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Deli
Moody’s Delicatessen & Provisions
A few bright spots have recently emerged out of the murk that was Boston’s delicatessen scene, none more exciting than this newcomer...
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Indian
India Quality
While we’re grateful that Boston’s traditional sub-continental restaurants offer more regional variety than ever—nice to see you, Indo-Chinese...
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Asian Fusion
Shojo
This is how it starts: You bring a cocktail—let’s make it mezcal—to your lips, and suddenly, you’re enveloped by a nectarous fog of elderflower foam...
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Bakery
Tatte
This Brookline favorite recently welcomed three Cambridge siblings, but there are no growing pains here...
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Banh Mi
Blue Dragon
Prime time for scoring the best bánh mì in town is from 2 to 5 pm at Blue Dragon...
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Barbecue
Sweet Cheeks
Skeptics wondered why Tiffani Faison, first famed as an early Top Chef contestant, would choose to feature notoriously difficult American slow-smoke barbecue...
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Bartender
Katie Emmerson at the Hawthorne
“Sitting at Katie’s bar is one of life’s great joys,” says fellow bartender Tyler Wang of Audubon Boston, and we heartily concur...
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Best-Kept Secret
Union Square Donuts Delivers on Thursdays and Fridays
This is how legends are born. Step 1: Email Union Square Donuts by 1 pm to place your order for next-day delivery...
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Biscuits
Treats on Washington
Friends since their days at the Culinary Institute of America, owners Dana Briley and Jessica Brown turn out a panoply of willpower-crushing delights...
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Bread
Fornax
Family-owned and -operated by Kim and Chris Fallon, Fornax bakes heavenly breads (fitting, since it’s named for the Roman goddess of ovens)...
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Breakfast
Trident Booksellers & Cafe
Here, breakfast is an all-day, every-day affair, and we certainly wish we could start (or end) each day with a freshly-squeezed juice blend...
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Brunch
Mistral
Brunch is the most important portmanteau of the day, and Mistral has all the classics, perfected to a platonic ideal...
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Burger
Craigie on Main
In an utterly done-to-death category, the bar at Tony Maws’ celebrated nose-to-tail bistro still serves the ne plus ultra of local burgers...
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Burrito
Anna’s Taqueria
Oh, Anna’s—it’s almost unfair. Once again, their Mission-style missiles reign supreme...
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Butcher Shop
M.F. Dulock Pasture-Raised Meats
An antidote to the industrial food system that divorces consumers from the farms whose wares fill our larders, Dulock is a compact artisanal wonder...
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Cheese
Formaggio Kitchen
Other than its South End iteration, no place in Boston can approach this veteran Huron Village cheesemonger...
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Clam Chowder
B&G Oysters
A Barbara Lynch establishment doesn’t cut any corners, and that’s especially true in the case of B&G’s intricately crafted New England clam chowder...
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Coffee Shop
Thinking Cup
Coffee lovers who have graduated from pedestrian Dunks and Starbucks can choose from a growing range of small, independently owned Boston cafes...
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Comeback
Delux Cafe
Civilians and restaurant industry workers alike were dismayed by the January closing of this tiny, long-lived South End institution, a rare almost-dive...
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Dessert
Clio
Ken Oringer founded his restaurant empire and garnered early fame with Clio’s meticulously plated, occasionally avant-garde French-influenced fare...
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Dim Sum
Winsor Dim Sum Cafe
When you think “dim sum,” you may imagine a vast yet crowded room where a flurry of hands fly as food carts wheel by...
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Diner
My Diner
With its recent influx of young professionals and condos, the Lower End of Southie is starting to feel a little like the South End East...
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Dinner With a View
Sam’s at Louis
The Seaport draws throngs of suburbanites and conventioneers to its many new restaurants, most boasting lovely water vistas and swank dining rooms...
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Ethiopian
Lucy Ethiopian Cafe
Every scroll of Lucy’s injera tells a story. One night, it’s written in fiery berbere sauce; on another, it’s inked in the ruddy stain of red lentils...
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Food Truck
Fugu Truck
Food trucks quickly became ubiquitous in Boston, and now treat streams of hungry urban workers to delicious quick-serve lunches—without the crummy-fast-food guilt...
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Gastropub
Kirkland Tap & Trotter
For his second restaurant, Tony Maws traded Craigie’s haute technique and white tablecloths for a wood-fired grill and a neighborhood vibe...
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Greek
Esperia Grill
The unprepossessing exterior of this Brighton Center storefront gives way to a surprisingly bounteous and fresh buffet assortment within...
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Hidden Gem
Gene’s Chinese Flatbread
This modest downtown storefront is Boston’s only outlet for Shaanxi cuisine...
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Hot Dog
Que Padre Taqueria y Mas
After observing a moment of silence for the late Gregg “Boston Super Dog” Gale, we offer a paean to an elaborate, unique wienie preparation...
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Ice Cream
FoMu
Alternative, small-batch ice creams are booming, and we can’t get enough of FoMu—as in “faux-moo,” a deliciously and deceptively dairy-free treat...
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Italian
Prezza
In the turn-’em-and-burn-’em North End, few restaurants offer amenities like a full bar, reservations or dessert...
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Lobster Roll
Belle Isle Seafood
The closest real clam shack to Boston is outside the city limits, just over the bridge that connects Eastie to Winthrop...
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Mexican
El Centro
Need a date-night option that’s more sophisticated than a taqueria, but can’t abide the gringo cliches of Boston’s upscale Mex places...
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Middle Eastern
Sarma
The menu provides a helpful glossary of potentially unfamiliar terms, but the appeal of Sarma’s exceptional meze—hot dates stuffed with goat cheese...
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Neighborhoods: Allston/Brighton
Lone Star Taco Bar
It’s a late night at Lone Star: Urban coyotes are saddled up at the bar, and some men with fresh ink on their arms order a round of Micheladas...
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Neighborhoods: Back Bay
The Salty Pig
The Back Bay has plenty of tony white-tablecloth joints for affluent tourists and businesspeople with expense accounts...
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Neighborhoods: Beacon Hill
The Paramount
Open every day that ends in “y,” for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the Paramount has been around since 1937, yet there will still be a line out the door this weekend...
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Neighborhoods: Brookline
Fairsted Kitchen
Adding to a suddenly-very-interesting Brookline restaurant scene, Fairsted Kitchen leads with its heart...
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Neighborhoods: Central Square
Central Kitchen
In Cambridge’s ever-changing nucleus of a neighborhood, there’s still a special draw to Central Kitchen, a seven-nights-a-week stalwart...
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Neighborhoods: Charlestown
Navy Yard Bistro
Someone once told us that Bostonians are cold and unfriendly. They’ve obviously never spent an evening at the Navy Yard...
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Neighborhoods: Davis Square
Posto
In its cozy, roaring space, Posto is first and foremost a (literally) certified maker of Neapolitan-style pizzas, and they are lovely, bubbly, thin-crusted wonders...
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Neighborhoods: Dorchester
Tavolo
Variety may be the spice of life. But when you’re in Dot and it’s dinnertime, it’s difficult to want to go anywhere other than Tavolo...
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Neighborhoods: Downtown Crossing/FiDi
Marliave
Chef/owner Scott Herritt rescued the crumbling wreck of a senescent downtown dining institution, removing a hundred years’ worth of renovations...
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Neighborhoods: East Boston
Rino’s Place
As a rare vestige of Italian-American Eastie, Boston’s original landing pad for Italian immigrants, Rino’s embodies the virtues of many popular North End restaurants...
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Neighborhoods: Fenway/Kenmore
Audubon Boston
Audubon Circle—long beloved by pre- and post-game Sox fans, BU students and Brookline neighbors— recently changed hands to become Audubon Boston...
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Neighborhoods: Fort Point
Pastoral
Todd Winer’s maiden solo voyage emphasizes fine Neapolitan-style pizzas from a gorgeous wood-fired oven, superb housemade pastas...
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Neighborhoods: Greenway
Nebo
Last summer, sisters Carla and Christine Pallotta moved their beloved bambino from one end of the Greenway to the other...
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Neighborhoods: Harvard Square
Harvest
Harvest has always had a sense of refinement, with its linens and its private terrace shaded by linden trees...
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Neighborhoods: Inman Square
Puritan & Co.
Not a single detail has been overlooked. Oven-warm Parker House rolls land with sea salt-speckled butter...
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Neighborhoods: Kendall Square
Commonwealth
Once you venture outside steak house territory, it’s pretty gutsy to let your proteins stand alone and encourage guests to choose sides of starch and veggies...
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Neighborhoods: North End
Neptune Oyster
Neptune recalls the Yogi Berra crack “Nobody goes there anymore; it’s too crowded." But the fact is everybody goes there...
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Neighborhoods: Porter Square
Giulia
Another veteran chef goes solo and achieves awe-inspiring results...
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Neighborhoods: Seaport
Legal Harborside
Part of the cachet of this waterfront phenom is that it’s three restaurants in one, with each floor catering to a different mood...
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Neighborhoods: South Boston
Cafe Porto Bello
Southie has many glossy new hangouts catering to its booming millennial population; the other Southie, of locals who grew up in the houses they still live in...
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Neighborhoods: South End
Merrill & Co.
The newest hot spot from the jm Curley team boasts diner-esque trappings and the vibe of a raucous neighborhood tavern...
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Neighborhoods: Theater District
Ostra
In a neighborhood that knows plenty about dramatic entrances, Ostra has made quite the splash...
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Neighborhoods: Union Square
Bronwyn
Tim Wiechmann plugged a large hole in Boston’s collection of world cuisines when he opened this creative but respectful tribute to German, Austrian, Hungarian...
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New Restaurant
Alden & Harlow
After years as a mercenary chef, Michael Scelfo finally added “owner” to his title, and his overdue solo debut is a smash...
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Pastry
Modern Pastry
There’s nothing better on a hot summer night than a stroll down Hanover Street, following your nose into Modern Pastry for a creamy, cool dessert...
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Place to Go When Money is No Object
L’Espalier
Sturgeon caviar. Truffles. King salmon. L’Espalier’s fare is what you’d find if rainbows ended in plates instead of pots of gold...
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Pop-Up
The Future of Junk Food
Indie chefs Samuel Monsour and Mark O’Leary have impressive resumes (including gigs at jm Curley and O Ya) and a wicked sense of humor...
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Raw Bar
Row 34
This Fort Point hot spot has seafood down cold, expertly slicing, shucking, smoking and curing...
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Salads
Stephi’s in Southie
Often relegated to bit parts in appetizer sections, salads enjoy a starring role at Stephi’s...
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Sandwich
Cutty’s
This tiny Brookline Village storefront had lines out the door even before omnipresent food-TV celebrity Guy Fieri showcased it on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives...
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Seafood
Island Creek Oyster Bar
So much of ICOB’s success has depended on adherence to its founding principle: Know your oyster farmers, clam diggers and fishermen...
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Sommelier
Theresa Paopao at Ribelle
Tim Maslow’s acclaimed, wildly creative Italian restaurant has a secret weapon in its sommelier, recruited from his days at Momofuku...
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Southern
Hungry Mother
Everything here is warm and rustic: Water is poured into Mason jars, the bathroom walls are papered with pages from cookbooks...
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Spanish
Toro
Jamie Bissonnette and Ken Oringer took Toro to Manhattan last year, gambling that one of Boston’s most successful restaurants could woo New Yorkers...
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Thai
Thai North
Boston’s best Southern Thai restaurants like S&I and Dok Bua are sometimes wary of letting non-Thai customers order the same fiery, funky dishes...
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Torta
Tenoch Mexican
On most Mexican menus, burritos and tacos hog the spotlight while tortas, complicated sandwiches served on crusty telera rolls, lurk meekly in the corner...
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Unwelcome Trend
Earsplitting noise in dining rooms
Almost every new restaurant in Boston now debuts with punishing noise levels...
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Vegetarian/Vegan
Root
Sitting on Allston’s Vegetarian Row, Root serves an appealing combination of vibrant fresh juice drinks, sandwiches, salads and sides—all vegan...
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Welcome Trend
Shareable plates
Multicourse service based on individually plated appetizers, entrees and desserts had a good run of a hundred-plus years, but who wants to eat that way...
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Wings
Clerys
Your order arrives with welcome fixings of carrot and celery sticks, as well as homemade blue cheese...