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The hot spot at Fire + Ice. The burgeoning popularity of this recent arrival to Harvard Square may mean long waits for a table. Photograph by David Carmack |
Happy days are here for Cambridge and Boston restaurateurs. Economic prosperity falleth like gentle rain, and upscale new dining spots sprout like nouvelle American champignons. Old eateries take on the bloom of youth. All teem, full of employed people whose mutual funds have been doing nicely. Make reservations before you go out on the town. Herewith, notes on restaurants recently visited by Harvard Magazine's editors.
UPSTAIRS AT THE PUDDING
This venerable establishment on the third floor of the Hasty Pudding clubhouse offers a high-ceilinged main dining room (charmingly decorated with old Pudding-show posters), excellent service from unhoity-toity people, and first-rate New American cuisine. The Rialto at the Charles Hotel gets higher marks for its food from many commentators, but if it was our fancy night out in Cambridge, we'd go Upstairs. (We'd have to sell a few shares to do it.) In benign weather, the garden terrace, in the treetops, is a delight, offering perhaps the most agreeable al fresco lunching and dining in the Boston area.
Lunch and dinner, every day. 10 Holyoke Street, Cambridge. (617) 864-1933.
FIRE + ICE
In its infancy, this interactive restaurant, where the guests assemble ingredients and the chefs stir-fry them to order, was a fun place to go--lively, reasonably priced, and something altogether different. If your meal turned out badly, you had only yourself to blame. The concept and execution were hits. On a recent outing, one couldn't get in the door. Swarms of young people noshed, or waited to nosh, as music boomed. Reservations may be made for six or more, except on Friday and Saturday, when you take your chances.
Lunch and dinner, every day. 50 Church Street, Cambridge. (617) 547-9007.
LALA ROKH
Persian home cooking warms the heart of Beacon Hill. Azita Bina-Seibel and Babak Bina, the brother and sister co-owners of Lala Rokh, offer foods they remember from their childhood in northwestern Iran, and dining at their table is a feel-good experience. Give your palate something new to think about, starting, say, with a smoky roast of mashed eggplant garnished with goat's-milk yogurt and mint oil, served warm. The Farsi name of the restaurant means, more or less, "rosy cheeks" in English. Entrées are priced between $12 and $16.
Dinner nightly. 97 Mount Vernon Street, Boston. (617) 720-5511.
THE HELMAND
This East Cambridge Afghan restaurant has 18 main dishes of beef, lamb, and chicken at the meaty core of its menu, but eight vegetarian entrées and four appetizers offer fresh flavors and textures that might bliss out even the most confirmed flesh eater. Afghan food mingles elements of Middle Eastern and Indian cooking, synthesizing them into a tasty repertoire. Entrées run between $10 and $16. Unprepossessing on the outside, inviting within.
Dinner nightly. 143 First Street, Cambridge. (617) 492-4646.
SANDRINE'S BISTRO
The cuisine of Alsace reflects the region's history of German invasions; there, one eats coq au Riesling. A dish like choucroute Alsacienne might include weisswurst, bauernwurst, smoked pork loin, and bacon along with juniper berries, onions, duck fat, and the eponymous sauerkraut. The ambience of Sandrine's is warm, the pricing not too painful. Should foie gras be available for starters, let 'er rip.
Lunch every day but Monday, dinner every day but Sunday. 8 Holyoke Street, Cambridge. (617) 497-5300.
CHEZ HENRI
A short walk up Massachusetts Avenue from the Law School, this French-Cuban bar and restaurant is lively, hip, and cramped. The food is delicious.
Dinner nightly and brunch on Sunday. 1 Shepard Street, Cambridge. (617) 354-8980.
FRANK'S STEAK HOUSE
Tired of terrine of roquefort and mascarpone, with poached pears, walnuts, and a fluff of mâche? Do you crave an unadorned, juicy sirloin on a sizzling platter, with a massive side order of deep-fried onion rings? Frank's restaurant and lounge--where, many years ago, somebody shot the piano player--is popular with North Cambridge locals and adventurers in tweeds who come in search not of décor or délicatesse, but of ways to satisfy the carnivore within. Dinner and a couple of drafts will set you back $30, tip included. Doggie bags provided.
Dinner nightly. 2310 Massachusetts Avenue (at Rice Street), Cambridge. (617) 661-0666.
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