Mai, from the Matsunori Handroll Bar team, opens September 10 in Boston's Seaport with caviar-garnished chicken nuggets, wagyu steak frites, handrolls, a smoke-bubble-topped cocktail, sake flights, and decorative Labubus: www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

Nine opens in the former No. 9 Park space tomorrow, with much of the former No. 9 Park team. Fine-dining tasting menus; a spotlight on gin in an homage to Victorian London "gin palaces." Details in my latest story and photos for @bostonmagazine.bsky.social: www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

Solidarity with my former colleagues at Eater, some of the best reporters/editors/photographers/people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing and working with. Very sad to see the thing we built together be dismantled layoff after layoff.

Row 34 is now open in Kenmore Square—in a space that used to be home to its past sibling, Island Creek Oyster Bar. There's some nostalgia, but the team is focusing on the future with their 5th location. Learn more in my latest for @bostonmagazine.bsky.social: www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

Love live music AND good food? You're in luck: Seems like Lou's—now open in Harvard Square and featuring talented chef Jason Bond (remember Bondir?) in the kitchen—is putting equal emphasis on both. Here's my @bostonmagazine.bsky.social story with the details: www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

My four-year-old is *obsessed* with the MBTA and probably knows the map better than I do. But he absolutely cannot wrap his head around inbound/outbound being relative to downtown (because, well, he's four), so I broke his brain with an inbound-to-Oak-Grove photo I snapped at Back Bay. Sorry, kid!

Cruller alert! I've got a new opening story up on @bostonmagazine.bsky.social today about Daily Provisions' arrival in Massachusetts (with at least one more local outpost to come). www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

My latest for @bostonmagazine.bsky.social is our August cover story! It's a great big guide to New England seafood, from A(tlantic cod) to Z(on's zebrafish)—everything from lobster economics to the 1815 volcanic eruption that brought about "the mackerel year." www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

My latest for @bostonmagazine.bsky.social is a sneak peek at Darling, a very cool cocktail bar/dim sum-inspired restaurant opening in Central Square #Cambridge next week. (It's in the old Mary Chung space, and yep, there's an homage to the suan la chow show.) www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

Had a great time chatting with Somebody Feed Phil's @feedphil.bsky.social in advance of the new season (airing 6/18 on Netflix), which includes a #Boston episode w/ a delicious, jam-packed restaurant itinerary! Here's my latest on @bostonmagazine.bsky.social: www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

Every season is ice cream season but especially this season. Here's my new ice cream guide from our June issue of @bostonmagazine.bsky.social, on newsstands now, featuring 15 spots for various moods. www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

Thoughts on a potential #Boston Michelin Guide? (Personally kinda on the fence overall but glad for any additional eyes Boston can get on its—IMO very deserving—dining scene!) My latest for @bostonmagazine.bsky.social: www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

Just a little love letter to the types of bars we tend to brand as "speakeasies" (even if that's a silly name to use in modern times). @bostonmagazine.bsky.social www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

Korean-American restaurant Nowon expands from NYC to the #Boston Seaport with soju flights, a chopped cheese-inspired take on tteokbokki, a late 1990s-early 2000s hip-hop soundtrack, and tiger-themed decor. Check out my preview for @bostonmagazine.bsky.social: www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

Lots of cool new stuff in #Malden these days. My latest @bostonmagazine.bsky.social piece is up now, a preview of the very fun Phat Thaiger—opening next week! It's Thai-Japanese fusion from the team behind Thaiger Den, Crying Thaiger, and Zuru Zuru Ramen. www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

Noodles! Oodles of them! From a bunch of different cuisines and neighborhoods! This guide was very fun to research. It's in the @bostonmagazine.bsky.social March 2025 print issue, on newsstands now, and online too, for your early spring carbo-loading pleasure: www.bostonmagazine.com/resta.../bes...

Cafe Reynard is open inside @idlehandsbeer.bsky.social in #Malden! Check out my latest @bostonmagazine.bsky.social story for details on the "trans-run, worker-owned queer cafe and coffee roaster." Doughnut fans: Lionheart Confections is a frequent collaborator. www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

My latest story and photos for @bostonmagazine.bsky.social: a sneak peek at Don't Tell Aunty, an "Indian gastropub" opening in Back Bay later this week. I think this is going to be a fun spot! Live music, late-night hours, mango lassi cheesecake... www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

I've been a big, big fan of Celeste (my old neighbor! I miss Union Square!) and La Royal since day one—very, very excited for the latest project from the team:

Anyone else repurpose It's Always Sunny's "Dayman" song to be about day clothes and night clothes to get your kid to change out of their pajamas?

Coming soon in/near #Boston: An ode to Mary Chung’s suan la chow show. Wasabi martinis. Indian and Korean gastropubs. Thai-Japanese fusion and French-Japanese fusion. Cocktail-inspired coffee drinks, a Vietnamese coffee roastery, and a café in a distillery. www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

Are #steaktips a New England thing? This week, we went deep on this meaty subject with @blumie625.bsky.social. Pic via her incredible feature in @bostonmagazine.bsky.social — written after she conducted over two dozen interviews with local butchers, restauranteurs, and other tip connoisseurs.

Four-year-old is home sick. Slept in, eventually emerged from his room, and went straight to the couch, sitting in silence for 10 minutes, ignoring my offers of breakfast. Then, he finally spoke: "What's the Spanish word for menorah?"

Threading some January #Boston (-area) restaurant highlights! (I swear I didn’t only eat noodles and sandwiches this month, despite what this spread of photos may suggest, although it *is* a good time of year for all carbs, all the time.)

McCarthy's will open in the former Christopher's space—and Toad will reopen!—in a couple of weeks in Porter Square, #Cambridge, courtesy of the Burren team. My latest @bostonmagazine.bsky.social story with some sneak-peek food photos and details here: www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

In other #Boston (-area) restaurant news, today's the sit-down debut of Mimi's Chuka Diner inside Aeronaut Brewing in #Somerville. It's been open for takeout for a bit, but now it's fully open. Here's a look back at my @bostonmagazine.bsky.social sneak preview: www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

The team behind #Boston restaurants Bar Mezzana, Shore Leave, and more will open FiDO Pizza in Allston this summer, featuring chef Colin Lynch's take on New York-style pizza 🍕 Details on @bostonmagazine.bsky.social: www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

Lots of fun chatting about all things steak tips with @stabert.bsky.social on the podcast "Explain Boston to Me" - bleav.com/shows/explai... Got to revisit my @bostonmagazine.bsky.social steak tips feature from '23, which was such a blast to work on.

It's the season for hybrid cafe/wine bars, and I've got a story on the latest—Jadu is now open in Jamaica Plain with globally inspired breakfast and lunch. Wine bar service coming soon! Details and photos on @bostonmagazine.bsky.social here: www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

Café by day, wine bar by night, cozy all the time—Tilde opened recently in North Cambridge, and it is quite a spot! Here's my latest @bostonmagazine.bsky.social story with the details. www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

My latest on the @bostonmagazine.bsky.social site: a look at McGonagle's, a modern Irish pub that opened last month in #Dorchester from the team behind the Dubliner downtown. www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

My latest restaurant piece is now live on the @bostonmagazine.bsky.social site: Here's a preview of Fallow Kin, opening in #Cambridge early this year. Very excited about this one! Great team (the Talulla folks + Marcos Sanchez of Tasting Counter and more). www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

"I *am* being quiet," insisted Isaac, four years old, very not-quietly. "I'm just making all the quiet noises at once."

Some surprises and some non-surprises in our analytics this year—here are the 10 most-read food news stories of 2024 on the @bostonmagazine.bsky.social website. (Hooray for #Medford!) www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

Possibly the best croissant I've had, and an absolutely lovely space—you've got to check out the new-ish cafe from the Iggy's team in Huron Village, #Cambridge. Sounds like the official name is Imagine (it was unnamed for a time), but there's no sign; look next to Formaggio.

Snuck in one more gift guide on the @bostonmagazine.bsky.social website if you're looking for some last-minute holiday ideas: #boston (and more broadly, #newengland) food and drink subscriptions! Butter, spices, wine, cheese, and more. www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

Good morning. Here's a dramatic (and delicious) lasagna from Standard Italian, now open in #Boston from the Eastern Standard crew. My story is up on the @bostonmagazine.bsky.social website with the details, from big martinis to crispy porchetta: www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

There are many, many versions of "Spooky, Scary Skeleton," and my toddler has listened to them all today. (While wearing skeleton jammies, naturally.) Feeling equal parts admiration for his year-round Halloween spirit and desperation to hear a new song.

Coming very soon to #Roslindale: Russ & Mimi's, a cozy neighborhood market with sparkling wines, sandwiches, grab-and-go prepared foods, retail snacks from near and far, and more. My latest story is up on the @bostonmagazine.bsky.social site with the details: www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

I spent my formative years in Eater's city site ecosystem, working with and learning from so many talented editors and reporters (and all-around fantastic human beings). This is so disappointing/infuriating to hear, and right before the holidays, no less. Hurting for my former colleagues today.

#Beer news: Worker-owned Democracy Brewing is expanding from Downtown #Boston to East Boston's Maverick Square in 2025—and getting into winemaking. (And yep, the birria tacos will be at the new location!) Details in my new @bostonmagazine.bsky.social story: www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

December is here, and so is the monthly @bostonmagazine.bsky.social Hot List, featuring exciting new restaurants, older restaurants doing new things, and other places to eat this month: www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

Bad news: Acclaimed #Cambridge bar Brick & Mortar is closing soon. Good news: Its replacement, from the same team (including @kitchensnacker.bsky.social), sounds great! Acqua & Bocca, an intimate Italian bar celebrating apericena culture, will open soon. www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

When in Fairfield, CT: Country Cow. The breakfast sandwich that turned me from breakfast-sandwich-hesitant to oh-I've-been-missing-out.

Does anyone else repeatedly clean up their computer desktop by periodically throwing everything into a "to be organized" folder and before you know it you have nested "to be organized" folders going on forever or

Dropped a couple food-related gift guides on the @bostonmagazine.bsky.social website today! I don't want to play favorites, but I think it's extremely important that I get an "emotional support pierogi" fanny pack by Jaju Pierogi.

Bummer. My dentist is right near one of my favorite bakeries, an annoyingly long walk on any other day but a nice little post-dentist treat that has become my tradition. (With sincere apologies to my dentist, lol.) Appointment is tomorrow. Bakery is closed. Won't make this scheduling mistake again!

Quote from my almost-four-year-old, who desperately wanted to crash date night tonight: "Two people is a date; three people is an adventure!"

Happy Friday. Just gonna leave this giant onion ring tower here.

Please give me your silliest mnemonic device for remembering which letters are doubled in "soppressata." I'm usually a nerdily good speller* but have to look this one up every. single. time. *I once came in second place in the Massachusetts spelling bee. [shakes fist at the word "langley"]