Food Coma

Nam Prik Ong at Thai North

03 May, 2012 | Feed | MC Slim JB

Any food nerd worth his garum knows that amazing restaurants are often found where immigrant chef-owners are cooking mainly for their fellow ex-pats. These places serve traditional cuisines in all the…

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Uyigur Lamb at Moksa

22 April, 2012 | Feed | MC Slim JB

The food and drink in Cambridge’s gritty Central Square has evolved remarkably in just a few short years to include several highly regarded indie restaurants and an outstanding cluster of craft-cockta…

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The Ploughman’s Platter at Saloon

05 April, 2012 | Feed | MC Slim JB

Some bars evoke a bygone time; some are too obviously fake-retro. Which makes the illusion at Saloon, the new craft-cocktail bar downstairs from Foundry on Elm, all the more impressive.

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Joint Sampler at Suya Joint

23 March, 2012 | Feed | MC Slim JB

The Boston restaurant scene is rich in the cuisines of the Americas, Europe, and Asia, but anemic when it comes to Africa. We enjoy a smattering of fare from the North (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Egyp…

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Steak Salad at The Hawthorne

09 March, 2012 | Feed | MC Slim JB

It’s been a fecund year for Boston’s top-flight bars: veteran bastions of cocktail craft have been bursting open like ripe milkweed pods and sending downy seeds drifting to new soil. Cradles of barte…

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Roasted apple salad at Strip T's

13 February, 2012 | Food Coma | MC Slim JB

Photo: JOEL VEAK Every year or so, a new place emerges as a sort of food-nerd El Dorado: a spot off the beaten path in a humble setting with no famous names, little media attention, and the informal, …

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Chicken and Waffle at Brick & Mortar

30 January, 2012 | Food Coma | MC Slim JB

Photo: JOEL VEAK Nothing eases flirtation quite like a well-made cocktail. But as every experienced imbiber knows, drinking on an empty stomach is a common source of regret later in the evening and t…

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Lomito Al Cabrales at Kika Tapas

16 January, 2012 | Food Coma | MC Slim JB

PHOTO: Joel VeakCambridge's Kendall Square and the neighboring Area IV have dramatically blossomed as dining and drinking destinations. Their handful of veteran restaurants were recently joined by a f…

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Steamed Local Hake at Vee Vee

26 December, 2011 | Food Coma | MC Slim JB

Photo: JOEL VEAK This year was a surprisingly robust one for fine dining in Boston: the Seaport and Area IV emerged as sizzling destinations with a score of brand-new restaurants. We visited all and …

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Spit-roasted lemon-sage chicken at Firebrand Saints

12 December, 2011 | Food Coma | MC Slim JB

Photo: JOEL VEAK Cambridge's Area IV and its surrounding streets got so hot in the fine-dining arena so fast that STUFF had trouble keeping up. Earlier this year, we reviewed veteran the Blue Room a…

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Grilled squid and fried tentacles at Trade

28 November, 2011 | Food Coma | MC Slim JB

Photo: JOEL VEAK When your first restaurant is an award-winning, critically praised commercial success, it must be tough to say no to investors waving pots of cash at you to open another place. But t…

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Paella Mixta at Estragon Tapas Bar

14 November, 2011 | Food Coma | MC Slim JB

Photo: JOEL VEAK When Julio de Haro opened Estragon Tapas Bar (700 Harrison Avenue, Boston, 617.266.0443) in 2008, he hired a young chef whose take on Spanish small-plates cuisine leaned a bit creati…

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BBQ’d Pork Shoulder Sandwich at Abigail’s

31 October, 2011 | Food Coma | MC Slim JB

Photo: JOEL VEAK As a new restaurateur, you face a Sisyphean task that begins the moment you decide to open a restaurant. You have to convince investors that you have the concept, location, and team …

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Corn Ravioli at Catalyst

17 October, 2011 | Food Coma | MC Slim JB

Photo: JOEL VEAK One of the Boston restaurant stories of 2011 has been the ascent of two new dining hotspots, the Seaport and Area IV. I'm glad the Waterfront's new restaurants have improved our opti…

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Whole Steamed Fish in Ginger/Scallion Sauce at Peach Farm

03 October, 2011 | Food Coma | MC Slim JB

Photo: JOEL VEAKJust a few years ago, before gleaming new places like Island Creek Oyster Bar and Legal Harborside opened, I often heard complaints about Boston's lack of destination seafood restauran…

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Calamari 'spaghetti' at Blue, Inc.

19 September, 2011 | Food Coma | MC Slim JB

Photo: JOEL VEAK One of the joys of being a veteran restaurant-goer is watching a talented young chef move up the ladder. It's been fun following Jason Santos from Tremont 647 to the short-lived K…

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Singapore Street Noodles at Red Lantern

05 September, 2011 | Food Coma | MC Slim JB

Photo: JOEL VEAKSophisticated diners know to never judge a restaurant by its trappings. Dumpy-looking dives often serve fabulous food, while posh dining rooms don't always augur kitchen excellence. St…

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Cochinita Pibil at El Centro

22 August, 2011 | Food Coma | MC Slim JB

Photo: JOEL VEAK "I've been away for a while: what's new and good in Boston restaurants?" Food writers get asked this a lot, and it's our constant struggle to keep exploring every corner of the scen…

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Pizza with fennel sausage and pickled banana peppers at Area Four

25 July, 2011 | Food Coma | MC Slim JB

Photo: JOEL VEAK Success in the restaurant business is often tied to location: flourishing where you were first planted offers no guarantee that your seedlings will thrive in the light and soil and ai…

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The cheese collection at Avery Bar

11 July, 2011 | Food Coma | MC Slim JB

Photo: JOEL VEAK Hotel bars occupy a special place in the life of a city, serving as versatile venues for all sorts of encounters. You're probably not going to settle into one for the course of an ev…

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