chainlet is bringing both food trucks and brick-and-mortar shops to Boston.
 Taco trucks, plus brick-and-mortar locations, are on the way. Photo courtesy of Jason Scott. With so many local food trucks making waves in here, it was only a matter of time before truck owners elsewhere decided to get in on the action. Next on the scene is The Taco Truck, from a small chain of Hoboken, NJ-based trucks and shops specializing in Mexican street food.
Today, owner Jason Scott told me via email that his first truck (of, he hopes, several) will debut this Sunday in Cambridge at the intersection of Flagg Street and Memorial Drive from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. (he’s just waiting on some permit approvals before announcing his regular Boston locations).
There’s more than just trucks on the way, though. Continue reading “The Taco Truck to Bring Mexican Street Food to Boston” »
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On an average lunch rush, the Southie pie shop goes through about 60 flaky, meaty hand-held pies.
 KO Pies is located off the beaten path, at the corner of A St. and W Third St. in South Boston. All photos by Brian Samuels.
Finding a solid watering hole in Southie is never a difficult task: there are bars on every corner and liquor stores on every block, it seems. But one thing that was lacking, until KO Pies came along, was good food to go with all of that booze. The menu at the cafe is pretty straight forward, with a focus on traditional Australian meat pies. The classic beef pie is the runaway hit, but other versions come stuffed with braised lamb shanks or curried vegetables.
With bold fillings fully encased in flaky pastry, these pies provide the ultimate grab and go meals. On a lunch break, you can get in and out of KO in under 10 minutes—and finish the handheld pastries on the way back to the office. Of course, such efficiency requires an effective cooking system. I stopped by the shop recently to see how owner Samuel Jackson and his team gets it all done. Continue reading “Rush Hour: Mastering Meat Pies at KO Pies in South Boston” »
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The restaurant marks the first Boston-based concept for former Wequassett Resort toque Bill Brodsky.
 Meet City Landing chef/owner Bill Brodsky. Photo by Mike Diskin.
We learned about a month ago that Sel de la Terre’s Long Wharf location would shutter to make way for City Landing, a restaurant from former Wequassett Resort chef Bill Brodsky (in the meantime, there’s a series of pop-up dinners at SDLT, including an Asian noodle-bar themed pop-up that starts tonight).
Now emerges some more news on SDLT’s successor, an ambitious concept opening in July that marks the first Boston eatery for Brodsky. “I feel like it’s the place to be at the right time,” he says of heading to downtown Boston. “I think that area is only going to get better over the next two years, with all of the development taking place.” Continue reading “Details on City Landing, Replacing Sel de la Terre- Long Wharf This Summer” »
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The T.W. Food chef will open Bronwyn, a casual "new American" concept in Union Square.
 At Bronwyn, expect Austrian and German food, Tim Wiechmann-style. (Photo via Thinkstock) As further evidence that the the food scene in Somerville is majorly heating up, there’s yet another newcomer to the area: Bronwyn, a “new American” (read: German, Austrian, and Northern Italian-inspired) bistro from Tim Wiechmann, who runs T.W. Food in Huron Village with wife Bronwyn (hence the name).
Anyone who has tasted Wiechmann’s inspired locavore cuisine knows that this is a big deal; if you haven’t, however, there’s plenty to get you pumped about the new concept, which will open at 255 Washington St. (formerly Ronnarong) in Union Square sometime this fall. Continue reading “Tim Wiechmann to Bring a Beer Garden, Sausage Menu to Somerville” »
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The high-end Mexican restaurant’s president and CEO Howard Greenstone gives us a hard-hat tour of the new space.
As we told you last year, New York-based upscale Mexican chain Rosa Mexicano is coming to Boston. They’re getting quite close to opening, with a targeted May 8 date slated (¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo tardío!). Last week, I went on a hard-hat tour of the restaurant space, which features a fusion of modern and traditional Mexican style complete with bright colors, artful tile work, and broken-plate mosaics covering the walls and ceiling. “We’ve been wanting to come to Boston for 10 years,” says president and CEO Howard Greenstone, adding that it was a matter of finding a space conducive to the brand.
With the Seaport District’s ongoing transformation, he and his partners found just that. “We wanted to be a part of the energy,” he says. Ahead, get a peek of the still-raw space (and Rosa Mexicano’s best-selling guacamole). Continue reading “A Look Inside Rosa Mexicano, the Seaport District’s Newest Addition” »
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At the West Roxbury bbq joint, the menu descriptions are often better than the food itself.
 The two-meat combo (with fennel and pepper sausage, smoked fried chicken, collard greens, baked beans, and cornbread) from The Red-Eyed Pig. All photos by Katie Barszcz.
With seating limited to about five chairs at a street-facing counter, the real view at the West Roxbury-based BBQ joint The Red-Eyed Pig is of the open, tiny kitchen. This means you can watch the chicken fried to order, the smoked ribs getting a final turn on the grill for an extra hit of char, and the mashed potatoes receiving a final whip before being served. Continue reading “Man Food: Pork Belly Donuts and BBQ at The Red-Eyed Pig” »
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Owner Jay Hajj gave us the lowdown on his fully revamped South End diner.
 The newly revamped Mike’s City Diner. (All photos by Leah Mennies/Boston magazine)
After over a decade of serving his hearty, greasy-spoon-style food to the South End neighborhood, owner Jay Hajj decided to give his diner a big facelift, complete with art-deco touches and clean, sleek seating. “I wanted an art-deco look. I didn’t want to do a 70′s-style place, I wanted it to be a little bit different,” Hajj says. “I wanted to still have a homey feeling, so I figured that I’d be a little bit different and go for a 20′s, 30′s, 40′s kind of a feeling to it.” Find more details on the updated digs (which are open to the public now), ahead. Continue reading “Check Out Mike’s City Diner’s Brand New, Art Deco-Inspired Look” »
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