At the Grafton Group's re-imagining of Redline, expect fare like crispy pork belly and roasted mushroom risotto.
 Park’s “tasting of toasts,” from left: blue cheese and fig, speck, comte, and quail egg, and gravlox with candied lemon. (Photo by Anthony Tieuli for Boston magazine)
Tonight marks the opening for Park, the Grafton Group’s new incarnation of their former college-friendly bar Redline in Harvard Square. The space was gutted, expanded, and is now decked out with a vintage-inspired decor. Of course, the sweeping changes extend to the cuisine, which was created by executive chef (and Woodward alum) Mark Goldberg.
On the menu, find small plates like a “tasting of toasts” (pictured above), crispy pork belly with pickled oranges, and confit chicken wings with spicy sambal, plus larger dishes like meat pies, bar steak with potato skins, and roasted mushroom risotto. You can see the menu in full ahead. Continue reading “Preview the Menu for Park, Opening in Harvard Square Tonight” »
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The concept will offer craft beers, craft cocktails, and an Asian-inspired menu.
From left: tuna tartare-stuffed wonton, parsnip and potato chowder, scallops with parsnip puree and daikon. Photos courtesy of Tonic.
As soon as mid-April, Jamaica Plain will gain another new addition to its dining scene thanks to Tonic, a 70-seat bar and restaurant looking to be a neighborhood hangout with an upscale edge. Heading up the kitchen will be Ryan Kelly, an alum of restaurants including Clio, Canary Square, and Haru. Kelly’s time at Clio and Haru definitely bear influence 
on his menu, which features bistro fare with a decidedly Asian twist: there’s dishes like tuna tartare-stuffed fried wonton atop “banh mi”-style veggies; parsnip and potato chowder with candied bacon, tempura clams, and caramelized shallots; duck breast with pomegranate molasses and a rhubarb, Asian pear, and ramp chutney; and tuna “faux” pho with udon noodles and shaved vegetables.
Get a peek at the storefront at left; Thrillist Boston has a more extensive look at the space, which features orange and tan banquettes and a slick-looking bar. Find the full opening dinner menu ahead.
Continue reading “Your First Look at the Menu for Tonic, Coming to JP This Month” »
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Forget smoke-filled rooms: These days, the city's power brokers meet out in the open. You just need to know where to look.
 Neighborhood stop ... and power player favorite, Doyle's Cafe. (Photo courtesy of Doyle's.) When we ranked Boston’s 50 most powerful people in this month’s The Power Complex, we also found out where they’re eating while they wheel and deal. So forget those smoke-filled rooms of old: these days, the city’s power brokers meet out in the open all around you. Here’s where to look.
Eastern Standard
A hot spot for Red Sox management, this Kenmore Square staple is where Theo Epstein officially rejoined the team in 2006 (before leaving again).
Met Back Bay
Socialites lunch, drink, and while the days away at this suburban chain’s Newbury location.
Doyle’s Cafe
Boston’s political scene is no longer dominated by only Irish Catholics, but this 130-year-old restaurant remains an important stop for baby-kissing politicians.
Rialto
Here, Harvard-visiting bigwigs help broker world peace — in a private back room, of course.
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Need help choosing where to go for Restaurant Week? Look no further.
 Market's ice cream sundae with salted caramel ice cream and popcorn. (Photo courtesy of Market)
Restaurant Week is around the corner, meaning that for two whole weeks (March 18-23 and 25-30), you can try out some of Boston’s best (and priciest) restaurants at a discounted price: lunches go for $20.12, while dinners are priced at $33.12. We scoured the list of participating restaurants to find spots with the most appealing menus; as of press time, the restaurants below still have reservations — albeit some at off-peak times — available. —Jon Cheng
Clink: Chef Joseph Margate may have lost out to Will Kovel in the regional Food & Wine’s “People’s Best New Chef” contest, but he’s still bringing the goods with his RW menu, which features dishes like a salad of sweet Maine shrimp with aji panca and grapefruit and pork chops with red lentils, black kale, and tamarind. End the meal on a sweet and salty note with a pineapple tarte tatin with caramelized bacon ice-cream. 215 Charles St., Boston. 617-224-4004, libertyhotel.com. Continue reading “Where to Eat for Restaurant Week” »
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"Ramen" seems to be the latest culinary buzzword around town. Here's where to get it.
Ramen noodles, the iconic Japanese meal-in-a-bowl, is having a major moment in Boston. But up until recently, there wasn’t much quality ramen to speak of. But then came hard-to-come-by Guchi’s Midnight Ramen, followed by versions at Uni, Myers + Chang, and even Moksa, Patricia Yeo’s just-opened Central Square Izakaya.
Whether you’re looking for haute, fancified ramen or just want to slurp some decent noodles at a total hole-in-the-wall joint, consult our list for authentic, atypical, and it’ll-do-the-trick sources for the sought-after noodle dish.
 Ramen from Sapporo. Photo courtesy of Flickr/snowpea&bokchoi
SAPPORO RAMEN: Located in Porter Square, this noodle-centered eatery may serve Boston’s most authentic bowl. Their broth is made from chicken and fresh vegetables that are boiled over high heat for more than ten hours, and it’s filled served with premium wave noodles. There’s ten different ramen dishes here, all around $8, with the House Ramen containing pork, egg, bean sprouts, nori, corn and scallions. To mix it up, try the Tantan Men, a sesame-flavored soup topped with spicy ground pork. $8/person, Mon-Sun 11:30 am-9 pm, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140,617-876-4805. Continue reading “Where to Find Ramen in Boston” »
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The locally based site allows diners to book online while saving restaurants money.
 A view of the cloud-based UReserv software from an iPhone. (Photo courtesy of UReserv.) If you dine out regularly, or even semi-regularly, chances are you’ve used OpenTable to book your spot. For years, the ubiquitous online-reservations system has been the way to book a table in Boston and major cities around the world. What many people don’t realize, though, is that the convenience comes at a cost: Restaurants shell out 25 cents for every per person who books through the OpenTable app on their own website, $1 for reservations made through the main OpenTable site, and as much as $7.50 per person for “1,000-point” bookings, which help restaurants fill seats at off-peak times (like 5:30 on a Monday). There’s more: It’s $100 a month for the OpenTable equipment lease, plus another $100 for the software lease. All together, Catalyst chef/owner William Kovel told us he pays “about a couple thousand a month” — a figure that’s just not financially feasible for many smaller restaurants, putting many at a competitive disadvantage. At Jason Bond’s sub-30 seat Bondir, his team must personally field hundreds of reservation calls each day — time and money that could otherwise be better spent. Continue reading “New Restaurant Reservation Site UReserv Offers an OpenTable Alternative” »
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The Davis Square Mexican restaurant features dishes like Oaxaca cheese grits, pork belly guacamole, and queso fundido.
 Way back in October, I told you about The Painted Burro, a Mexican restaurant coming from the team behind Somerville Italian restaurant Posto. I’ve just received word that the concept, located in the former Gargoyles on the Square space in Davis Square, will finally open to the public on March 19. Continue reading “A Look at the Menu for The Painted Burro, Opening March 19” »
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The new concept will have an oyster and charcuterie bar, communal dining, and more.
 Gilson's new restaurant, bridgestreet, will open by late spring/early summer. Last week, BRT shared that Will Gilson (formerly of Garden at the Cellar and Adrian’s in Truro) had plans to take over the Bosphorous space in Inman Square for his own place, called bridgestreet. On Tuesday, Gilson secured a beer and wine license for his concept, a 110-seat, New-American-style restaurant on Cambridge Street. Yesterday, the chef filled me in on some more details about the concept, which should be opening by late spring/early summer. Continue reading “Details on Bridgestreet, Will Gilson’s Upcoming Cambridge Restaurant” »
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Catalyst's William Kovel, Clink's Joseph Margate, and Bistro du Midi's Robert Sisca represent Boston and Cambridge in the New England Region.
 From left: Robert Sisca of Bistro du Midi, Joseph Margate of Clink, William Kovel of Catalyst.
This morning, Food & Wine magazine announced the nominees for their second-annual “People’s Best New Chef” awards, a voted-upon companion to the magazine’s annual, big-deal Best New Chef awards. Last year, Toro and Coppa toque Jamie Bissonnette came out on top of the 100 nominated chefs (broken down into 10 regional sections of 10) to win the national prize, which brought a large amount of visibility to the chef’s talents. In this year’s New England category, there’s three nominated chefs from the Boston/Cambridge area: Joseph Margate (Clink), Robert Sisca (Bistro du Midi), and William Kovel (Catalyst).
While Margate and Sisca got nods last year as well, this year marks the first nomination for Kovel, whose Cambridge restaurant, Catalyst, is reaching it’s six-month mark. Continue reading “Food & Wine Announces ‘People’s Best New Chef’ Nominees” »
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While the JP burger spot awaits its final permit, take some time to scope out the opening menu.
 Photo courtesy of Grass Fed/Facebook Another day, another dose of burger news: Grass Fed, the new burger spot from Ten Tables’ Krista Kranyak, will be opening any day in the former Bon Savor space in Jamaica Plain, according to the restaurant’s Facebook page. While the team is still waiting on a final permit to officially begin cooking, in the meantime you can scope out Grass Fed’s opening menu. Continue reading “Check Out the Menu for Grass Fed, Opening Any Day” »
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