#leah bertucci

[dustedmagazine]

Christian Carey's year in review

2023 was pretty much an awful year for our world —climate disaster moves ever more quickly, violence abounds and US politics are a disaster. I would not write a thank you card to the universe for many of my own experiences during the year either. However, I am grateful for the extraordinary music I participated in, heard and wrote about: it was a great solace. A few highlights are below:

I composed three new pieces: Solemn Tollings, for microtonal trumpet and trombone, Just Like You for singing violist, and Cracking Linear Elamite for solo guitar. The latter premiered in December at Loft 393 in Tribeca, played by Dan Lippel.

In addition to editing Sequenza 21 and contributing to Dusted, I authored several reviews and a research article for the British journal Tempo. The article was on my research in narratology as a feature of Elliott Carter’s music, which I have been exploring and publishing on since writing my Ph.D. dissertation. It was great for this particular research, of character-types and interactions in the Fifth String Quartet, to finally see the light of day.

After a half-century of banged up and often unreliable used pianos, my wife Kay got me a new Baldwin grand piano for my 50th birthday. Since it has arrived, I have practically lived in it.

Post-pandemic and post-cancer, I began to dip my toe into attending live events. I went to the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music, which was a mixed bag. As compensation, the Boston Symphony performances that weekend were excellent. I attended a great concert at the New York Philharmonic in November and another in December. For many years, Kay and I have made a holiday tradition of seeing the Tallis Scholars at St. Mary the Virgin Church in midtown. It was wonderful to return there. The Tallis Scholars’ performance was splendid, featuring a mass by Clemens non Papa.

After the Tallis concert, Kay was in Nashville, where her parents live, for two weeks, spending time with her brother Tom and sister-in-law Aymara, who were visiting from Qatar (Tom teaches at the Carnegie Mellon University campus there and Aymara is a yoga instructor), and celebrating Christmas with her parents. Here in New Jersey, it was just me and the felines, who were (mostly) well-behaved. To keep the holiday blues at bay, I went all out, decorating a natural tree and the house. I played every carol in the hymnal, and enjoyed old holiday standbys: Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck, and Mel Torme’s Christmas albums.

There was much excellent recorded music released this year, and I will not attempt to document it all. Here are twelve records, in no particular order, that I expect will stay with me and be played often in coming years.

2023 Favorite Recordings

Yo La Tengo —  This Stupid World (Matador)

Hilary Hahn —  Eugène Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for Violin Solo, op. 27 (DG)

Morton Feldman —  Violin and String Quartet (Another Timbre)

Natural Information Society —  Since Time is Gravity (Eremite)

Leah Bertucci —  Of Shadow and Substance (Self— released)

Juliet Fraser —  What of Words and What of Song (Neos)

Laura Strickling and Daniel Schlosberg —  40@40 (Bright Shiny Things)

Emily Hindricks, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, and Cristian Macelaru perform Liza Lim —  Annunciation Triptych (Kairos)

Bozzini Quartet and Konus Quartett play Jürg Frey​ —  Continuit​é, fragilit​é​, r​é​sonance (elsewhere)

Matana Roberts —  Coin Coin Chapter Five (Constellation)

Chris Forsyth — Solar Motel (self— released)

John Luther Adams —  Darkness and Scattered Light (Cold Blue)

Christian Carey

#dusted magazine #yearend 2023 #christian carey #elliott carter #tempo #tanglewood #tallis scholars #yo la tengo #hilary hahn #morton feldman #natural information society #leah bertucci #juliet fraser #laura strickling #daniel schlosberg #emilty hindricks #bozzini quartet #konus quartett #matana roberts #chris forsyth #john luther adams

[sweetzoejaymes]

february.14-my sweet sweet valentine

Sweet Zoë Jaymes - I cannot believe November 30th was the last time I updated your blog. Sorry :( We’ve been busy again. This is why I need to write more often. I can’t even remember the beginning of December? I do know that we went to California for Christmas. Auntie Katie, Jackson and Landon got in to town the same time we did. We headed to Bakersfield, with a very important stop to In-N-Out. We had such a good time in California. Good quality time with Papa and our Mejia Family, then up to Exeter to spend time with Nana and Grammy. Auntie Katie left the day after Christmas and you spent some quality time with your dad as well. The one big bummer was that you were sick the entire time we were in California. It started the day before we left. Leah called me from the Y to say your throat was hurting and I needed to pick you up. We went straight to CVS to get you some sore throat meds, but you ended up having a fever the whole night. Then we had to wake up in the middle of the night basically to leave for the airport. On the way to the airport though, we had to pull over for you to throw up. That turned out to be good though. That kind of relieved you for the flight. But my poor Zoe was sick the entire trip. The good thing was that we had all of our loving family around to comfort you and make you feel so much better. 

After getting home from California, it was back to school, but we had another exciting trip just ahead of us. We were going to Washington DC to march in the Women’s March on Washington. The recent election has brought to light a lot of things we have taken for granted, but we still need to stand up for what we believe in and fight for what is right. That has never been more important in my lifetime, or yours thusfar, than now. Our current President does not value or treat women the way we should be treated, his administration devalues our rights, as well as many other groups of people. The Women’s March was an organized event to stand up and say, we are not ok with what is happening and we will stand up and defend what is right. Somewhere around 500,000 people, mostly women showed up in DC to march, but people gathered all around the world to march with us as well. It was the largest demonstration in US history and you were a part of it. 

Katie and Taylor flew out from Seattle. We met them at Newark Airport. Our whole way to New York there were tons of drivers we could just tell were going to the March. The stops we made to use the restroom had long lines for the women’s restrooms. After picking up Katie and Taylor, it became even more apparent who was also driving down to DC for the March. There were pink cat hats everywhere. 

The day of the March was such a positive vibe. Actually the vibe driving down was super positive too. The whole trip was a very positive experience, but the day of the March, waiting to get into the Metro, to get on a train, to get out of the metro, to get to the rally and to actually march. There were hundreds of thousands of people. All trying to get to the same spot. But everyone was so happy and loving and supportive. I’m just so glad we were able to be a part of it and that you had such a great experience. The speakers were incredible. You were very excited to see Scarlett Johansson, Alicia Keys and Janelle Monae, but I think you were just as impressed, if not more, with a little girl named Sophie Cruz. She is a 6 year old immigrant who spoke to the crowd about her experiences. We can all make a difference.

We marched from the National Mall to the Washington Monument and walked up to the Lincoln Memorial. You and Taylor were so excited to see all of the famous landmarks, including the White House. The day after the March we decided to take a little detour to Philadelphia on our way to taking Katie and Taylor back to Newark. Philadelphia was just as incredible as the rest of the trip. We went to Independence Hall to see where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were both drafted. Across the street to the Liberty Bell, up to the Rocky steps and to Jimmy G’s for a cheesesteak. I think Katie and Taylor barely made their flight and I had to listen to half the Patriots game in the car on the way home, but it was totally worth the stop. Check Philadelphia off our to-do list. Plus, going to Pennsylvania also checked your accomplishment of visiting all of the states in the NorthEast. Which you were VERY excited about. 

You did forget to bring your study homework for an upcoming SouthEast state and capitol test coming up the following week, but we crammed the studying in when we got home and you rocked that test. 

The last few weeks since then have been non-stop. We were sick again. :( Then the first weekend of February you had your girl scouts encampment and then right after you got home we watched the Super Bowl. The Patriots won!!! Woo Hoo!

Then this last weekend Papa and Linda came to visit. We’ve had several snow storms in the last week and a half with 2 blizzards just in the last 5 days? Papa does not like the cold and snow, so I’m not so sure it was really fun for him, but he survived and I’m sure loved spending time with us and seeing where we live. 

Friday night we had Bertuccis. Saturday Papa got to see you at soccer skills and then we headed to Salem, kind of randomly, but it turned out perfect. They had ice sculptures and a sweet festival with a chocolate fountain, free sundaes and lots of sweets. Then we made it back to Waltham for dinner at Not Your Average Joe’s where you made special arrangements for a birthday surprise for me and you got to stay the night with Papa. We met for breakfast at our favorite spot, In A Pickle and went shopping at the Burlington Mall. The storm really started to hit from there and we didn’t know if we were going to see Papa again before he had to go, but luckily the storm passed by morning and we were able to go hang out at Papa’s hotel, where you got to go swimming. I had to head into work, but you and Papa and Linda went on your own little adventure up to New Hampshire before he dropped you back off with me.

Now hopefully we can make it through the rest of the week at school. You had 3 snow days in a row and next week is Winter Break, so it’s nice to be back in the normal routine, at least for a few days. 

Thank you so much for being the best Valentine ever. You picked out some great birthday and Valentine’s presents. I can’t wait to spend my birthday with you tomorrow. 

love you to the moon and back. xoxo - mommy

[tonyduncanbb73]

January 2018 in Review, From Ax-Throwing Bars to Ramen

The month in openings, closings, top news, and more

2018 got off to a fast start in terms of local restaurant openings. A few Boston-based groups continued to expand in January, including Tatte Bakery & Cafe and Tasty Burger, while some non-local chains came to town as well, including Israel’s Cafe Landwer and D.C.-based Cava, both serving fast-casual food with a Mediterranean feel. Other openings included the much-anticipated debut of Blossom Bar, the cocktail bar reinvention of Sichuan Garden in Brookline; Delta Haus, a bar inspired by not one but three different frat house movies; Oisa Ramen, a popular pop-up that landed its own permanent space; and more.

But the year started with a few closures, too, including some very longtime spots, such as Sultan’s Kitchen in downtown Boston, the Faneuil Hall location of Bertucci’s, Tapeo on Newbury Street, and Diva Indian Bistro in the heart of Somerville’s Davis Square.

Read on for a summary of January 2018, including the most-read news stories and maps, the openings, and the closings.

Jump to: Most-Read Stories | Top Maps & Guides | Openings | Closings | This Time Last Year

Most-Read Stories

Urban Axes [official photo]

A location of Urban Axes, expanding to Somerville this year.

Somerville Is Getting an Ax-Throwing Bar Because of Course It Is: Urban Axes could open this summer.

Tilted Kilt Shuts the Doors in Fenway: The Scottish-themed “breastaurant” has closed.

The Forthcoming Natick Wegmans Will Have a Full-Service Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar: Courtesy of chef Roberto Santibañez of Fonda in New York City.

Tiki Rock Opens Downtown With a Polynesian Super Burger and Mai Tais: There are cocktail bowls, too.

Cafe Landwer Arrives in Boston With Shakshuka, Coffee, and Sandwiches: This is the Israeli chain’s first United States location.

Blossom Bar Blooms in Brookline This Week: The old Sichuan Garden space has been transformed.

Beer & Mortar: Five Boston-Area Breweries to Watch in 2018: These are a few players making big strides this year.

Delta Haus Brings Bar Pizzas and Frat House Movie Nostalgia to Downtown Boston: There will be toga parties.

Papagayo Shuts Down Its Fort Point Location: Citing a surplus of spots serving Mexican cuisine and tequila.

Pikaichi Ramen, on the Comeback Trail, Lands New Home in Medford: In the former Emiliano’z Mexican Grill space.

Top Maps & Guides

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

The Saturn cocktail at Tiki Rock

The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston, Winter 2018: Boston’s greatest restaurants for any occasion. This quarter’s update included the addition of ArtScience Culture Lab & Café, Bisq, Brassica Kitchen & Café, Café du Pays, Cultivar, The Gallows, Neptune Oyster, Pagu, Pammy’s, and Spoke Wine Bar.

The Hottest Restaurants in Boston Right Now, January 2018: Already updated for February too, the monthly Heatmap features a dozen of the city’s hottest new dining destinations.

The Eater Boston Winter 2018 Dining Headquarters: What’s #OpenInBOS?: Bookmark this page for weather-related openings, closures, and specials all winter long.

Warm up at These 18 Ramen Destinations This Winter: So many noodles.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Boston Proper: Tacos, Thai ice cream rolls, Tiki drinks.

A Guide to the Pop-Ups of Greater Boston: Get them before they’re gone.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Cambridge and Somerville: Just across the river from Boston, there will be poke, burgers, and coffee.

The Eater Boston Food Events Guide: All the local food and drink events you’ll actually want to attend

Where to Eat Egg Boats Around Boston: Otherwise known as khachapuri, these doughy, cheesy treats are worth tracking down.

Chinatown Food Crawl: Dumplings, Eggplant, and Some Awfully Good Offal: Plus, drink a ton of Tsingtao.

Openings

Blossom Bar [official photo, via Instagram]

The Broken Spanish cocktail at Blossom Bar, which opened in Brookline this January

75 on Courthouse Square (220 Northern Ave.): 75 Chestnut and 75 on Liberty Wharf have a new similarly named sibling in the Seaport District, serving burgers, seafood and pasta entrees, and more — as well as a build-your-own bloody mary bar.

The Bagel Table (9 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill): Located in the longtime Rosie’s Bakery space at The Street, this new bakery features OMG! Bagels (a local brand) and serves some of Rosie’s greatest hits as well.

Blossom Bar (295 Washington St., Brookline): Like its Woburn sibling, the Brookline Sichuan Garden now has a snazzy cocktail bar inside. Those who loved dining at Sichuan Garden pre-revamp will still find a number of its dishes on the new, pared-down menu.

Buttonwood (51 Lincoln St., Newton Highlands): This sibling to Sycamore and Little Big Diner is a family-friendly restaurant located in the former 51 Lincoln space, serving grilled meat and seafood entrees, a “pizza shop” Greek salad, Portuguese fish stew, and more.

Cafe Landwer (900 Beacon St., Audubon Circle, Boston): This is the first United States location for the Israeli cafe chain, which will also open in Boston’s Cleveland Circle neighborhood.

Caffe Nero (75 Middlesex Tpke., Burlington): Yep, this London-based cafe chain keeps expanding around the Boston area.

Cava (1346 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston): This fast-casual Mediterranean chain comes by way of Washington, D.C., and it’s also expanding to Boston’s Back Bay and Cambridge’s Kendall Square, as well as Dedham and Hingham.

Counter (209 Essex St., Salem): Drawing some menu inspiration from department store counter lunches, Counter is located in the Hotel Salem — a building that was a department store in the 1950s and 1960s. This spring, it’ll get a sibling restaurant and bar called The Roof, located on the hotel’s roof, of course.

Delta Haus (200 High St., Downtown Boston): From the people who brought Boston a Caddyshack-themed bar (Bushwood Cocktail Club) comes another movie-inspired spot, but this one draws inspiration from multiple frat house flicks: Animal House, Old School, and Revenge of the Nerds.

Globe Bar & Cafe (384 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): This Back Bay spot moved down the street, taking over the former Rattlesnake space. Yes, the rooftop will be open seasonally.

Grassona’s Italian (1704 Beacon St., Washington Square, Brookline): Fairsted Kitchen owner Steve Bowman briefly closed his restaurant to renovate it and reopen it as Grassona’s Italian, serving red-sauce Italian classics.

Hopsters (51 Sleeper St., Seaport District, Boston): The Newton-based brewpub and brew-your-own-beer facility has expanded to Boston proper (and has further expansion plans in the works). Go for a meal, a drink, and/or a brewing session.

Jana Grill & Bakery (2 Watertown St., Watertown): This Armenian restaurant serves khachapuri and more.

Momo Cafe (649 Hancock St., Quincy): No momo (Nepalese dumplings here) — just desserts, teas, and more.

Oisa Ramen (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): This pop-up has found a cozy home in the Financial District, serving up three types of ramen to dine-in customers (there are a few standing spaces at a counter and a few seats by the window) and rice bowls to takeout customers. For those dining in, there’s a small selection of beer, sake, and canned sparkling wine cocktails available.

Olivia’s Bistro (136 Adams St., Nonantum, Newton): This Newton addition is serving wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas and more Italian food.

Rice Passions (163 Squire Rd., Revere): Under new ownership, Maekha Thai has been revamped, renamed, and reopened as Rice Passions, serving a variety of Thai dishes.

Shaking Crab (140 Boylston St., Downtown Boston): This growing local group serves spicy boiled seafood; there was also a recent opening in Cambridge’s Porter Square. This new Boston location is in the original Troquet space (Troquet recently moved to the Leather District.)

Tasty Burger (1 Nashua St., West End, Boston): The local burger chain’s sixth location is at North Station and features the group’s biggest bar (18 seats), at which beer and wine are served. There’s also a takeout window and free pool table.

Tatte Bakery & Cafe (399 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): Yet another expansion for the local cafe chain that now has eight outposts in Brookline, Boston, and Cambridge.

Tiki Rock (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): Adjacent to another January newbie, Oisa Ramen, Tiki Rock serves Tiki cocktails, sushi, and more in a lively atmosphere.

Toscanini’s (159 First St., East Cambridge): Central Square’s ever-popular ice cream joint has temporarily shut down its original location due to construction, but it has a new location in East Cambridge — and this new location will be Toscanini’s production home even once the original reopens. The new spot serves 32 ice cream flavors as well as baked goods and coffee.

Trina’s Starlite Lounge (37 Main St.): This Somerville favorite for hot dogs, cocktails, and a retro vibe has expanded to the North Shore, taking over the former No. 8 Kitchen space.

Xi’an Street Foods (182 Brighton Ave., Allston, Boston): Serving rougamo (flatbread sandwiches that resemble burgers), biang biang noodles, and other cuisine from the Chinese city of Xi’an, this new casual spot in Allston is one of only a few Xi’an restaurants in town. No relation to Xi’an Famous Foods, the New York-based chain expanding here eventually.

White Bull Tavern (1 Union St., Downtown Boston): Right by Faneuil Hall, this new tavern is serving skillet-cooked appetizers, wood-fired pizzas, and more.

Closings

Katie Chudy/Eater

Roast beef sandwich at Kelly’s Roast Beef (the Revere location, which remains open)

Bertucci’s (22 Merchants Row, Downtown Boston): The Faneuil Hall location of local pizza chain Bertucci’s opened way back in 1989.

Bistro Duet (190 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington): Located in the former Flora space (a bank before that), this French restaurant had been open for just over a year.

Diva Indian Bistro (246 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville): The Indian restaurant had been open for over 20 years.

Kelly’s Roast Beef (2 Underprice Way, Natick): This location of the local roast beef chain — which is inside of a Jordan’s Furniture — had been around for about 20 years. Other locations of Kelly’s remain in operation.

Oppa’s Kitchen & Bar (157 Pleasant St., Malden): This Korean and Japanese restaurant was reportedly seized.

Papagayo (283 Summer St., Fort Point, Boston): In an increasingly crowded neighborhood for Mexican restaurants and tequila bar, this location shut down, but Papagayo remains open in downtown Boston and Somerville’s Assembly Row.

Smokin’ Betty’s BBQ (94 Lafayette St., Salem): From the owners of Gulu-Gulu Cafe and Flying Saucer Pizza Company, Smokin’ Betty’s had been open for a little under a year. The barbecue will live on through catering orders — and perhaps an eventual reopening in a smaller space.

Sultan’s Kitchen (116 State St., Downtown Boston):The Turkish restaurant, a staple of the downtown dining scene, had been around since 1981.

Tapeo Restaurant and Tapas Bar (266 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston): Open for over 20 years, Tapeo cited the neighborhood’s “oppressive rents” as a factor in the restaurant’s closure.

Tilted Kilt (96 Brookline Ave., Fenway, Boston): Also known as “Scottish Hooters,” this “breastaurant” and sports bar chain didn’t last long in Fenway. In the region, a Billerica location remains open.

This Time Last Year

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Bao at Pagu, one of the big openings of January 2017

Rewinding back to January 2017, the hot neighborhood of the month was Central Square — particularly the section closest to MIT — with the openings of Pagu, A4cade, and Roxy’s Central. Another notable opening was Frenchie in Boston’s South End, and East Coast Grill made a comeback, only to close for good just under a year later and be remade into Highland Fried (which isn’t totally different from East Coast Grill).

January 2017 also brought the news of a potential boozy Taco Bell Cantina in Somerville’s Davis Square, but it’s not happening.

Boston was awash in poke in January 2017, with Manoa Poke Shop and Poke City kicking off the start of the city’s obsession with the Hawaiian raw fish dish, an obsession that is continuing into 2018.

And Somerville got a cafe devoted to oatmal.

[tonyduncanbb73]

January 2018 in Review, From Ax-Throwing Bars to Ramen

The month in openings, closings, top news, and more

2018 got off to a fast start in terms of local restaurant openings. A few Boston-based groups continued to expand in January, including Tatte Bakery & Cafe and Tasty Burger, while some non-local chains came to town as well, including Israel’s Cafe Landwer and D.C.-based Cava, both serving fast-casual food with a Mediterranean feel. Other openings included the much-anticipated debut of Blossom Bar, the cocktail bar reinvention of Sichuan Garden in Brookline; Delta Haus, a bar inspired by not one but three different frat house movies; Oisa Ramen, a popular pop-up that landed its own permanent space; and more.

But the year started with a few closures, too, including some very longtime spots, such as Sultan’s Kitchen in downtown Boston, the Faneuil Hall location of Bertucci’s, Tapeo on Newbury Street, and Diva Indian Bistro in the heart of Somerville’s Davis Square.

Read on for a summary of January 2018, including the most-read news stories and maps, the openings, and the closings.

Jump to: Most-Read Stories | Top Maps & Guides | Openings | Closings | This Time Last Year

Most-Read Stories

Urban Axes [official photo]

A location of Urban Axes, expanding to Somerville this year.

Somerville Is Getting an Ax-Throwing Bar Because of Course It Is: Urban Axes could open this summer.

Tilted Kilt Shuts the Doors in Fenway: The Scottish-themed “breastaurant” has closed.

The Forthcoming Natick Wegmans Will Have a Full-Service Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar: Courtesy of chef Roberto Santibañez of Fonda in New York City.

Tiki Rock Opens Downtown With a Polynesian Super Burger and Mai Tais: There are cocktail bowls, too.

Cafe Landwer Arrives in Boston With Shakshuka, Coffee, and Sandwiches: This is the Israeli chain’s first United States location.

Blossom Bar Blooms in Brookline This Week: The old Sichuan Garden space has been transformed.

Beer & Mortar: Five Boston-Area Breweries to Watch in 2018: These are a few players making big strides this year.

Delta Haus Brings Bar Pizzas and Frat House Movie Nostalgia to Downtown Boston: There will be toga parties.

Papagayo Shuts Down Its Fort Point Location: Citing a surplus of spots serving Mexican cuisine and tequila.

Pikaichi Ramen, on the Comeback Trail, Lands New Home in Medford: In the former Emiliano’z Mexican Grill space.

Top Maps & Guides

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

The Saturn cocktail at Tiki Rock

The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston, Winter 2018: Boston’s greatest restaurants for any occasion. This quarter’s update included the addition of ArtScience Culture Lab & Café, Bisq, Brassica Kitchen & Café, Café du Pays, Cultivar, The Gallows, Neptune Oyster, Pagu, Pammy’s, and Spoke Wine Bar.

The Hottest Restaurants in Boston Right Now, January 2018: Already updated for February too, the monthly Heatmap features a dozen of the city’s hottest new dining destinations.

The Eater Boston Winter 2018 Dining Headquarters: What’s #OpenInBOS?: Bookmark this page for weather-related openings, closures, and specials all winter long.

Warm up at These 18 Ramen Destinations This Winter: So many noodles.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Boston Proper: Tacos, Thai ice cream rolls, Tiki drinks.

A Guide to the Pop-Ups of Greater Boston: Get them before they’re gone.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Cambridge and Somerville: Just across the river from Boston, there will be poke, burgers, and coffee.

The Eater Boston Food Events Guide: All the local food and drink events you’ll actually want to attend

Where to Eat Egg Boats Around Boston: Otherwise known as khachapuri, these doughy, cheesy treats are worth tracking down.

Chinatown Food Crawl: Dumplings, Eggplant, and Some Awfully Good Offal: Plus, drink a ton of Tsingtao.

Openings

Blossom Bar [official photo, via Instagram]

The Broken Spanish cocktail at Blossom Bar, which opened in Brookline this January

75 on Courthouse Square (220 Northern Ave.): 75 Chestnut and 75 on Liberty Wharf have a new similarly named sibling in the Seaport District, serving burgers, seafood and pasta entrees, and more — as well as a build-your-own bloody mary bar.

The Bagel Table (9 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill): Located in the longtime Rosie’s Bakery space at The Street, this new bakery features OMG! Bagels (a local brand) and serves some of Rosie’s greatest hits as well.

Blossom Bar (295 Washington St., Brookline): Like its Woburn sibling, the Brookline Sichuan Garden now has a snazzy cocktail bar inside. Those who loved dining at Sichuan Garden pre-revamp will still find a number of its dishes on the new, pared-down menu.

Buttonwood (51 Lincoln St., Newton Highlands): This sibling to Sycamore and Little Big Diner is a family-friendly restaurant located in the former 51 Lincoln space, serving grilled meat and seafood entrees, a “pizza shop” Greek salad, Portuguese fish stew, and more.

Cafe Landwer (900 Beacon St., Audubon Circle, Boston): This is the first United States location for the Israeli cafe chain, which will also open in Boston’s Cleveland Circle neighborhood.

Caffe Nero (75 Middlesex Tpke., Burlington): Yep, this London-based cafe chain keeps expanding around the Boston area.

Cava (1346 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston): This fast-casual Mediterranean chain comes by way of Washington, D.C., and it’s also expanding to Boston’s Back Bay and Cambridge’s Kendall Square, as well as Dedham and Hingham.

Counter (209 Essex St., Salem): Drawing some menu inspiration from department store counter lunches, Counter is located in the Hotel Salem — a building that was a department store in the 1950s and 1960s. This spring, it’ll get a sibling restaurant and bar called The Roof, located on the hotel’s roof, of course.

Delta Haus (200 High St., Downtown Boston): From the people who brought Boston a Caddyshack-themed bar (Bushwood Cocktail Club) comes another movie-inspired spot, but this one draws inspiration from multiple frat house flicks: Animal House, Old School, and Revenge of the Nerds.

Globe Bar & Cafe (384 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): This Back Bay spot moved down the street, taking over the former Rattlesnake space. Yes, the rooftop will be open seasonally.

Grassona’s Italian (1704 Beacon St., Washington Square, Brookline): Fairsted Kitchen owner Steve Bowman briefly closed his restaurant to renovate it and reopen it as Grassona’s Italian, serving red-sauce Italian classics.

Hopsters (51 Sleeper St., Seaport District, Boston): The Newton-based brewpub and brew-your-own-beer facility has expanded to Boston proper (and has further expansion plans in the works). Go for a meal, a drink, and/or a brewing session.

Jana Grill & Bakery (2 Watertown St., Watertown): This Armenian restaurant serves khachapuri and more.

Momo Cafe (649 Hancock St., Quincy): No momo (Nepalese dumplings here) — just desserts, teas, and more.

Oisa Ramen (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): This pop-up has found a cozy home in the Financial District, serving up three types of ramen to dine-in customers (there are a few standing spaces at a counter and a few seats by the window) and rice bowls to takeout customers. For those dining in, there’s a small selection of beer, sake, and canned sparkling wine cocktails available.

Olivia’s Bistro (136 Adams St., Nonantum, Newton): This Newton addition is serving wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas and more Italian food.

Rice Passions (163 Squire Rd., Revere): Under new ownership, Maekha Thai has been revamped, renamed, and reopened as Rice Passions, serving a variety of Thai dishes.

Shaking Crab (140 Boylston St., Downtown Boston): This growing local group serves spicy boiled seafood; there was also a recent opening in Cambridge’s Porter Square. This new Boston location is in the original Troquet space (Troquet recently moved to the Leather District.)

Tasty Burger (1 Nashua St., West End, Boston): The local burger chain’s sixth location is at North Station and features the group’s biggest bar (18 seats), at which beer and wine are served. There’s also a takeout window and free pool table.

Tatte Bakery & Cafe (399 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): Yet another expansion for the local cafe chain that now has eight outposts in Brookline, Boston, and Cambridge.

Tiki Rock (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): Adjacent to another January newbie, Oisa Ramen, Tiki Rock serves Tiki cocktails, sushi, and more in a lively atmosphere.

Toscanini’s (159 First St., East Cambridge): Central Square’s ever-popular ice cream joint has temporarily shut down its original location due to construction, but it has a new location in East Cambridge — and this new location will be Toscanini’s production home even once the original reopens. The new spot serves 32 ice cream flavors as well as baked goods and coffee.

Trina’s Starlite Lounge (37 Main St.): This Somerville favorite for hot dogs, cocktails, and a retro vibe has expanded to the North Shore, taking over the former No. 8 Kitchen space.

Xi’an Street Foods (182 Brighton Ave., Allston, Boston): Serving rougamo (flatbread sandwiches that resemble burgers), biang biang noodles, and other cuisine from the Chinese city of Xi’an, this new casual spot in Allston is one of only a few Xi’an restaurants in town. No relation to Xi’an Famous Foods, the New York-based chain expanding here eventually.

White Bull Tavern (1 Union St., Downtown Boston): Right by Faneuil Hall, this new tavern is serving skillet-cooked appetizers, wood-fired pizzas, and more.

Closings

Katie Chudy/Eater

Roast beef sandwich at Kelly’s Roast Beef (the Revere location, which remains open)

Bertucci’s (22 Merchants Row, Downtown Boston): The Faneuil Hall location of local pizza chain Bertucci’s opened way back in 1989.

Bistro Duet (190 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington): Located in the former Flora space (a bank before that), this French restaurant had been open for just over a year.

Diva Indian Bistro (246 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville): The Indian restaurant had been open for over 20 years.

Kelly’s Roast Beef (2 Underprice Way, Natick): This location of the local roast beef chain — which is inside of a Jordan’s Furniture — had been around for about 20 years. Other locations of Kelly’s remain in operation.

Oppa’s Kitchen & Bar (157 Pleasant St., Malden): This Korean and Japanese restaurant was reportedly seized.

Papagayo (283 Summer St., Fort Point, Boston): In an increasingly crowded neighborhood for Mexican restaurants and tequila bar, this location shut down, but Papagayo remains open in downtown Boston and Somerville’s Assembly Row.

Smokin’ Betty’s BBQ (94 Lafayette St., Salem): From the owners of Gulu-Gulu Cafe and Flying Saucer Pizza Company, Smokin’ Betty’s had been open for a little under a year. The barbecue will live on through catering orders — and perhaps an eventual reopening in a smaller space.

Sultan’s Kitchen (116 State St., Downtown Boston):The Turkish restaurant, a staple of the downtown dining scene, had been around since 1981.

Tapeo Restaurant and Tapas Bar (266 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston): Open for over 20 years, Tapeo cited the neighborhood’s “oppressive rents” as a factor in the restaurant’s closure.

Tilted Kilt (96 Brookline Ave., Fenway, Boston): Also known as “Scottish Hooters,” this “breastaurant” and sports bar chain didn’t last long in Fenway. In the region, a Billerica location remains open.

This Time Last Year

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Bao at Pagu, one of the big openings of January 2017

Rewinding back to January 2017, the hot neighborhood of the month was Central Square — particularly the section closest to MIT — with the openings of Pagu, A4cade, and Roxy’s Central. Another notable opening was Frenchie in Boston’s South End, and East Coast Grill made a comeback, only to close for good just under a year later and be remade into Highland Fried (which isn’t totally different from East Coast Grill).

January 2017 also brought the news of a potential boozy Taco Bell Cantina in Somerville’s Davis Square, but it’s not happening.

Boston was awash in poke in January 2017, with Manoa Poke Shop and Poke City kicking off the start of the city’s obsession with the Hawaiian raw fish dish, an obsession that is continuing into 2018.

And Somerville got a cafe devoted to oatmal.

[tonyduncanbb73]

January 2018 in Review, From Ax-Throwing Bars to Ramen

The month in openings, closings, top news, and more

2018 got off to a fast start in terms of local restaurant openings. A few Boston-based groups continued to expand in January, including Tatte Bakery & Cafe and Tasty Burger, while some non-local chains came to town as well, including Israel’s Cafe Landwer and D.C.-based Cava, both serving fast-casual food with a Mediterranean feel. Other openings included the much-anticipated debut of Blossom Bar, the cocktail bar reinvention of Sichuan Garden in Brookline; Delta Haus, a bar inspired by not one but three different frat house movies; Oisa Ramen, a popular pop-up that landed its own permanent space; and more.

But the year started with a few closures, too, including some very longtime spots, such as Sultan’s Kitchen in downtown Boston, the Faneuil Hall location of Bertucci’s, Tapeo on Newbury Street, and Diva Indian Bistro in the heart of Somerville’s Davis Square.

Read on for a summary of January 2018, including the most-read news stories and maps, the openings, and the closings.

Jump to: Most-Read Stories | Top Maps & Guides | Openings | Closings | This Time Last Year

Most-Read Stories

Urban Axes [official photo]

A location of Urban Axes, expanding to Somerville this year.

Somerville Is Getting an Ax-Throwing Bar Because of Course It Is: Urban Axes could open this summer.

Tilted Kilt Shuts the Doors in Fenway: The Scottish-themed “breastaurant” has closed.

The Forthcoming Natick Wegmans Will Have a Full-Service Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar: Courtesy of chef Roberto Santibañez of Fonda in New York City.

Tiki Rock Opens Downtown With a Polynesian Super Burger and Mai Tais: There are cocktail bowls, too.

Cafe Landwer Arrives in Boston With Shakshuka, Coffee, and Sandwiches: This is the Israeli chain’s first United States location.

Blossom Bar Blooms in Brookline This Week: The old Sichuan Garden space has been transformed.

Beer & Mortar: Five Boston-Area Breweries to Watch in 2018: These are a few players making big strides this year.

Delta Haus Brings Bar Pizzas and Frat House Movie Nostalgia to Downtown Boston: There will be toga parties.

Papagayo Shuts Down Its Fort Point Location: Citing a surplus of spots serving Mexican cuisine and tequila.

Pikaichi Ramen, on the Comeback Trail, Lands New Home in Medford: In the former Emiliano’z Mexican Grill space.

Top Maps & Guides

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

The Saturn cocktail at Tiki Rock

The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston, Winter 2018: Boston’s greatest restaurants for any occasion. This quarter’s update included the addition of ArtScience Culture Lab & Café, Bisq, Brassica Kitchen & Café, Café du Pays, Cultivar, The Gallows, Neptune Oyster, Pagu, Pammy’s, and Spoke Wine Bar.

The Hottest Restaurants in Boston Right Now, January 2018: Already updated for February too, the monthly Heatmap features a dozen of the city’s hottest new dining destinations.

The Eater Boston Winter 2018 Dining Headquarters: What’s #OpenInBOS?: Bookmark this page for weather-related openings, closures, and specials all winter long.

Warm up at These 18 Ramen Destinations This Winter: So many noodles.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Boston Proper: Tacos, Thai ice cream rolls, Tiki drinks.

A Guide to the Pop-Ups of Greater Boston: Get them before they’re gone.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Cambridge and Somerville: Just across the river from Boston, there will be poke, burgers, and coffee.

The Eater Boston Food Events Guide: All the local food and drink events you’ll actually want to attend

Where to Eat Egg Boats Around Boston: Otherwise known as khachapuri, these doughy, cheesy treats are worth tracking down.

Chinatown Food Crawl: Dumplings, Eggplant, and Some Awfully Good Offal: Plus, drink a ton of Tsingtao.

Openings

Blossom Bar [official photo, via Instagram]

The Broken Spanish cocktail at Blossom Bar, which opened in Brookline this January

75 on Courthouse Square (220 Northern Ave.): 75 Chestnut and 75 on Liberty Wharf have a new similarly named sibling in the Seaport District, serving burgers, seafood and pasta entrees, and more — as well as a build-your-own bloody mary bar.

The Bagel Table (9 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill): Located in the longtime Rosie’s Bakery space at The Street, this new bakery features OMG! Bagels (a local brand) and serves some of Rosie’s greatest hits as well.

Blossom Bar (295 Washington St., Brookline): Like its Woburn sibling, the Brookline Sichuan Garden now has a snazzy cocktail bar inside. Those who loved dining at Sichuan Garden pre-revamp will still find a number of its dishes on the new, pared-down menu.

Buttonwood (51 Lincoln St., Newton Highlands): This sibling to Sycamore and Little Big Diner is a family-friendly restaurant located in the former 51 Lincoln space, serving grilled meat and seafood entrees, a “pizza shop” Greek salad, Portuguese fish stew, and more.

Cafe Landwer (900 Beacon St., Audubon Circle, Boston): This is the first United States location for the Israeli cafe chain, which will also open in Boston’s Cleveland Circle neighborhood.

Caffe Nero (75 Middlesex Tpke., Burlington): Yep, this London-based cafe chain keeps expanding around the Boston area.

Cava (1346 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston): This fast-casual Mediterranean chain comes by way of Washington, D.C., and it’s also expanding to Boston’s Back Bay and Cambridge’s Kendall Square, as well as Dedham and Hingham.

Counter (209 Essex St., Salem): Drawing some menu inspiration from department store counter lunches, Counter is located in the Hotel Salem — a building that was a department store in the 1950s and 1960s. This spring, it’ll get a sibling restaurant and bar called The Roof, located on the hotel’s roof, of course.

Delta Haus (200 High St., Downtown Boston): From the people who brought Boston a Caddyshack-themed bar (Bushwood Cocktail Club) comes another movie-inspired spot, but this one draws inspiration from multiple frat house flicks: Animal House, Old School, and Revenge of the Nerds.

Globe Bar & Cafe (384 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): This Back Bay spot moved down the street, taking over the former Rattlesnake space. Yes, the rooftop will be open seasonally.

Grassona’s Italian (1704 Beacon St., Washington Square, Brookline): Fairsted Kitchen owner Steve Bowman briefly closed his restaurant to renovate it and reopen it as Grassona’s Italian, serving red-sauce Italian classics.

Hopsters (51 Sleeper St., Seaport District, Boston): The Newton-based brewpub and brew-your-own-beer facility has expanded to Boston proper (and has further expansion plans in the works). Go for a meal, a drink, and/or a brewing session.

Jana Grill & Bakery (2 Watertown St., Watertown): This Armenian restaurant serves khachapuri and more.

Momo Cafe (649 Hancock St., Quincy): No momo (Nepalese dumplings here) — just desserts, teas, and more.

Oisa Ramen (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): This pop-up has found a cozy home in the Financial District, serving up three types of ramen to dine-in customers (there are a few standing spaces at a counter and a few seats by the window) and rice bowls to takeout customers. For those dining in, there’s a small selection of beer, sake, and canned sparkling wine cocktails available.

Olivia’s Bistro (136 Adams St., Nonantum, Newton): This Newton addition is serving wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas and more Italian food.

Rice Passions (163 Squire Rd., Revere): Under new ownership, Maekha Thai has been revamped, renamed, and reopened as Rice Passions, serving a variety of Thai dishes.

Shaking Crab (140 Boylston St., Downtown Boston): This growing local group serves spicy boiled seafood; there was also a recent opening in Cambridge’s Porter Square. This new Boston location is in the original Troquet space (Troquet recently moved to the Leather District.)

Tasty Burger (1 Nashua St., West End, Boston): The local burger chain’s sixth location is at North Station and features the group’s biggest bar (18 seats), at which beer and wine are served. There’s also a takeout window and free pool table.

Tatte Bakery & Cafe (399 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): Yet another expansion for the local cafe chain that now has eight outposts in Brookline, Boston, and Cambridge.

Tiki Rock (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): Adjacent to another January newbie, Oisa Ramen, Tiki Rock serves Tiki cocktails, sushi, and more in a lively atmosphere.

Toscanini’s (159 First St., East Cambridge): Central Square’s ever-popular ice cream joint has temporarily shut down its original location due to construction, but it has a new location in East Cambridge — and this new location will be Toscanini’s production home even once the original reopens. The new spot serves 32 ice cream flavors as well as baked goods and coffee.

Trina’s Starlite Lounge (37 Main St.): This Somerville favorite for hot dogs, cocktails, and a retro vibe has expanded to the North Shore, taking over the former No. 8 Kitchen space.

Xi’an Street Foods (182 Brighton Ave., Allston, Boston): Serving rougamo (flatbread sandwiches that resemble burgers), biang biang noodles, and other cuisine from the Chinese city of Xi’an, this new casual spot in Allston is one of only a few Xi’an restaurants in town. No relation to Xi’an Famous Foods, the New York-based chain expanding here eventually.

White Bull Tavern (1 Union St., Downtown Boston): Right by Faneuil Hall, this new tavern is serving skillet-cooked appetizers, wood-fired pizzas, and more.

Closings

Katie Chudy/Eater

Roast beef sandwich at Kelly’s Roast Beef (the Revere location, which remains open)

Bertucci’s (22 Merchants Row, Downtown Boston): The Faneuil Hall location of local pizza chain Bertucci’s opened way back in 1989.

Bistro Duet (190 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington): Located in the former Flora space (a bank before that), this French restaurant had been open for just over a year.

Diva Indian Bistro (246 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville): The Indian restaurant had been open for over 20 years.

Kelly’s Roast Beef (2 Underprice Way, Natick): This location of the local roast beef chain — which is inside of a Jordan’s Furniture — had been around for about 20 years. Other locations of Kelly’s remain in operation.

Oppa’s Kitchen & Bar (157 Pleasant St., Malden): This Korean and Japanese restaurant was reportedly seized.

Papagayo (283 Summer St., Fort Point, Boston): In an increasingly crowded neighborhood for Mexican restaurants and tequila bar, this location shut down, but Papagayo remains open in downtown Boston and Somerville’s Assembly Row.

Smokin’ Betty’s BBQ (94 Lafayette St., Salem): From the owners of Gulu-Gulu Cafe and Flying Saucer Pizza Company, Smokin’ Betty’s had been open for a little under a year. The barbecue will live on through catering orders — and perhaps an eventual reopening in a smaller space.

Sultan’s Kitchen (116 State St., Downtown Boston):The Turkish restaurant, a staple of the downtown dining scene, had been around since 1981.

Tapeo Restaurant and Tapas Bar (266 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston): Open for over 20 years, Tapeo cited the neighborhood’s “oppressive rents” as a factor in the restaurant’s closure.

Tilted Kilt (96 Brookline Ave., Fenway, Boston): Also known as “Scottish Hooters,” this “breastaurant” and sports bar chain didn’t last long in Fenway. In the region, a Billerica location remains open.

This Time Last Year

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Bao at Pagu, one of the big openings of January 2017

Rewinding back to January 2017, the hot neighborhood of the month was Central Square — particularly the section closest to MIT — with the openings of Pagu, A4cade, and Roxy’s Central. Another notable opening was Frenchie in Boston’s South End, and East Coast Grill made a comeback, only to close for good just under a year later and be remade into Highland Fried (which isn’t totally different from East Coast Grill).

January 2017 also brought the news of a potential boozy Taco Bell Cantina in Somerville’s Davis Square, but it’s not happening.

Boston was awash in poke in January 2017, with Manoa Poke Shop and Poke City kicking off the start of the city’s obsession with the Hawaiian raw fish dish, an obsession that is continuing into 2018.

And Somerville got a cafe devoted to oatmal.

[tonyduncanbb73]

January 2018 in Review, From Ax-Throwing Bars to Ramen

The month in openings, closings, top news, and more

2018 got off to a fast start in terms of local restaurant openings. A few Boston-based groups continued to expand in January, including Tatte Bakery & Cafe and Tasty Burger, while some non-local chains came to town as well, including Israel’s Cafe Landwer and D.C.-based Cava, both serving fast-casual food with a Mediterranean feel. Other openings included the much-anticipated debut of Blossom Bar, the cocktail bar reinvention of Sichuan Garden in Brookline; Delta Haus, a bar inspired by not one but three different frat house movies; Oisa Ramen, a popular pop-up that landed its own permanent space; and more.

But the year started with a few closures, too, including some very longtime spots, such as Sultan’s Kitchen in downtown Boston, the Faneuil Hall location of Bertucci’s, Tapeo on Newbury Street, and Diva Indian Bistro in the heart of Somerville’s Davis Square.

Read on for a summary of January 2018, including the most-read news stories and maps, the openings, and the closings.

Jump to: Most-Read Stories | Top Maps & Guides | Openings | Closings | This Time Last Year

Most-Read Stories

Urban Axes [official photo]

A location of Urban Axes, expanding to Somerville this year.

Somerville Is Getting an Ax-Throwing Bar Because of Course It Is: Urban Axes could open this summer.

Tilted Kilt Shuts the Doors in Fenway: The Scottish-themed “breastaurant” has closed.

The Forthcoming Natick Wegmans Will Have a Full-Service Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar: Courtesy of chef Roberto Santibañez of Fonda in New York City.

Tiki Rock Opens Downtown With a Polynesian Super Burger and Mai Tais: There are cocktail bowls, too.

Cafe Landwer Arrives in Boston With Shakshuka, Coffee, and Sandwiches: This is the Israeli chain’s first United States location.

Blossom Bar Blooms in Brookline This Week: The old Sichuan Garden space has been transformed.

Beer & Mortar: Five Boston-Area Breweries to Watch in 2018: These are a few players making big strides this year.

Delta Haus Brings Bar Pizzas and Frat House Movie Nostalgia to Downtown Boston: There will be toga parties.

Papagayo Shuts Down Its Fort Point Location: Citing a surplus of spots serving Mexican cuisine and tequila.

Pikaichi Ramen, on the Comeback Trail, Lands New Home in Medford: In the former Emiliano’z Mexican Grill space.

Top Maps & Guides

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

The Saturn cocktail at Tiki Rock

The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston, Winter 2018: Boston’s greatest restaurants for any occasion. This quarter’s update included the addition of ArtScience Culture Lab & Café, Bisq, Brassica Kitchen & Café, Café du Pays, Cultivar, The Gallows, Neptune Oyster, Pagu, Pammy’s, and Spoke Wine Bar.

The Hottest Restaurants in Boston Right Now, January 2018: Already updated for February too, the monthly Heatmap features a dozen of the city’s hottest new dining destinations.

The Eater Boston Winter 2018 Dining Headquarters: What’s #OpenInBOS?: Bookmark this page for weather-related openings, closures, and specials all winter long.

Warm up at These 18 Ramen Destinations This Winter: So many noodles.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Boston Proper: Tacos, Thai ice cream rolls, Tiki drinks.

A Guide to the Pop-Ups of Greater Boston: Get them before they’re gone.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Cambridge and Somerville: Just across the river from Boston, there will be poke, burgers, and coffee.

The Eater Boston Food Events Guide: All the local food and drink events you’ll actually want to attend

Where to Eat Egg Boats Around Boston: Otherwise known as khachapuri, these doughy, cheesy treats are worth tracking down.

Chinatown Food Crawl: Dumplings, Eggplant, and Some Awfully Good Offal: Plus, drink a ton of Tsingtao.

Openings

Blossom Bar [official photo, via Instagram]

The Broken Spanish cocktail at Blossom Bar, which opened in Brookline this January

75 on Courthouse Square (220 Northern Ave.): 75 Chestnut and 75 on Liberty Wharf have a new similarly named sibling in the Seaport District, serving burgers, seafood and pasta entrees, and more — as well as a build-your-own bloody mary bar.

The Bagel Table (9 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill): Located in the longtime Rosie’s Bakery space at The Street, this new bakery features OMG! Bagels (a local brand) and serves some of Rosie’s greatest hits as well.

Blossom Bar (295 Washington St., Brookline): Like its Woburn sibling, the Brookline Sichuan Garden now has a snazzy cocktail bar inside. Those who loved dining at Sichuan Garden pre-revamp will still find a number of its dishes on the new, pared-down menu.

Buttonwood (51 Lincoln St., Newton Highlands): This sibling to Sycamore and Little Big Diner is a family-friendly restaurant located in the former 51 Lincoln space, serving grilled meat and seafood entrees, a “pizza shop” Greek salad, Portuguese fish stew, and more.

Cafe Landwer (900 Beacon St., Audubon Circle, Boston): This is the first United States location for the Israeli cafe chain, which will also open in Boston’s Cleveland Circle neighborhood.

Caffe Nero (75 Middlesex Tpke., Burlington): Yep, this London-based cafe chain keeps expanding around the Boston area.

Cava (1346 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston): This fast-casual Mediterranean chain comes by way of Washington, D.C., and it’s also expanding to Boston’s Back Bay and Cambridge’s Kendall Square, as well as Dedham and Hingham.

Counter (209 Essex St., Salem): Drawing some menu inspiration from department store counter lunches, Counter is located in the Hotel Salem — a building that was a department store in the 1950s and 1960s. This spring, it’ll get a sibling restaurant and bar called The Roof, located on the hotel’s roof, of course.

Delta Haus (200 High St., Downtown Boston): From the people who brought Boston a Caddyshack-themed bar (Bushwood Cocktail Club) comes another movie-inspired spot, but this one draws inspiration from multiple frat house flicks: Animal House, Old School, and Revenge of the Nerds.

Globe Bar & Cafe (384 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): This Back Bay spot moved down the street, taking over the former Rattlesnake space. Yes, the rooftop will be open seasonally.

Grassona’s Italian (1704 Beacon St., Washington Square, Brookline): Fairsted Kitchen owner Steve Bowman briefly closed his restaurant to renovate it and reopen it as Grassona’s Italian, serving red-sauce Italian classics.

Hopsters (51 Sleeper St., Seaport District, Boston): The Newton-based brewpub and brew-your-own-beer facility has expanded to Boston proper (and has further expansion plans in the works). Go for a meal, a drink, and/or a brewing session.

Jana Grill & Bakery (2 Watertown St., Watertown): This Armenian restaurant serves khachapuri and more.

Momo Cafe (649 Hancock St., Quincy): No momo (Nepalese dumplings here) — just desserts, teas, and more.

Oisa Ramen (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): This pop-up has found a cozy home in the Financial District, serving up three types of ramen to dine-in customers (there are a few standing spaces at a counter and a few seats by the window) and rice bowls to takeout customers. For those dining in, there’s a small selection of beer, sake, and canned sparkling wine cocktails available.

Olivia’s Bistro (136 Adams St., Nonantum, Newton): This Newton addition is serving wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas and more Italian food.

Rice Passions (163 Squire Rd., Revere): Under new ownership, Maekha Thai has been revamped, renamed, and reopened as Rice Passions, serving a variety of Thai dishes.

Shaking Crab (140 Boylston St., Downtown Boston): This growing local group serves spicy boiled seafood; there was also a recent opening in Cambridge’s Porter Square. This new Boston location is in the original Troquet space (Troquet recently moved to the Leather District.)

Tasty Burger (1 Nashua St., West End, Boston): The local burger chain’s sixth location is at North Station and features the group’s biggest bar (18 seats), at which beer and wine are served. There’s also a takeout window and free pool table.

Tatte Bakery & Cafe (399 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): Yet another expansion for the local cafe chain that now has eight outposts in Brookline, Boston, and Cambridge.

Tiki Rock (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): Adjacent to another January newbie, Oisa Ramen, Tiki Rock serves Tiki cocktails, sushi, and more in a lively atmosphere.

Toscanini’s (159 First St., East Cambridge): Central Square’s ever-popular ice cream joint has temporarily shut down its original location due to construction, but it has a new location in East Cambridge — and this new location will be Toscanini’s production home even once the original reopens. The new spot serves 32 ice cream flavors as well as baked goods and coffee.

Trina’s Starlite Lounge (37 Main St.): This Somerville favorite for hot dogs, cocktails, and a retro vibe has expanded to the North Shore, taking over the former No. 8 Kitchen space.

Xi’an Street Foods (182 Brighton Ave., Allston, Boston): Serving rougamo (flatbread sandwiches that resemble burgers), biang biang noodles, and other cuisine from the Chinese city of Xi’an, this new casual spot in Allston is one of only a few Xi’an restaurants in town. No relation to Xi’an Famous Foods, the New York-based chain expanding here eventually.

White Bull Tavern (1 Union St., Downtown Boston): Right by Faneuil Hall, this new tavern is serving skillet-cooked appetizers, wood-fired pizzas, and more.

Closings

Katie Chudy/Eater

Roast beef sandwich at Kelly’s Roast Beef (the Revere location, which remains open)

Bertucci’s (22 Merchants Row, Downtown Boston): The Faneuil Hall location of local pizza chain Bertucci’s opened way back in 1989.

Bistro Duet (190 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington): Located in the former Flora space (a bank before that), this French restaurant had been open for just over a year.

Diva Indian Bistro (246 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville): The Indian restaurant had been open for over 20 years.

Kelly’s Roast Beef (2 Underprice Way, Natick): This location of the local roast beef chain — which is inside of a Jordan’s Furniture — had been around for about 20 years. Other locations of Kelly’s remain in operation.

Oppa’s Kitchen & Bar (157 Pleasant St., Malden): This Korean and Japanese restaurant was reportedly seized.

Papagayo (283 Summer St., Fort Point, Boston): In an increasingly crowded neighborhood for Mexican restaurants and tequila bar, this location shut down, but Papagayo remains open in downtown Boston and Somerville’s Assembly Row.

Smokin’ Betty’s BBQ (94 Lafayette St., Salem): From the owners of Gulu-Gulu Cafe and Flying Saucer Pizza Company, Smokin’ Betty’s had been open for a little under a year. The barbecue will live on through catering orders — and perhaps an eventual reopening in a smaller space.

Sultan’s Kitchen (116 State St., Downtown Boston):The Turkish restaurant, a staple of the downtown dining scene, had been around since 1981.

Tapeo Restaurant and Tapas Bar (266 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston): Open for over 20 years, Tapeo cited the neighborhood’s “oppressive rents” as a factor in the restaurant’s closure.

Tilted Kilt (96 Brookline Ave., Fenway, Boston): Also known as “Scottish Hooters,” this “breastaurant” and sports bar chain didn’t last long in Fenway. In the region, a Billerica location remains open.

This Time Last Year

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Bao at Pagu, one of the big openings of January 2017

Rewinding back to January 2017, the hot neighborhood of the month was Central Square — particularly the section closest to MIT — with the openings of Pagu, A4cade, and Roxy’s Central. Another notable opening was Frenchie in Boston’s South End, and East Coast Grill made a comeback, only to close for good just under a year later and be remade into Highland Fried (which isn’t totally different from East Coast Grill).

January 2017 also brought the news of a potential boozy Taco Bell Cantina in Somerville’s Davis Square, but it’s not happening.

Boston was awash in poke in January 2017, with Manoa Poke Shop and Poke City kicking off the start of the city’s obsession with the Hawaiian raw fish dish, an obsession that is continuing into 2018.

And Somerville got a cafe devoted to oatmal.

[tonyduncanbb73]

January 2018 in Review, From Ax-Throwing Bars to Ramen

The month in openings, closings, top news, and more

2018 got off to a fast start in terms of local restaurant openings. A few Boston-based groups continued to expand in January, including Tatte Bakery & Cafe and Tasty Burger, while some non-local chains came to town as well, including Israel’s Cafe Landwer and D.C.-based Cava, both serving fast-casual food with a Mediterranean feel. Other openings included the much-anticipated debut of Blossom Bar, the cocktail bar reinvention of Sichuan Garden in Brookline; Delta Haus, a bar inspired by not one but three different frat house movies; Oisa Ramen, a popular pop-up that landed its own permanent space; and more.

But the year started with a few closures, too, including some very longtime spots, such as Sultan’s Kitchen in downtown Boston, the Faneuil Hall location of Bertucci’s, Tapeo on Newbury Street, and Diva Indian Bistro in the heart of Somerville’s Davis Square.

Read on for a summary of January 2018, including the most-read news stories and maps, the openings, and the closings.

Jump to: Most-Read Stories | Top Maps & Guides | Openings | Closings | This Time Last Year

Most-Read Stories

Urban Axes [official photo]

A location of Urban Axes, expanding to Somerville this year.

Somerville Is Getting an Ax-Throwing Bar Because of Course It Is: Urban Axes could open this summer.

Tilted Kilt Shuts the Doors in Fenway: The Scottish-themed “breastaurant” has closed.

The Forthcoming Natick Wegmans Will Have a Full-Service Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar: Courtesy of chef Roberto Santibañez of Fonda in New York City.

Tiki Rock Opens Downtown With a Polynesian Super Burger and Mai Tais: There are cocktail bowls, too.

Cafe Landwer Arrives in Boston With Shakshuka, Coffee, and Sandwiches: This is the Israeli chain’s first United States location.

Blossom Bar Blooms in Brookline This Week: The old Sichuan Garden space has been transformed.

Beer & Mortar: Five Boston-Area Breweries to Watch in 2018: These are a few players making big strides this year.

Delta Haus Brings Bar Pizzas and Frat House Movie Nostalgia to Downtown Boston: There will be toga parties.

Papagayo Shuts Down Its Fort Point Location: Citing a surplus of spots serving Mexican cuisine and tequila.

Pikaichi Ramen, on the Comeback Trail, Lands New Home in Medford: In the former Emiliano’z Mexican Grill space.

Top Maps & Guides

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

The Saturn cocktail at Tiki Rock

The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston, Winter 2018: Boston’s greatest restaurants for any occasion. This quarter’s update included the addition of ArtScience Culture Lab & Café, Bisq, Brassica Kitchen & Café, Café du Pays, Cultivar, The Gallows, Neptune Oyster, Pagu, Pammy’s, and Spoke Wine Bar.

The Hottest Restaurants in Boston Right Now, January 2018: Already updated for February too, the monthly Heatmap features a dozen of the city’s hottest new dining destinations.

The Eater Boston Winter 2018 Dining Headquarters: What’s #OpenInBOS?: Bookmark this page for weather-related openings, closures, and specials all winter long.

Warm up at These 18 Ramen Destinations This Winter: So many noodles.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Boston Proper: Tacos, Thai ice cream rolls, Tiki drinks.

A Guide to the Pop-Ups of Greater Boston: Get them before they’re gone.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Cambridge and Somerville: Just across the river from Boston, there will be poke, burgers, and coffee.

The Eater Boston Food Events Guide: All the local food and drink events you’ll actually want to attend

Where to Eat Egg Boats Around Boston: Otherwise known as khachapuri, these doughy, cheesy treats are worth tracking down.

Chinatown Food Crawl: Dumplings, Eggplant, and Some Awfully Good Offal: Plus, drink a ton of Tsingtao.

Openings

Blossom Bar [official photo, via Instagram]

The Broken Spanish cocktail at Blossom Bar, which opened in Brookline this January

75 on Courthouse Square (220 Northern Ave.): 75 Chestnut and 75 on Liberty Wharf have a new similarly named sibling in the Seaport District, serving burgers, seafood and pasta entrees, and more — as well as a build-your-own bloody mary bar.

The Bagel Table (9 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill): Located in the longtime Rosie’s Bakery space at The Street, this new bakery features OMG! Bagels (a local brand) and serves some of Rosie’s greatest hits as well.

Blossom Bar (295 Washington St., Brookline): Like its Woburn sibling, the Brookline Sichuan Garden now has a snazzy cocktail bar inside. Those who loved dining at Sichuan Garden pre-revamp will still find a number of its dishes on the new, pared-down menu.

Buttonwood (51 Lincoln St., Newton Highlands): This sibling to Sycamore and Little Big Diner is a family-friendly restaurant located in the former 51 Lincoln space, serving grilled meat and seafood entrees, a “pizza shop” Greek salad, Portuguese fish stew, and more.

Cafe Landwer (900 Beacon St., Audubon Circle, Boston): This is the first United States location for the Israeli cafe chain, which will also open in Boston’s Cleveland Circle neighborhood.

Caffe Nero (75 Middlesex Tpke., Burlington): Yep, this London-based cafe chain keeps expanding around the Boston area.

Cava (1346 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston): This fast-casual Mediterranean chain comes by way of Washington, D.C., and it’s also expanding to Boston’s Back Bay and Cambridge’s Kendall Square, as well as Dedham and Hingham.

Counter (209 Essex St., Salem): Drawing some menu inspiration from department store counter lunches, Counter is located in the Hotel Salem — a building that was a department store in the 1950s and 1960s. This spring, it’ll get a sibling restaurant and bar called The Roof, located on the hotel’s roof, of course.

Delta Haus (200 High St., Downtown Boston): From the people who brought Boston a Caddyshack-themed bar (Bushwood Cocktail Club) comes another movie-inspired spot, but this one draws inspiration from multiple frat house flicks: Animal House, Old School, and Revenge of the Nerds.

Globe Bar & Cafe (384 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): This Back Bay spot moved down the street, taking over the former Rattlesnake space. Yes, the rooftop will be open seasonally.

Grassona’s Italian (1704 Beacon St., Washington Square, Brookline): Fairsted Kitchen owner Steve Bowman briefly closed his restaurant to renovate it and reopen it as Grassona’s Italian, serving red-sauce Italian classics.

Hopsters (51 Sleeper St., Seaport District, Boston): The Newton-based brewpub and brew-your-own-beer facility has expanded to Boston proper (and has further expansion plans in the works). Go for a meal, a drink, and/or a brewing session.

Jana Grill & Bakery (2 Watertown St., Watertown): This Armenian restaurant serves khachapuri and more.

Momo Cafe (649 Hancock St., Quincy): No momo (Nepalese dumplings here) — just desserts, teas, and more.

Oisa Ramen (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): This pop-up has found a cozy home in the Financial District, serving up three types of ramen to dine-in customers (there are a few standing spaces at a counter and a few seats by the window) and rice bowls to takeout customers. For those dining in, there’s a small selection of beer, sake, and canned sparkling wine cocktails available.

Olivia’s Bistro (136 Adams St., Nonantum, Newton): This Newton addition is serving wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas and more Italian food.

Rice Passions (163 Squire Rd., Revere): Under new ownership, Maekha Thai has been revamped, renamed, and reopened as Rice Passions, serving a variety of Thai dishes.

Shaking Crab (140 Boylston St., Downtown Boston): This growing local group serves spicy boiled seafood; there was also a recent opening in Cambridge’s Porter Square. This new Boston location is in the original Troquet space (Troquet recently moved to the Leather District.)

Tasty Burger (1 Nashua St., West End, Boston): The local burger chain’s sixth location is at North Station and features the group’s biggest bar (18 seats), at which beer and wine are served. There’s also a takeout window and free pool table.

Tatte Bakery & Cafe (399 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): Yet another expansion for the local cafe chain that now has eight outposts in Brookline, Boston, and Cambridge.

Tiki Rock (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): Adjacent to another January newbie, Oisa Ramen, Tiki Rock serves Tiki cocktails, sushi, and more in a lively atmosphere.

Toscanini’s (159 First St., East Cambridge): Central Square’s ever-popular ice cream joint has temporarily shut down its original location due to construction, but it has a new location in East Cambridge — and this new location will be Toscanini’s production home even once the original reopens. The new spot serves 32 ice cream flavors as well as baked goods and coffee.

Trina’s Starlite Lounge (37 Main St.): This Somerville favorite for hot dogs, cocktails, and a retro vibe has expanded to the North Shore, taking over the former No. 8 Kitchen space.

Xi’an Street Foods (182 Brighton Ave., Allston, Boston): Serving rougamo (flatbread sandwiches that resemble burgers), biang biang noodles, and other cuisine from the Chinese city of Xi’an, this new casual spot in Allston is one of only a few Xi’an restaurants in town. No relation to Xi’an Famous Foods, the New York-based chain expanding here eventually.

White Bull Tavern (1 Union St., Downtown Boston): Right by Faneuil Hall, this new tavern is serving skillet-cooked appetizers, wood-fired pizzas, and more.

Closings

Katie Chudy/Eater

Roast beef sandwich at Kelly’s Roast Beef (the Revere location, which remains open)

Bertucci’s (22 Merchants Row, Downtown Boston): The Faneuil Hall location of local pizza chain Bertucci’s opened way back in 1989.

Bistro Duet (190 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington): Located in the former Flora space (a bank before that), this French restaurant had been open for just over a year.

Diva Indian Bistro (246 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville): The Indian restaurant had been open for over 20 years.

Kelly’s Roast Beef (2 Underprice Way, Natick): This location of the local roast beef chain — which is inside of a Jordan’s Furniture — had been around for about 20 years. Other locations of Kelly’s remain in operation.

Oppa’s Kitchen & Bar (157 Pleasant St., Malden): This Korean and Japanese restaurant was reportedly seized.

Papagayo (283 Summer St., Fort Point, Boston): In an increasingly crowded neighborhood for Mexican restaurants and tequila bar, this location shut down, but Papagayo remains open in downtown Boston and Somerville’s Assembly Row.

Smokin’ Betty’s BBQ (94 Lafayette St., Salem): From the owners of Gulu-Gulu Cafe and Flying Saucer Pizza Company, Smokin’ Betty’s had been open for a little under a year. The barbecue will live on through catering orders — and perhaps an eventual reopening in a smaller space.

Sultan’s Kitchen (116 State St., Downtown Boston):The Turkish restaurant, a staple of the downtown dining scene, had been around since 1981.

Tapeo Restaurant and Tapas Bar (266 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston): Open for over 20 years, Tapeo cited the neighborhood’s “oppressive rents” as a factor in the restaurant’s closure.

Tilted Kilt (96 Brookline Ave., Fenway, Boston): Also known as “Scottish Hooters,” this “breastaurant” and sports bar chain didn’t last long in Fenway. In the region, a Billerica location remains open.

This Time Last Year

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Bao at Pagu, one of the big openings of January 2017

Rewinding back to January 2017, the hot neighborhood of the month was Central Square — particularly the section closest to MIT — with the openings of Pagu, A4cade, and Roxy’s Central. Another notable opening was Frenchie in Boston’s South End, and East Coast Grill made a comeback, only to close for good just under a year later and be remade into Highland Fried (which isn’t totally different from East Coast Grill).

January 2017 also brought the news of a potential boozy Taco Bell Cantina in Somerville’s Davis Square, but it’s not happening.

Boston was awash in poke in January 2017, with Manoa Poke Shop and Poke City kicking off the start of the city’s obsession with the Hawaiian raw fish dish, an obsession that is continuing into 2018.

And Somerville got a cafe devoted to oatmal.

[tonyduncanbb73]

January 2018 in Review, From Ax-Throwing Bars to Ramen

The month in openings, closings, top news, and more

2018 got off to a fast start in terms of local restaurant openings. A few Boston-based groups continued to expand in January, including Tatte Bakery & Cafe and Tasty Burger, while some non-local chains came to town as well, including Israel’s Cafe Landwer and D.C.-based Cava, both serving fast-casual food with a Mediterranean feel. Other openings included the much-anticipated debut of Blossom Bar, the cocktail bar reinvention of Sichuan Garden in Brookline; Delta Haus, a bar inspired by not one but three different frat house movies; Oisa Ramen, a popular pop-up that landed its own permanent space; and more.

But the year started with a few closures, too, including some very longtime spots, such as Sultan’s Kitchen in downtown Boston, the Faneuil Hall location of Bertucci’s, Tapeo on Newbury Street, and Diva Indian Bistro in the heart of Somerville’s Davis Square.

Read on for a summary of January 2018, including the most-read news stories and maps, the openings, and the closings.

Jump to: Most-Read Stories | Top Maps & Guides | Openings | Closings | This Time Last Year

Most-Read Stories

Urban Axes [official photo]

A location of Urban Axes, expanding to Somerville this year.

Somerville Is Getting an Ax-Throwing Bar Because of Course It Is: Urban Axes could open this summer.

Tilted Kilt Shuts the Doors in Fenway: The Scottish-themed “breastaurant” has closed.

The Forthcoming Natick Wegmans Will Have a Full-Service Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar: Courtesy of chef Roberto Santibañez of Fonda in New York City.

Tiki Rock Opens Downtown With a Polynesian Super Burger and Mai Tais: There are cocktail bowls, too.

Cafe Landwer Arrives in Boston With Shakshuka, Coffee, and Sandwiches: This is the Israeli chain’s first United States location.

Blossom Bar Blooms in Brookline This Week: The old Sichuan Garden space has been transformed.

Beer & Mortar: Five Boston-Area Breweries to Watch in 2018: These are a few players making big strides this year.

Delta Haus Brings Bar Pizzas and Frat House Movie Nostalgia to Downtown Boston: There will be toga parties.

Papagayo Shuts Down Its Fort Point Location: Citing a surplus of spots serving Mexican cuisine and tequila.

Pikaichi Ramen, on the Comeback Trail, Lands New Home in Medford: In the former Emiliano’z Mexican Grill space.

Top Maps & Guides

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

The Saturn cocktail at Tiki Rock

The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston, Winter 2018: Boston’s greatest restaurants for any occasion. This quarter’s update included the addition of ArtScience Culture Lab & Café, Bisq, Brassica Kitchen & Café, Café du Pays, Cultivar, The Gallows, Neptune Oyster, Pagu, Pammy’s, and Spoke Wine Bar.

The Hottest Restaurants in Boston Right Now, January 2018: Already updated for February too, the monthly Heatmap features a dozen of the city’s hottest new dining destinations.

The Eater Boston Winter 2018 Dining Headquarters: What’s #OpenInBOS?: Bookmark this page for weather-related openings, closures, and specials all winter long.

Warm up at These 18 Ramen Destinations This Winter: So many noodles.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Boston Proper: Tacos, Thai ice cream rolls, Tiki drinks.

A Guide to the Pop-Ups of Greater Boston: Get them before they’re gone.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Cambridge and Somerville: Just across the river from Boston, there will be poke, burgers, and coffee.

The Eater Boston Food Events Guide: All the local food and drink events you’ll actually want to attend

Where to Eat Egg Boats Around Boston: Otherwise known as khachapuri, these doughy, cheesy treats are worth tracking down.

Chinatown Food Crawl: Dumplings, Eggplant, and Some Awfully Good Offal: Plus, drink a ton of Tsingtao.

Openings

Blossom Bar [official photo, via Instagram]

The Broken Spanish cocktail at Blossom Bar, which opened in Brookline this January

75 on Courthouse Square (220 Northern Ave.): 75 Chestnut and 75 on Liberty Wharf have a new similarly named sibling in the Seaport District, serving burgers, seafood and pasta entrees, and more — as well as a build-your-own bloody mary bar.

The Bagel Table (9 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill): Located in the longtime Rosie’s Bakery space at The Street, this new bakery features OMG! Bagels (a local brand) and serves some of Rosie’s greatest hits as well.

Blossom Bar (295 Washington St., Brookline): Like its Woburn sibling, the Brookline Sichuan Garden now has a snazzy cocktail bar inside. Those who loved dining at Sichuan Garden pre-revamp will still find a number of its dishes on the new, pared-down menu.

Buttonwood (51 Lincoln St., Newton Highlands): This sibling to Sycamore and Little Big Diner is a family-friendly restaurant located in the former 51 Lincoln space, serving grilled meat and seafood entrees, a “pizza shop” Greek salad, Portuguese fish stew, and more.

Cafe Landwer (900 Beacon St., Audubon Circle, Boston): This is the first United States location for the Israeli cafe chain, which will also open in Boston’s Cleveland Circle neighborhood.

Caffe Nero (75 Middlesex Tpke., Burlington): Yep, this London-based cafe chain keeps expanding around the Boston area.

Cava (1346 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston): This fast-casual Mediterranean chain comes by way of Washington, D.C., and it’s also expanding to Boston’s Back Bay and Cambridge’s Kendall Square, as well as Dedham and Hingham.

Counter (209 Essex St., Salem): Drawing some menu inspiration from department store counter lunches, Counter is located in the Hotel Salem — a building that was a department store in the 1950s and 1960s. This spring, it’ll get a sibling restaurant and bar called The Roof, located on the hotel’s roof, of course.

Delta Haus (200 High St., Downtown Boston): From the people who brought Boston a Caddyshack-themed bar (Bushwood Cocktail Club) comes another movie-inspired spot, but this one draws inspiration from multiple frat house flicks: Animal House, Old School, and Revenge of the Nerds.

Globe Bar & Cafe (384 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): This Back Bay spot moved down the street, taking over the former Rattlesnake space. Yes, the rooftop will be open seasonally.

Grassona’s Italian (1704 Beacon St., Washington Square, Brookline): Fairsted Kitchen owner Steve Bowman briefly closed his restaurant to renovate it and reopen it as Grassona’s Italian, serving red-sauce Italian classics.

Hopsters (51 Sleeper St., Seaport District, Boston): The Newton-based brewpub and brew-your-own-beer facility has expanded to Boston proper (and has further expansion plans in the works). Go for a meal, a drink, and/or a brewing session.

Jana Grill & Bakery (2 Watertown St., Watertown): This Armenian restaurant serves khachapuri and more.

Momo Cafe (649 Hancock St., Quincy): No momo (Nepalese dumplings here) — just desserts, teas, and more.

Oisa Ramen (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): This pop-up has found a cozy home in the Financial District, serving up three types of ramen to dine-in customers (there are a few standing spaces at a counter and a few seats by the window) and rice bowls to takeout customers. For those dining in, there’s a small selection of beer, sake, and canned sparkling wine cocktails available.

Olivia’s Bistro (136 Adams St., Nonantum, Newton): This Newton addition is serving wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas and more Italian food.

Rice Passions (163 Squire Rd., Revere): Under new ownership, Maekha Thai has been revamped, renamed, and reopened as Rice Passions, serving a variety of Thai dishes.

Shaking Crab (140 Boylston St., Downtown Boston): This growing local group serves spicy boiled seafood; there was also a recent opening in Cambridge’s Porter Square. This new Boston location is in the original Troquet space (Troquet recently moved to the Leather District.)

Tasty Burger (1 Nashua St., West End, Boston): The local burger chain’s sixth location is at North Station and features the group’s biggest bar (18 seats), at which beer and wine are served. There’s also a takeout window and free pool table.

Tatte Bakery & Cafe (399 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): Yet another expansion for the local cafe chain that now has eight outposts in Brookline, Boston, and Cambridge.

Tiki Rock (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): Adjacent to another January newbie, Oisa Ramen, Tiki Rock serves Tiki cocktails, sushi, and more in a lively atmosphere.

Toscanini’s (159 First St., East Cambridge): Central Square’s ever-popular ice cream joint has temporarily shut down its original location due to construction, but it has a new location in East Cambridge — and this new location will be Toscanini’s production home even once the original reopens. The new spot serves 32 ice cream flavors as well as baked goods and coffee.

Trina’s Starlite Lounge (37 Main St.): This Somerville favorite for hot dogs, cocktails, and a retro vibe has expanded to the North Shore, taking over the former No. 8 Kitchen space.

Xi’an Street Foods (182 Brighton Ave., Allston, Boston): Serving rougamo (flatbread sandwiches that resemble burgers), biang biang noodles, and other cuisine from the Chinese city of Xi’an, this new casual spot in Allston is one of only a few Xi’an restaurants in town. No relation to Xi’an Famous Foods, the New York-based chain expanding here eventually.

White Bull Tavern (1 Union St., Downtown Boston): Right by Faneuil Hall, this new tavern is serving skillet-cooked appetizers, wood-fired pizzas, and more.

Closings

Katie Chudy/Eater

Roast beef sandwich at Kelly’s Roast Beef (the Revere location, which remains open)

Bertucci’s (22 Merchants Row, Downtown Boston): The Faneuil Hall location of local pizza chain Bertucci’s opened way back in 1989.

Bistro Duet (190 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington): Located in the former Flora space (a bank before that), this French restaurant had been open for just over a year.

Diva Indian Bistro (246 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville): The Indian restaurant had been open for over 20 years.

Kelly’s Roast Beef (2 Underprice Way, Natick): This location of the local roast beef chain — which is inside of a Jordan’s Furniture — had been around for about 20 years. Other locations of Kelly’s remain in operation.

Oppa’s Kitchen & Bar (157 Pleasant St., Malden): This Korean and Japanese restaurant was reportedly seized.

Papagayo (283 Summer St., Fort Point, Boston): In an increasingly crowded neighborhood for Mexican restaurants and tequila bar, this location shut down, but Papagayo remains open in downtown Boston and Somerville’s Assembly Row.

Smokin’ Betty’s BBQ (94 Lafayette St., Salem): From the owners of Gulu-Gulu Cafe and Flying Saucer Pizza Company, Smokin’ Betty’s had been open for a little under a year. The barbecue will live on through catering orders — and perhaps an eventual reopening in a smaller space.

Sultan’s Kitchen (116 State St., Downtown Boston):The Turkish restaurant, a staple of the downtown dining scene, had been around since 1981.

Tapeo Restaurant and Tapas Bar (266 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston): Open for over 20 years, Tapeo cited the neighborhood’s “oppressive rents” as a factor in the restaurant’s closure.

Tilted Kilt (96 Brookline Ave., Fenway, Boston): Also known as “Scottish Hooters,” this “breastaurant” and sports bar chain didn’t last long in Fenway. In the region, a Billerica location remains open.

This Time Last Year

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Bao at Pagu, one of the big openings of January 2017

Rewinding back to January 2017, the hot neighborhood of the month was Central Square — particularly the section closest to MIT — with the openings of Pagu, A4cade, and Roxy’s Central. Another notable opening was Frenchie in Boston’s South End, and East Coast Grill made a comeback, only to close for good just under a year later and be remade into Highland Fried (which isn’t totally different from East Coast Grill).

January 2017 also brought the news of a potential boozy Taco Bell Cantina in Somerville’s Davis Square, but it’s not happening.

Boston was awash in poke in January 2017, with Manoa Poke Shop and Poke City kicking off the start of the city’s obsession with the Hawaiian raw fish dish, an obsession that is continuing into 2018.

And Somerville got a cafe devoted to oatmal.

[tonyduncanbb73]

January 2018 in Review, From Ax-Throwing Bars to Ramen

The month in openings, closings, top news, and more

2018 got off to a fast start in terms of local restaurant openings. A few Boston-based groups continued to expand in January, including Tatte Bakery & Cafe and Tasty Burger, while some non-local chains came to town as well, including Israel’s Cafe Landwer and D.C.-based Cava, both serving fast-casual food with a Mediterranean feel. Other openings included the much-anticipated debut of Blossom Bar, the cocktail bar reinvention of Sichuan Garden in Brookline; Delta Haus, a bar inspired by not one but three different frat house movies; Oisa Ramen, a popular pop-up that landed its own permanent space; and more.

But the year started with a few closures, too, including some very longtime spots, such as Sultan’s Kitchen in downtown Boston, the Faneuil Hall location of Bertucci’s, Tapeo on Newbury Street, and Diva Indian Bistro in the heart of Somerville’s Davis Square.

Read on for a summary of January 2018, including the most-read news stories and maps, the openings, and the closings.

Jump to: Most-Read Stories | Top Maps & Guides | Openings | Closings | This Time Last Year

Most-Read Stories

Urban Axes [official photo]

A location of Urban Axes, expanding to Somerville this year.

Somerville Is Getting an Ax-Throwing Bar Because of Course It Is: Urban Axes could open this summer.

Tilted Kilt Shuts the Doors in Fenway: The Scottish-themed “breastaurant” has closed.

The Forthcoming Natick Wegmans Will Have a Full-Service Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar: Courtesy of chef Roberto Santibañez of Fonda in New York City.

Tiki Rock Opens Downtown With a Polynesian Super Burger and Mai Tais: There are cocktail bowls, too.

Cafe Landwer Arrives in Boston With Shakshuka, Coffee, and Sandwiches: This is the Israeli chain’s first United States location.

Blossom Bar Blooms in Brookline This Week: The old Sichuan Garden space has been transformed.

Beer & Mortar: Five Boston-Area Breweries to Watch in 2018: These are a few players making big strides this year.

Delta Haus Brings Bar Pizzas and Frat House Movie Nostalgia to Downtown Boston: There will be toga parties.

Papagayo Shuts Down Its Fort Point Location: Citing a surplus of spots serving Mexican cuisine and tequila.

Pikaichi Ramen, on the Comeback Trail, Lands New Home in Medford: In the former Emiliano’z Mexican Grill space.

Top Maps & Guides

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

The Saturn cocktail at Tiki Rock

The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston, Winter 2018: Boston’s greatest restaurants for any occasion. This quarter’s update included the addition of ArtScience Culture Lab & Café, Bisq, Brassica Kitchen & Café, Café du Pays, Cultivar, The Gallows, Neptune Oyster, Pagu, Pammy’s, and Spoke Wine Bar.

The Hottest Restaurants in Boston Right Now, January 2018: Already updated for February too, the monthly Heatmap features a dozen of the city’s hottest new dining destinations.

The Eater Boston Winter 2018 Dining Headquarters: What’s #OpenInBOS?: Bookmark this page for weather-related openings, closures, and specials all winter long.

Warm up at These 18 Ramen Destinations This Winter: So many noodles.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Boston Proper: Tacos, Thai ice cream rolls, Tiki drinks.

A Guide to the Pop-Ups of Greater Boston: Get them before they’re gone.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Cambridge and Somerville: Just across the river from Boston, there will be poke, burgers, and coffee.

The Eater Boston Food Events Guide: All the local food and drink events you’ll actually want to attend

Where to Eat Egg Boats Around Boston: Otherwise known as khachapuri, these doughy, cheesy treats are worth tracking down.

Chinatown Food Crawl: Dumplings, Eggplant, and Some Awfully Good Offal: Plus, drink a ton of Tsingtao.

Openings

Blossom Bar [official photo, via Instagram]

The Broken Spanish cocktail at Blossom Bar, which opened in Brookline this January

75 on Courthouse Square (220 Northern Ave.): 75 Chestnut and 75 on Liberty Wharf have a new similarly named sibling in the Seaport District, serving burgers, seafood and pasta entrees, and more — as well as a build-your-own bloody mary bar.

The Bagel Table (9 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill): Located in the longtime Rosie’s Bakery space at The Street, this new bakery features OMG! Bagels (a local brand) and serves some of Rosie’s greatest hits as well.

Blossom Bar (295 Washington St., Brookline): Like its Woburn sibling, the Brookline Sichuan Garden now has a snazzy cocktail bar inside. Those who loved dining at Sichuan Garden pre-revamp will still find a number of its dishes on the new, pared-down menu.

Buttonwood (51 Lincoln St., Newton Highlands): This sibling to Sycamore and Little Big Diner is a family-friendly restaurant located in the former 51 Lincoln space, serving grilled meat and seafood entrees, a “pizza shop” Greek salad, Portuguese fish stew, and more.

Cafe Landwer (900 Beacon St., Audubon Circle, Boston): This is the first United States location for the Israeli cafe chain, which will also open in Boston’s Cleveland Circle neighborhood.

Caffe Nero (75 Middlesex Tpke., Burlington): Yep, this London-based cafe chain keeps expanding around the Boston area.

Cava (1346 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston): This fast-casual Mediterranean chain comes by way of Washington, D.C., and it’s also expanding to Boston’s Back Bay and Cambridge’s Kendall Square, as well as Dedham and Hingham.

Counter (209 Essex St., Salem): Drawing some menu inspiration from department store counter lunches, Counter is located in the Hotel Salem — a building that was a department store in the 1950s and 1960s. This spring, it’ll get a sibling restaurant and bar called The Roof, located on the hotel’s roof, of course.

Delta Haus (200 High St., Downtown Boston): From the people who brought Boston a Caddyshack-themed bar (Bushwood Cocktail Club) comes another movie-inspired spot, but this one draws inspiration from multiple frat house flicks: Animal House, Old School, and Revenge of the Nerds.

Globe Bar & Cafe (384 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): This Back Bay spot moved down the street, taking over the former Rattlesnake space. Yes, the rooftop will be open seasonally.

Grassona’s Italian (1704 Beacon St., Washington Square, Brookline): Fairsted Kitchen owner Steve Bowman briefly closed his restaurant to renovate it and reopen it as Grassona’s Italian, serving red-sauce Italian classics.

Hopsters (51 Sleeper St., Seaport District, Boston): The Newton-based brewpub and brew-your-own-beer facility has expanded to Boston proper (and has further expansion plans in the works). Go for a meal, a drink, and/or a brewing session.

Jana Grill & Bakery (2 Watertown St., Watertown): This Armenian restaurant serves khachapuri and more.

Momo Cafe (649 Hancock St., Quincy): No momo (Nepalese dumplings here) — just desserts, teas, and more.

Oisa Ramen (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): This pop-up has found a cozy home in the Financial District, serving up three types of ramen to dine-in customers (there are a few standing spaces at a counter and a few seats by the window) and rice bowls to takeout customers. For those dining in, there’s a small selection of beer, sake, and canned sparkling wine cocktails available.

Olivia’s Bistro (136 Adams St., Nonantum, Newton): This Newton addition is serving wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas and more Italian food.

Rice Passions (163 Squire Rd., Revere): Under new ownership, Maekha Thai has been revamped, renamed, and reopened as Rice Passions, serving a variety of Thai dishes.

Shaking Crab (140 Boylston St., Downtown Boston): This growing local group serves spicy boiled seafood; there was also a recent opening in Cambridge’s Porter Square. This new Boston location is in the original Troquet space (Troquet recently moved to the Leather District.)

Tasty Burger (1 Nashua St., West End, Boston): The local burger chain’s sixth location is at North Station and features the group’s biggest bar (18 seats), at which beer and wine are served. There’s also a takeout window and free pool table.

Tatte Bakery & Cafe (399 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): Yet another expansion for the local cafe chain that now has eight outposts in Brookline, Boston, and Cambridge.

Tiki Rock (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): Adjacent to another January newbie, Oisa Ramen, Tiki Rock serves Tiki cocktails, sushi, and more in a lively atmosphere.

Toscanini’s (159 First St., East Cambridge): Central Square’s ever-popular ice cream joint has temporarily shut down its original location due to construction, but it has a new location in East Cambridge — and this new location will be Toscanini’s production home even once the original reopens. The new spot serves 32 ice cream flavors as well as baked goods and coffee.

Trina’s Starlite Lounge (37 Main St.): This Somerville favorite for hot dogs, cocktails, and a retro vibe has expanded to the North Shore, taking over the former No. 8 Kitchen space.

Xi’an Street Foods (182 Brighton Ave., Allston, Boston): Serving rougamo (flatbread sandwiches that resemble burgers), biang biang noodles, and other cuisine from the Chinese city of Xi’an, this new casual spot in Allston is one of only a few Xi’an restaurants in town. No relation to Xi’an Famous Foods, the New York-based chain expanding here eventually.

White Bull Tavern (1 Union St., Downtown Boston): Right by Faneuil Hall, this new tavern is serving skillet-cooked appetizers, wood-fired pizzas, and more.

Closings

Katie Chudy/Eater

Roast beef sandwich at Kelly’s Roast Beef (the Revere location, which remains open)

Bertucci’s (22 Merchants Row, Downtown Boston): The Faneuil Hall location of local pizza chain Bertucci’s opened way back in 1989.

Bistro Duet (190 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington): Located in the former Flora space (a bank before that), this French restaurant had been open for just over a year.

Diva Indian Bistro (246 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville): The Indian restaurant had been open for over 20 years.

Kelly’s Roast Beef (2 Underprice Way, Natick): This location of the local roast beef chain — which is inside of a Jordan’s Furniture — had been around for about 20 years. Other locations of Kelly’s remain in operation.

Oppa’s Kitchen & Bar (157 Pleasant St., Malden): This Korean and Japanese restaurant was reportedly seized.

Papagayo (283 Summer St., Fort Point, Boston): In an increasingly crowded neighborhood for Mexican restaurants and tequila bar, this location shut down, but Papagayo remains open in downtown Boston and Somerville’s Assembly Row.

Smokin’ Betty’s BBQ (94 Lafayette St., Salem): From the owners of Gulu-Gulu Cafe and Flying Saucer Pizza Company, Smokin’ Betty’s had been open for a little under a year. The barbecue will live on through catering orders — and perhaps an eventual reopening in a smaller space.

Sultan’s Kitchen (116 State St., Downtown Boston):The Turkish restaurant, a staple of the downtown dining scene, had been around since 1981.

Tapeo Restaurant and Tapas Bar (266 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston): Open for over 20 years, Tapeo cited the neighborhood’s “oppressive rents” as a factor in the restaurant’s closure.

Tilted Kilt (96 Brookline Ave., Fenway, Boston): Also known as “Scottish Hooters,” this “breastaurant” and sports bar chain didn’t last long in Fenway. In the region, a Billerica location remains open.

This Time Last Year

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Bao at Pagu, one of the big openings of January 2017

Rewinding back to January 2017, the hot neighborhood of the month was Central Square — particularly the section closest to MIT — with the openings of Pagu, A4cade, and Roxy’s Central. Another notable opening was Frenchie in Boston’s South End, and East Coast Grill made a comeback, only to close for good just under a year later and be remade into Highland Fried (which isn’t totally different from East Coast Grill).

January 2017 also brought the news of a potential boozy Taco Bell Cantina in Somerville’s Davis Square, but it’s not happening.

Boston was awash in poke in January 2017, with Manoa Poke Shop and Poke City kicking off the start of the city’s obsession with the Hawaiian raw fish dish, an obsession that is continuing into 2018.

And Somerville got a cafe devoted to oatmal.

[tonyduncanbb73]

January 2018 in Review, From Ax-Throwing Bars to Ramen

The month in openings, closings, top news, and more

2018 got off to a fast start in terms of local restaurant openings. A few Boston-based groups continued to expand in January, including Tatte Bakery & Cafe and Tasty Burger, while some non-local chains came to town as well, including Israel’s Cafe Landwer and D.C.-based Cava, both serving fast-casual food with a Mediterranean feel. Other openings included the much-anticipated debut of Blossom Bar, the cocktail bar reinvention of Sichuan Garden in Brookline; Delta Haus, a bar inspired by not one but three different frat house movies; Oisa Ramen, a popular pop-up that landed its own permanent space; and more.

But the year started with a few closures, too, including some very longtime spots, such as Sultan’s Kitchen in downtown Boston, the Faneuil Hall location of Bertucci’s, Tapeo on Newbury Street, and Diva Indian Bistro in the heart of Somerville’s Davis Square.

Read on for a summary of January 2018, including the most-read news stories and maps, the openings, and the closings.

Jump to: Most-Read Stories | Top Maps & Guides | Openings | Closings | This Time Last Year

Most-Read Stories

Urban Axes [official photo]

A location of Urban Axes, expanding to Somerville this year.

Somerville Is Getting an Ax-Throwing Bar Because of Course It Is: Urban Axes could open this summer.

Tilted Kilt Shuts the Doors in Fenway: The Scottish-themed “breastaurant” has closed.

The Forthcoming Natick Wegmans Will Have a Full-Service Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar: Courtesy of chef Roberto Santibañez of Fonda in New York City.

Tiki Rock Opens Downtown With a Polynesian Super Burger and Mai Tais: There are cocktail bowls, too.

Cafe Landwer Arrives in Boston With Shakshuka, Coffee, and Sandwiches: This is the Israeli chain’s first United States location.

Blossom Bar Blooms in Brookline This Week: The old Sichuan Garden space has been transformed.

Beer & Mortar: Five Boston-Area Breweries to Watch in 2018: These are a few players making big strides this year.

Delta Haus Brings Bar Pizzas and Frat House Movie Nostalgia to Downtown Boston: There will be toga parties.

Papagayo Shuts Down Its Fort Point Location: Citing a surplus of spots serving Mexican cuisine and tequila.

Pikaichi Ramen, on the Comeback Trail, Lands New Home in Medford: In the former Emiliano’z Mexican Grill space.

Top Maps & Guides

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

The Saturn cocktail at Tiki Rock

The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston, Winter 2018: Boston’s greatest restaurants for any occasion. This quarter’s update included the addition of ArtScience Culture Lab & Café, Bisq, Brassica Kitchen & Café, Café du Pays, Cultivar, The Gallows, Neptune Oyster, Pagu, Pammy’s, and Spoke Wine Bar.

The Hottest Restaurants in Boston Right Now, January 2018: Already updated for February too, the monthly Heatmap features a dozen of the city’s hottest new dining destinations.

The Eater Boston Winter 2018 Dining Headquarters: What’s #OpenInBOS?: Bookmark this page for weather-related openings, closures, and specials all winter long.

Warm up at These 18 Ramen Destinations This Winter: So many noodles.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Boston Proper: Tacos, Thai ice cream rolls, Tiki drinks.

A Guide to the Pop-Ups of Greater Boston: Get them before they’re gone.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Cambridge and Somerville: Just across the river from Boston, there will be poke, burgers, and coffee.

The Eater Boston Food Events Guide: All the local food and drink events you’ll actually want to attend

Where to Eat Egg Boats Around Boston: Otherwise known as khachapuri, these doughy, cheesy treats are worth tracking down.

Chinatown Food Crawl: Dumplings, Eggplant, and Some Awfully Good Offal: Plus, drink a ton of Tsingtao.

Openings

Blossom Bar [official photo, via Instagram]

The Broken Spanish cocktail at Blossom Bar, which opened in Brookline this January

75 on Courthouse Square (220 Northern Ave.): 75 Chestnut and 75 on Liberty Wharf have a new similarly named sibling in the Seaport District, serving burgers, seafood and pasta entrees, and more — as well as a build-your-own bloody mary bar.

The Bagel Table (9 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill): Located in the longtime Rosie’s Bakery space at The Street, this new bakery features OMG! Bagels (a local brand) and serves some of Rosie’s greatest hits as well.

Blossom Bar (295 Washington St., Brookline): Like its Woburn sibling, the Brookline Sichuan Garden now has a snazzy cocktail bar inside. Those who loved dining at Sichuan Garden pre-revamp will still find a number of its dishes on the new, pared-down menu.

Buttonwood (51 Lincoln St., Newton Highlands): This sibling to Sycamore and Little Big Diner is a family-friendly restaurant located in the former 51 Lincoln space, serving grilled meat and seafood entrees, a “pizza shop” Greek salad, Portuguese fish stew, and more.

Cafe Landwer (900 Beacon St., Audubon Circle, Boston): This is the first United States location for the Israeli cafe chain, which will also open in Boston’s Cleveland Circle neighborhood.

Caffe Nero (75 Middlesex Tpke., Burlington): Yep, this London-based cafe chain keeps expanding around the Boston area.

Cava (1346 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston): This fast-casual Mediterranean chain comes by way of Washington, D.C., and it’s also expanding to Boston’s Back Bay and Cambridge’s Kendall Square, as well as Dedham and Hingham.

Counter (209 Essex St., Salem): Drawing some menu inspiration from department store counter lunches, Counter is located in the Hotel Salem — a building that was a department store in the 1950s and 1960s. This spring, it’ll get a sibling restaurant and bar called The Roof, located on the hotel’s roof, of course.

Delta Haus (200 High St., Downtown Boston): From the people who brought Boston a Caddyshack-themed bar (Bushwood Cocktail Club) comes another movie-inspired spot, but this one draws inspiration from multiple frat house flicks: Animal House, Old School, and Revenge of the Nerds.

Globe Bar & Cafe (384 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): This Back Bay spot moved down the street, taking over the former Rattlesnake space. Yes, the rooftop will be open seasonally.

Grassona’s Italian (1704 Beacon St., Washington Square, Brookline): Fairsted Kitchen owner Steve Bowman briefly closed his restaurant to renovate it and reopen it as Grassona’s Italian, serving red-sauce Italian classics.

Hopsters (51 Sleeper St., Seaport District, Boston): The Newton-based brewpub and brew-your-own-beer facility has expanded to Boston proper (and has further expansion plans in the works). Go for a meal, a drink, and/or a brewing session.

Jana Grill & Bakery (2 Watertown St., Watertown): This Armenian restaurant serves khachapuri and more.

Momo Cafe (649 Hancock St., Quincy): No momo (Nepalese dumplings here) — just desserts, teas, and more.

Oisa Ramen (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): This pop-up has found a cozy home in the Financial District, serving up three types of ramen to dine-in customers (there are a few standing spaces at a counter and a few seats by the window) and rice bowls to takeout customers. For those dining in, there’s a small selection of beer, sake, and canned sparkling wine cocktails available.

Olivia’s Bistro (136 Adams St., Nonantum, Newton): This Newton addition is serving wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas and more Italian food.

Rice Passions (163 Squire Rd., Revere): Under new ownership, Maekha Thai has been revamped, renamed, and reopened as Rice Passions, serving a variety of Thai dishes.

Shaking Crab (140 Boylston St., Downtown Boston): This growing local group serves spicy boiled seafood; there was also a recent opening in Cambridge’s Porter Square. This new Boston location is in the original Troquet space (Troquet recently moved to the Leather District.)

Tasty Burger (1 Nashua St., West End, Boston): The local burger chain’s sixth location is at North Station and features the group’s biggest bar (18 seats), at which beer and wine are served. There’s also a takeout window and free pool table.

Tatte Bakery & Cafe (399 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): Yet another expansion for the local cafe chain that now has eight outposts in Brookline, Boston, and Cambridge.

Tiki Rock (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): Adjacent to another January newbie, Oisa Ramen, Tiki Rock serves Tiki cocktails, sushi, and more in a lively atmosphere.

Toscanini’s (159 First St., East Cambridge): Central Square’s ever-popular ice cream joint has temporarily shut down its original location due to construction, but it has a new location in East Cambridge — and this new location will be Toscanini’s production home even once the original reopens. The new spot serves 32 ice cream flavors as well as baked goods and coffee.

Trina’s Starlite Lounge (37 Main St.): This Somerville favorite for hot dogs, cocktails, and a retro vibe has expanded to the North Shore, taking over the former No. 8 Kitchen space.

Xi’an Street Foods (182 Brighton Ave., Allston, Boston): Serving rougamo (flatbread sandwiches that resemble burgers), biang biang noodles, and other cuisine from the Chinese city of Xi’an, this new casual spot in Allston is one of only a few Xi’an restaurants in town. No relation to Xi’an Famous Foods, the New York-based chain expanding here eventually.

White Bull Tavern (1 Union St., Downtown Boston): Right by Faneuil Hall, this new tavern is serving skillet-cooked appetizers, wood-fired pizzas, and more.

Closings

Katie Chudy/Eater

Roast beef sandwich at Kelly’s Roast Beef (the Revere location, which remains open)

Bertucci’s (22 Merchants Row, Downtown Boston): The Faneuil Hall location of local pizza chain Bertucci’s opened way back in 1989.

Bistro Duet (190 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington): Located in the former Flora space (a bank before that), this French restaurant had been open for just over a year.

Diva Indian Bistro (246 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville): The Indian restaurant had been open for over 20 years.

Kelly’s Roast Beef (2 Underprice Way, Natick): This location of the local roast beef chain — which is inside of a Jordan’s Furniture — had been around for about 20 years. Other locations of Kelly’s remain in operation.

Oppa’s Kitchen & Bar (157 Pleasant St., Malden): This Korean and Japanese restaurant was reportedly seized.

Papagayo (283 Summer St., Fort Point, Boston): In an increasingly crowded neighborhood for Mexican restaurants and tequila bar, this location shut down, but Papagayo remains open in downtown Boston and Somerville’s Assembly Row.

Smokin’ Betty’s BBQ (94 Lafayette St., Salem): From the owners of Gulu-Gulu Cafe and Flying Saucer Pizza Company, Smokin’ Betty’s had been open for a little under a year. The barbecue will live on through catering orders — and perhaps an eventual reopening in a smaller space.

Sultan’s Kitchen (116 State St., Downtown Boston):The Turkish restaurant, a staple of the downtown dining scene, had been around since 1981.

Tapeo Restaurant and Tapas Bar (266 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston): Open for over 20 years, Tapeo cited the neighborhood’s “oppressive rents” as a factor in the restaurant’s closure.

Tilted Kilt (96 Brookline Ave., Fenway, Boston): Also known as “Scottish Hooters,” this “breastaurant” and sports bar chain didn’t last long in Fenway. In the region, a Billerica location remains open.

This Time Last Year

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Bao at Pagu, one of the big openings of January 2017

Rewinding back to January 2017, the hot neighborhood of the month was Central Square — particularly the section closest to MIT — with the openings of Pagu, A4cade, and Roxy’s Central. Another notable opening was Frenchie in Boston’s South End, and East Coast Grill made a comeback, only to close for good just under a year later and be remade into Highland Fried (which isn’t totally different from East Coast Grill).

January 2017 also brought the news of a potential boozy Taco Bell Cantina in Somerville’s Davis Square, but it’s not happening.

Boston was awash in poke in January 2017, with Manoa Poke Shop and Poke City kicking off the start of the city’s obsession with the Hawaiian raw fish dish, an obsession that is continuing into 2018.

And Somerville got a cafe devoted to oatmal.

[tonyduncanbb73]

January 2018 in Review, From Ax-Throwing Bars to Ramen

The month in openings, closings, top news, and more

2018 got off to a fast start in terms of local restaurant openings. A few Boston-based groups continued to expand in January, including Tatte Bakery & Cafe and Tasty Burger, while some non-local chains came to town as well, including Israel’s Cafe Landwer and D.C.-based Cava, both serving fast-casual food with a Mediterranean feel. Other openings included the much-anticipated debut of Blossom Bar, the cocktail bar reinvention of Sichuan Garden in Brookline; Delta Haus, a bar inspired by not one but three different frat house movies; Oisa Ramen, a popular pop-up that landed its own permanent space; and more.

But the year started with a few closures, too, including some very longtime spots, such as Sultan’s Kitchen in downtown Boston, the Faneuil Hall location of Bertucci’s, Tapeo on Newbury Street, and Diva Indian Bistro in the heart of Somerville’s Davis Square.

Read on for a summary of January 2018, including the most-read news stories and maps, the openings, and the closings.

Jump to: Most-Read Stories | Top Maps & Guides | Openings | Closings | This Time Last Year

Most-Read Stories

Urban Axes [official photo]

A location of Urban Axes, expanding to Somerville this year.

Somerville Is Getting an Ax-Throwing Bar Because of Course It Is: Urban Axes could open this summer.

Tilted Kilt Shuts the Doors in Fenway: The Scottish-themed “breastaurant” has closed.

The Forthcoming Natick Wegmans Will Have a Full-Service Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar: Courtesy of chef Roberto Santibañez of Fonda in New York City.

Tiki Rock Opens Downtown With a Polynesian Super Burger and Mai Tais: There are cocktail bowls, too.

Cafe Landwer Arrives in Boston With Shakshuka, Coffee, and Sandwiches: This is the Israeli chain’s first United States location.

Blossom Bar Blooms in Brookline This Week: The old Sichuan Garden space has been transformed.

Beer & Mortar: Five Boston-Area Breweries to Watch in 2018: These are a few players making big strides this year.

Delta Haus Brings Bar Pizzas and Frat House Movie Nostalgia to Downtown Boston: There will be toga parties.

Papagayo Shuts Down Its Fort Point Location: Citing a surplus of spots serving Mexican cuisine and tequila.

Pikaichi Ramen, on the Comeback Trail, Lands New Home in Medford: In the former Emiliano’z Mexican Grill space.

Top Maps & Guides

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

The Saturn cocktail at Tiki Rock

The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston, Winter 2018: Boston’s greatest restaurants for any occasion. This quarter’s update included the addition of ArtScience Culture Lab & Café, Bisq, Brassica Kitchen & Café, Café du Pays, Cultivar, The Gallows, Neptune Oyster, Pagu, Pammy’s, and Spoke Wine Bar.

The Hottest Restaurants in Boston Right Now, January 2018: Already updated for February too, the monthly Heatmap features a dozen of the city’s hottest new dining destinations.

The Eater Boston Winter 2018 Dining Headquarters: What’s #OpenInBOS?: Bookmark this page for weather-related openings, closures, and specials all winter long.

Warm up at These 18 Ramen Destinations This Winter: So many noodles.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Boston Proper: Tacos, Thai ice cream rolls, Tiki drinks.

A Guide to the Pop-Ups of Greater Boston: Get them before they’re gone.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Cambridge and Somerville: Just across the river from Boston, there will be poke, burgers, and coffee.

The Eater Boston Food Events Guide: All the local food and drink events you’ll actually want to attend

Where to Eat Egg Boats Around Boston: Otherwise known as khachapuri, these doughy, cheesy treats are worth tracking down.

Chinatown Food Crawl: Dumplings, Eggplant, and Some Awfully Good Offal: Plus, drink a ton of Tsingtao.

Openings

Blossom Bar [official photo, via Instagram]

The Broken Spanish cocktail at Blossom Bar, which opened in Brookline this January

75 on Courthouse Square (220 Northern Ave.): 75 Chestnut and 75 on Liberty Wharf have a new similarly named sibling in the Seaport District, serving burgers, seafood and pasta entrees, and more — as well as a build-your-own bloody mary bar.

The Bagel Table (9 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill): Located in the longtime Rosie’s Bakery space at The Street, this new bakery features OMG! Bagels (a local brand) and serves some of Rosie’s greatest hits as well.

Blossom Bar (295 Washington St., Brookline): Like its Woburn sibling, the Brookline Sichuan Garden now has a snazzy cocktail bar inside. Those who loved dining at Sichuan Garden pre-revamp will still find a number of its dishes on the new, pared-down menu.

Buttonwood (51 Lincoln St., Newton Highlands): This sibling to Sycamore and Little Big Diner is a family-friendly restaurant located in the former 51 Lincoln space, serving grilled meat and seafood entrees, a “pizza shop” Greek salad, Portuguese fish stew, and more.

Cafe Landwer (900 Beacon St., Audubon Circle, Boston): This is the first United States location for the Israeli cafe chain, which will also open in Boston’s Cleveland Circle neighborhood.

Caffe Nero (75 Middlesex Tpke., Burlington): Yep, this London-based cafe chain keeps expanding around the Boston area.

Cava (1346 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston): This fast-casual Mediterranean chain comes by way of Washington, D.C., and it’s also expanding to Boston’s Back Bay and Cambridge’s Kendall Square, as well as Dedham and Hingham.

Counter (209 Essex St., Salem): Drawing some menu inspiration from department store counter lunches, Counter is located in the Hotel Salem — a building that was a department store in the 1950s and 1960s. This spring, it’ll get a sibling restaurant and bar called The Roof, located on the hotel’s roof, of course.

Delta Haus (200 High St., Downtown Boston): From the people who brought Boston a Caddyshack-themed bar (Bushwood Cocktail Club) comes another movie-inspired spot, but this one draws inspiration from multiple frat house flicks: Animal House, Old School, and Revenge of the Nerds.

Globe Bar & Cafe (384 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): This Back Bay spot moved down the street, taking over the former Rattlesnake space. Yes, the rooftop will be open seasonally.

Grassona’s Italian (1704 Beacon St., Washington Square, Brookline): Fairsted Kitchen owner Steve Bowman briefly closed his restaurant to renovate it and reopen it as Grassona’s Italian, serving red-sauce Italian classics.

Hopsters (51 Sleeper St., Seaport District, Boston): The Newton-based brewpub and brew-your-own-beer facility has expanded to Boston proper (and has further expansion plans in the works). Go for a meal, a drink, and/or a brewing session.

Jana Grill & Bakery (2 Watertown St., Watertown): This Armenian restaurant serves khachapuri and more.

Momo Cafe (649 Hancock St., Quincy): No momo (Nepalese dumplings here) — just desserts, teas, and more.

Oisa Ramen (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): This pop-up has found a cozy home in the Financial District, serving up three types of ramen to dine-in customers (there are a few standing spaces at a counter and a few seats by the window) and rice bowls to takeout customers. For those dining in, there’s a small selection of beer, sake, and canned sparkling wine cocktails available.

Olivia’s Bistro (136 Adams St., Nonantum, Newton): This Newton addition is serving wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas and more Italian food.

Rice Passions (163 Squire Rd., Revere): Under new ownership, Maekha Thai has been revamped, renamed, and reopened as Rice Passions, serving a variety of Thai dishes.

Shaking Crab (140 Boylston St., Downtown Boston): This growing local group serves spicy boiled seafood; there was also a recent opening in Cambridge’s Porter Square. This new Boston location is in the original Troquet space (Troquet recently moved to the Leather District.)

Tasty Burger (1 Nashua St., West End, Boston): The local burger chain’s sixth location is at North Station and features the group’s biggest bar (18 seats), at which beer and wine are served. There’s also a takeout window and free pool table.

Tatte Bakery & Cafe (399 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): Yet another expansion for the local cafe chain that now has eight outposts in Brookline, Boston, and Cambridge.

Tiki Rock (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): Adjacent to another January newbie, Oisa Ramen, Tiki Rock serves Tiki cocktails, sushi, and more in a lively atmosphere.

Toscanini’s (159 First St., East Cambridge): Central Square’s ever-popular ice cream joint has temporarily shut down its original location due to construction, but it has a new location in East Cambridge — and this new location will be Toscanini’s production home even once the original reopens. The new spot serves 32 ice cream flavors as well as baked goods and coffee.

Trina’s Starlite Lounge (37 Main St.): This Somerville favorite for hot dogs, cocktails, and a retro vibe has expanded to the North Shore, taking over the former No. 8 Kitchen space.

Xi’an Street Foods (182 Brighton Ave., Allston, Boston): Serving rougamo (flatbread sandwiches that resemble burgers), biang biang noodles, and other cuisine from the Chinese city of Xi’an, this new casual spot in Allston is one of only a few Xi’an restaurants in town. No relation to Xi’an Famous Foods, the New York-based chain expanding here eventually.

White Bull Tavern (1 Union St., Downtown Boston): Right by Faneuil Hall, this new tavern is serving skillet-cooked appetizers, wood-fired pizzas, and more.

Closings

Katie Chudy/Eater

Roast beef sandwich at Kelly’s Roast Beef (the Revere location, which remains open)

Bertucci’s (22 Merchants Row, Downtown Boston): The Faneuil Hall location of local pizza chain Bertucci’s opened way back in 1989.

Bistro Duet (190 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington): Located in the former Flora space (a bank before that), this French restaurant had been open for just over a year.

Diva Indian Bistro (246 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville): The Indian restaurant had been open for over 20 years.

Kelly’s Roast Beef (2 Underprice Way, Natick): This location of the local roast beef chain — which is inside of a Jordan’s Furniture — had been around for about 20 years. Other locations of Kelly’s remain in operation.

Oppa’s Kitchen & Bar (157 Pleasant St., Malden): This Korean and Japanese restaurant was reportedly seized.

Papagayo (283 Summer St., Fort Point, Boston): In an increasingly crowded neighborhood for Mexican restaurants and tequila bar, this location shut down, but Papagayo remains open in downtown Boston and Somerville’s Assembly Row.

Smokin’ Betty’s BBQ (94 Lafayette St., Salem): From the owners of Gulu-Gulu Cafe and Flying Saucer Pizza Company, Smokin’ Betty’s had been open for a little under a year. The barbecue will live on through catering orders — and perhaps an eventual reopening in a smaller space.

Sultan’s Kitchen (116 State St., Downtown Boston):The Turkish restaurant, a staple of the downtown dining scene, had been around since 1981.

Tapeo Restaurant and Tapas Bar (266 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston): Open for over 20 years, Tapeo cited the neighborhood’s “oppressive rents” as a factor in the restaurant’s closure.

Tilted Kilt (96 Brookline Ave., Fenway, Boston): Also known as “Scottish Hooters,” this “breastaurant” and sports bar chain didn’t last long in Fenway. In the region, a Billerica location remains open.

This Time Last Year

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Bao at Pagu, one of the big openings of January 2017

Rewinding back to January 2017, the hot neighborhood of the month was Central Square — particularly the section closest to MIT — with the openings of Pagu, A4cade, and Roxy’s Central. Another notable opening was Frenchie in Boston’s South End, and East Coast Grill made a comeback, only to close for good just under a year later and be remade into Highland Fried (which isn’t totally different from East Coast Grill).

January 2017 also brought the news of a potential boozy Taco Bell Cantina in Somerville’s Davis Square, but it’s not happening.

Boston was awash in poke in January 2017, with Manoa Poke Shop and Poke City kicking off the start of the city’s obsession with the Hawaiian raw fish dish, an obsession that is continuing into 2018.

And Somerville got a cafe devoted to oatmal.

[tonyduncanbb73]

January 2018 in Review, From Ax-Throwing Bars to Ramen

The month in openings, closings, top news, and more

2018 got off to a fast start in terms of local restaurant openings. A few Boston-based groups continued to expand in January, including Tatte Bakery & Cafe and Tasty Burger, while some non-local chains came to town as well, including Israel’s Cafe Landwer and D.C.-based Cava, both serving fast-casual food with a Mediterranean feel. Other openings included the much-anticipated debut of Blossom Bar, the cocktail bar reinvention of Sichuan Garden in Brookline; Delta Haus, a bar inspired by not one but three different frat house movies; Oisa Ramen, a popular pop-up that landed its own permanent space; and more.

But the year started with a few closures, too, including some very longtime spots, such as Sultan’s Kitchen in downtown Boston, the Faneuil Hall location of Bertucci’s, Tapeo on Newbury Street, and Diva Indian Bistro in the heart of Somerville’s Davis Square.

Read on for a summary of January 2018, including the most-read news stories and maps, the openings, and the closings.

Jump to: Most-Read Stories | Top Maps & Guides | Openings | Closings | This Time Last Year

Most-Read Stories

Urban Axes [official photo]

A location of Urban Axes, expanding to Somerville this year.

Somerville Is Getting an Ax-Throwing Bar Because of Course It Is: Urban Axes could open this summer.

Tilted Kilt Shuts the Doors in Fenway: The Scottish-themed “breastaurant” has closed.

The Forthcoming Natick Wegmans Will Have a Full-Service Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar: Courtesy of chef Roberto Santibañez of Fonda in New York City.

Tiki Rock Opens Downtown With a Polynesian Super Burger and Mai Tais: There are cocktail bowls, too.

Cafe Landwer Arrives in Boston With Shakshuka, Coffee, and Sandwiches: This is the Israeli chain’s first United States location.

Blossom Bar Blooms in Brookline This Week: The old Sichuan Garden space has been transformed.

Beer & Mortar: Five Boston-Area Breweries to Watch in 2018: These are a few players making big strides this year.

Delta Haus Brings Bar Pizzas and Frat House Movie Nostalgia to Downtown Boston: There will be toga parties.

Papagayo Shuts Down Its Fort Point Location: Citing a surplus of spots serving Mexican cuisine and tequila.

Pikaichi Ramen, on the Comeback Trail, Lands New Home in Medford: In the former Emiliano’z Mexican Grill space.

Top Maps & Guides

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

The Saturn cocktail at Tiki Rock

The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston, Winter 2018: Boston’s greatest restaurants for any occasion. This quarter’s update included the addition of ArtScience Culture Lab & Café, Bisq, Brassica Kitchen & Café, Café du Pays, Cultivar, The Gallows, Neptune Oyster, Pagu, Pammy’s, and Spoke Wine Bar.

The Hottest Restaurants in Boston Right Now, January 2018: Already updated for February too, the monthly Heatmap features a dozen of the city’s hottest new dining destinations.

The Eater Boston Winter 2018 Dining Headquarters: What’s #OpenInBOS?: Bookmark this page for weather-related openings, closures, and specials all winter long.

Warm up at These 18 Ramen Destinations This Winter: So many noodles.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Boston Proper: Tacos, Thai ice cream rolls, Tiki drinks.

A Guide to the Pop-Ups of Greater Boston: Get them before they’re gone.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Cambridge and Somerville: Just across the river from Boston, there will be poke, burgers, and coffee.

The Eater Boston Food Events Guide: All the local food and drink events you’ll actually want to attend

Where to Eat Egg Boats Around Boston: Otherwise known as khachapuri, these doughy, cheesy treats are worth tracking down.

Chinatown Food Crawl: Dumplings, Eggplant, and Some Awfully Good Offal: Plus, drink a ton of Tsingtao.

Openings

Blossom Bar [official photo, via Instagram]

The Broken Spanish cocktail at Blossom Bar, which opened in Brookline this January

75 on Courthouse Square (220 Northern Ave.): 75 Chestnut and 75 on Liberty Wharf have a new similarly named sibling in the Seaport District, serving burgers, seafood and pasta entrees, and more — as well as a build-your-own bloody mary bar.

The Bagel Table (9 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill): Located in the longtime Rosie’s Bakery space at The Street, this new bakery features OMG! Bagels (a local brand) and serves some of Rosie’s greatest hits as well.

Blossom Bar (295 Washington St., Brookline): Like its Woburn sibling, the Brookline Sichuan Garden now has a snazzy cocktail bar inside. Those who loved dining at Sichuan Garden pre-revamp will still find a number of its dishes on the new, pared-down menu.

Buttonwood (51 Lincoln St., Newton Highlands): This sibling to Sycamore and Little Big Diner is a family-friendly restaurant located in the former 51 Lincoln space, serving grilled meat and seafood entrees, a “pizza shop” Greek salad, Portuguese fish stew, and more.

Cafe Landwer (900 Beacon St., Audubon Circle, Boston): This is the first United States location for the Israeli cafe chain, which will also open in Boston’s Cleveland Circle neighborhood.

Caffe Nero (75 Middlesex Tpke., Burlington): Yep, this London-based cafe chain keeps expanding around the Boston area.

Cava (1346 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston): This fast-casual Mediterranean chain comes by way of Washington, D.C., and it’s also expanding to Boston’s Back Bay and Cambridge’s Kendall Square, as well as Dedham and Hingham.

Counter (209 Essex St., Salem): Drawing some menu inspiration from department store counter lunches, Counter is located in the Hotel Salem — a building that was a department store in the 1950s and 1960s. This spring, it’ll get a sibling restaurant and bar called The Roof, located on the hotel’s roof, of course.

Delta Haus (200 High St., Downtown Boston): From the people who brought Boston a Caddyshack-themed bar (Bushwood Cocktail Club) comes another movie-inspired spot, but this one draws inspiration from multiple frat house flicks: Animal House, Old School, and Revenge of the Nerds.

Globe Bar & Cafe (384 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): This Back Bay spot moved down the street, taking over the former Rattlesnake space. Yes, the rooftop will be open seasonally.

Grassona’s Italian (1704 Beacon St., Washington Square, Brookline): Fairsted Kitchen owner Steve Bowman briefly closed his restaurant to renovate it and reopen it as Grassona’s Italian, serving red-sauce Italian classics.

Hopsters (51 Sleeper St., Seaport District, Boston): The Newton-based brewpub and brew-your-own-beer facility has expanded to Boston proper (and has further expansion plans in the works). Go for a meal, a drink, and/or a brewing session.

Jana Grill & Bakery (2 Watertown St., Watertown): This Armenian restaurant serves khachapuri and more.

Momo Cafe (649 Hancock St., Quincy): No momo (Nepalese dumplings here) — just desserts, teas, and more.

Oisa Ramen (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): This pop-up has found a cozy home in the Financial District, serving up three types of ramen to dine-in customers (there are a few standing spaces at a counter and a few seats by the window) and rice bowls to takeout customers. For those dining in, there’s a small selection of beer, sake, and canned sparkling wine cocktails available.

Olivia’s Bistro (136 Adams St., Nonantum, Newton): This Newton addition is serving wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas and more Italian food.

Rice Passions (163 Squire Rd., Revere): Under new ownership, Maekha Thai has been revamped, renamed, and reopened as Rice Passions, serving a variety of Thai dishes.

Shaking Crab (140 Boylston St., Downtown Boston): This growing local group serves spicy boiled seafood; there was also a recent opening in Cambridge’s Porter Square. This new Boston location is in the original Troquet space (Troquet recently moved to the Leather District.)

Tasty Burger (1 Nashua St., West End, Boston): The local burger chain’s sixth location is at North Station and features the group’s biggest bar (18 seats), at which beer and wine are served. There’s also a takeout window and free pool table.

Tatte Bakery & Cafe (399 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): Yet another expansion for the local cafe chain that now has eight outposts in Brookline, Boston, and Cambridge.

Tiki Rock (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): Adjacent to another January newbie, Oisa Ramen, Tiki Rock serves Tiki cocktails, sushi, and more in a lively atmosphere.

Toscanini’s (159 First St., East Cambridge): Central Square’s ever-popular ice cream joint has temporarily shut down its original location due to construction, but it has a new location in East Cambridge — and this new location will be Toscanini’s production home even once the original reopens. The new spot serves 32 ice cream flavors as well as baked goods and coffee.

Trina’s Starlite Lounge (37 Main St.): This Somerville favorite for hot dogs, cocktails, and a retro vibe has expanded to the North Shore, taking over the former No. 8 Kitchen space.

Xi’an Street Foods (182 Brighton Ave., Allston, Boston): Serving rougamo (flatbread sandwiches that resemble burgers), biang biang noodles, and other cuisine from the Chinese city of Xi’an, this new casual spot in Allston is one of only a few Xi’an restaurants in town. No relation to Xi’an Famous Foods, the New York-based chain expanding here eventually.

White Bull Tavern (1 Union St., Downtown Boston): Right by Faneuil Hall, this new tavern is serving skillet-cooked appetizers, wood-fired pizzas, and more.

Closings

Katie Chudy/Eater

Roast beef sandwich at Kelly’s Roast Beef (the Revere location, which remains open)

Bertucci’s (22 Merchants Row, Downtown Boston): The Faneuil Hall location of local pizza chain Bertucci’s opened way back in 1989.

Bistro Duet (190 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington): Located in the former Flora space (a bank before that), this French restaurant had been open for just over a year.

Diva Indian Bistro (246 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville): The Indian restaurant had been open for over 20 years.

Kelly’s Roast Beef (2 Underprice Way, Natick): This location of the local roast beef chain — which is inside of a Jordan’s Furniture — had been around for about 20 years. Other locations of Kelly’s remain in operation.

Oppa’s Kitchen & Bar (157 Pleasant St., Malden): This Korean and Japanese restaurant was reportedly seized.

Papagayo (283 Summer St., Fort Point, Boston): In an increasingly crowded neighborhood for Mexican restaurants and tequila bar, this location shut down, but Papagayo remains open in downtown Boston and Somerville’s Assembly Row.

Smokin’ Betty’s BBQ (94 Lafayette St., Salem): From the owners of Gulu-Gulu Cafe and Flying Saucer Pizza Company, Smokin’ Betty’s had been open for a little under a year. The barbecue will live on through catering orders — and perhaps an eventual reopening in a smaller space.

Sultan’s Kitchen (116 State St., Downtown Boston):The Turkish restaurant, a staple of the downtown dining scene, had been around since 1981.

Tapeo Restaurant and Tapas Bar (266 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston): Open for over 20 years, Tapeo cited the neighborhood’s “oppressive rents” as a factor in the restaurant’s closure.

Tilted Kilt (96 Brookline Ave., Fenway, Boston): Also known as “Scottish Hooters,” this “breastaurant” and sports bar chain didn’t last long in Fenway. In the region, a Billerica location remains open.

This Time Last Year

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Bao at Pagu, one of the big openings of January 2017

Rewinding back to January 2017, the hot neighborhood of the month was Central Square — particularly the section closest to MIT — with the openings of Pagu, A4cade, and Roxy’s Central. Another notable opening was Frenchie in Boston’s South End, and East Coast Grill made a comeback, only to close for good just under a year later and be remade into Highland Fried (which isn’t totally different from East Coast Grill).

January 2017 also brought the news of a potential boozy Taco Bell Cantina in Somerville’s Davis Square, but it’s not happening.

Boston was awash in poke in January 2017, with Manoa Poke Shop and Poke City kicking off the start of the city’s obsession with the Hawaiian raw fish dish, an obsession that is continuing into 2018.

And Somerville got a cafe devoted to oatmal.

[tonyduncanbb73]

January 2018 in Review, From Ax-Throwing Bars to Ramen

The month in openings, closings, top news, and more

2018 got off to a fast start in terms of local restaurant openings. A few Boston-based groups continued to expand in January, including Tatte Bakery & Cafe and Tasty Burger, while some non-local chains came to town as well, including Israel’s Cafe Landwer and D.C.-based Cava, both serving fast-casual food with a Mediterranean feel. Other openings included the much-anticipated debut of Blossom Bar, the cocktail bar reinvention of Sichuan Garden in Brookline; Delta Haus, a bar inspired by not one but three different frat house movies; Oisa Ramen, a popular pop-up that landed its own permanent space; and more.

But the year started with a few closures, too, including some very longtime spots, such as Sultan’s Kitchen in downtown Boston, the Faneuil Hall location of Bertucci’s, Tapeo on Newbury Street, and Diva Indian Bistro in the heart of Somerville’s Davis Square.

Read on for a summary of January 2018, including the most-read news stories and maps, the openings, and the closings.

Jump to: Most-Read Stories | Top Maps & Guides | Openings | Closings | This Time Last Year

Most-Read Stories

Urban Axes [official photo]

A location of Urban Axes, expanding to Somerville this year.

Somerville Is Getting an Ax-Throwing Bar Because of Course It Is: Urban Axes could open this summer.

Tilted Kilt Shuts the Doors in Fenway: The Scottish-themed “breastaurant” has closed.

The Forthcoming Natick Wegmans Will Have a Full-Service Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar: Courtesy of chef Roberto Santibañez of Fonda in New York City.

Tiki Rock Opens Downtown With a Polynesian Super Burger and Mai Tais: There are cocktail bowls, too.

Cafe Landwer Arrives in Boston With Shakshuka, Coffee, and Sandwiches: This is the Israeli chain’s first United States location.

Blossom Bar Blooms in Brookline This Week: The old Sichuan Garden space has been transformed.

Beer & Mortar: Five Boston-Area Breweries to Watch in 2018: These are a few players making big strides this year.

Delta Haus Brings Bar Pizzas and Frat House Movie Nostalgia to Downtown Boston: There will be toga parties.

Papagayo Shuts Down Its Fort Point Location: Citing a surplus of spots serving Mexican cuisine and tequila.

Pikaichi Ramen, on the Comeback Trail, Lands New Home in Medford: In the former Emiliano’z Mexican Grill space.

Top Maps & Guides

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

The Saturn cocktail at Tiki Rock

The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston, Winter 2018: Boston’s greatest restaurants for any occasion. This quarter’s update included the addition of ArtScience Culture Lab & Café, Bisq, Brassica Kitchen & Café, Café du Pays, Cultivar, The Gallows, Neptune Oyster, Pagu, Pammy’s, and Spoke Wine Bar.

The Hottest Restaurants in Boston Right Now, January 2018: Already updated for February too, the monthly Heatmap features a dozen of the city’s hottest new dining destinations.

The Eater Boston Winter 2018 Dining Headquarters: What’s #OpenInBOS?: Bookmark this page for weather-related openings, closures, and specials all winter long.

Warm up at These 18 Ramen Destinations This Winter: So many noodles.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Boston Proper: Tacos, Thai ice cream rolls, Tiki drinks.

A Guide to the Pop-Ups of Greater Boston: Get them before they’re gone.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Cambridge and Somerville: Just across the river from Boston, there will be poke, burgers, and coffee.

The Eater Boston Food Events Guide: All the local food and drink events you’ll actually want to attend

Where to Eat Egg Boats Around Boston: Otherwise known as khachapuri, these doughy, cheesy treats are worth tracking down.

Chinatown Food Crawl: Dumplings, Eggplant, and Some Awfully Good Offal: Plus, drink a ton of Tsingtao.

Openings

Blossom Bar [official photo, via Instagram]

The Broken Spanish cocktail at Blossom Bar, which opened in Brookline this January

75 on Courthouse Square (220 Northern Ave.): 75 Chestnut and 75 on Liberty Wharf have a new similarly named sibling in the Seaport District, serving burgers, seafood and pasta entrees, and more — as well as a build-your-own bloody mary bar.

The Bagel Table (9 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill): Located in the longtime Rosie’s Bakery space at The Street, this new bakery features OMG! Bagels (a local brand) and serves some of Rosie’s greatest hits as well.

Blossom Bar (295 Washington St., Brookline): Like its Woburn sibling, the Brookline Sichuan Garden now has a snazzy cocktail bar inside. Those who loved dining at Sichuan Garden pre-revamp will still find a number of its dishes on the new, pared-down menu.

Buttonwood (51 Lincoln St., Newton Highlands): This sibling to Sycamore and Little Big Diner is a family-friendly restaurant located in the former 51 Lincoln space, serving grilled meat and seafood entrees, a “pizza shop” Greek salad, Portuguese fish stew, and more.

Cafe Landwer (900 Beacon St., Audubon Circle, Boston): This is the first United States location for the Israeli cafe chain, which will also open in Boston’s Cleveland Circle neighborhood.

Caffe Nero (75 Middlesex Tpke., Burlington): Yep, this London-based cafe chain keeps expanding around the Boston area.

Cava (1346 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston): This fast-casual Mediterranean chain comes by way of Washington, D.C., and it’s also expanding to Boston’s Back Bay and Cambridge’s Kendall Square, as well as Dedham and Hingham.

Counter (209 Essex St., Salem): Drawing some menu inspiration from department store counter lunches, Counter is located in the Hotel Salem — a building that was a department store in the 1950s and 1960s. This spring, it’ll get a sibling restaurant and bar called The Roof, located on the hotel’s roof, of course.

Delta Haus (200 High St., Downtown Boston): From the people who brought Boston a Caddyshack-themed bar (Bushwood Cocktail Club) comes another movie-inspired spot, but this one draws inspiration from multiple frat house flicks: Animal House, Old School, and Revenge of the Nerds.

Globe Bar & Cafe (384 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): This Back Bay spot moved down the street, taking over the former Rattlesnake space. Yes, the rooftop will be open seasonally.

Grassona’s Italian (1704 Beacon St., Washington Square, Brookline): Fairsted Kitchen owner Steve Bowman briefly closed his restaurant to renovate it and reopen it as Grassona’s Italian, serving red-sauce Italian classics.

Hopsters (51 Sleeper St., Seaport District, Boston): The Newton-based brewpub and brew-your-own-beer facility has expanded to Boston proper (and has further expansion plans in the works). Go for a meal, a drink, and/or a brewing session.

Jana Grill & Bakery (2 Watertown St., Watertown): This Armenian restaurant serves khachapuri and more.

Momo Cafe (649 Hancock St., Quincy): No momo (Nepalese dumplings here) — just desserts, teas, and more.

Oisa Ramen (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): This pop-up has found a cozy home in the Financial District, serving up three types of ramen to dine-in customers (there are a few standing spaces at a counter and a few seats by the window) and rice bowls to takeout customers. For those dining in, there’s a small selection of beer, sake, and canned sparkling wine cocktails available.

Olivia’s Bistro (136 Adams St., Nonantum, Newton): This Newton addition is serving wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas and more Italian food.

Rice Passions (163 Squire Rd., Revere): Under new ownership, Maekha Thai has been revamped, renamed, and reopened as Rice Passions, serving a variety of Thai dishes.

Shaking Crab (140 Boylston St., Downtown Boston): This growing local group serves spicy boiled seafood; there was also a recent opening in Cambridge’s Porter Square. This new Boston location is in the original Troquet space (Troquet recently moved to the Leather District.)

Tasty Burger (1 Nashua St., West End, Boston): The local burger chain’s sixth location is at North Station and features the group’s biggest bar (18 seats), at which beer and wine are served. There’s also a takeout window and free pool table.

Tatte Bakery & Cafe (399 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): Yet another expansion for the local cafe chain that now has eight outposts in Brookline, Boston, and Cambridge.

Tiki Rock (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): Adjacent to another January newbie, Oisa Ramen, Tiki Rock serves Tiki cocktails, sushi, and more in a lively atmosphere.

Toscanini’s (159 First St., East Cambridge): Central Square’s ever-popular ice cream joint has temporarily shut down its original location due to construction, but it has a new location in East Cambridge — and this new location will be Toscanini’s production home even once the original reopens. The new spot serves 32 ice cream flavors as well as baked goods and coffee.

Trina’s Starlite Lounge (37 Main St.): This Somerville favorite for hot dogs, cocktails, and a retro vibe has expanded to the North Shore, taking over the former No. 8 Kitchen space.

Xi’an Street Foods (182 Brighton Ave., Allston, Boston): Serving rougamo (flatbread sandwiches that resemble burgers), biang biang noodles, and other cuisine from the Chinese city of Xi’an, this new casual spot in Allston is one of only a few Xi’an restaurants in town. No relation to Xi’an Famous Foods, the New York-based chain expanding here eventually.

White Bull Tavern (1 Union St., Downtown Boston): Right by Faneuil Hall, this new tavern is serving skillet-cooked appetizers, wood-fired pizzas, and more.

Closings

Katie Chudy/Eater

Roast beef sandwich at Kelly’s Roast Beef (the Revere location, which remains open)

Bertucci’s (22 Merchants Row, Downtown Boston): The Faneuil Hall location of local pizza chain Bertucci’s opened way back in 1989.

Bistro Duet (190 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington): Located in the former Flora space (a bank before that), this French restaurant had been open for just over a year.

Diva Indian Bistro (246 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville): The Indian restaurant had been open for over 20 years.

Kelly’s Roast Beef (2 Underprice Way, Natick): This location of the local roast beef chain — which is inside of a Jordan’s Furniture — had been around for about 20 years. Other locations of Kelly’s remain in operation.

Oppa’s Kitchen & Bar (157 Pleasant St., Malden): This Korean and Japanese restaurant was reportedly seized.

Papagayo (283 Summer St., Fort Point, Boston): In an increasingly crowded neighborhood for Mexican restaurants and tequila bar, this location shut down, but Papagayo remains open in downtown Boston and Somerville’s Assembly Row.

Smokin’ Betty’s BBQ (94 Lafayette St., Salem): From the owners of Gulu-Gulu Cafe and Flying Saucer Pizza Company, Smokin’ Betty’s had been open for a little under a year. The barbecue will live on through catering orders — and perhaps an eventual reopening in a smaller space.

Sultan’s Kitchen (116 State St., Downtown Boston):The Turkish restaurant, a staple of the downtown dining scene, had been around since 1981.

Tapeo Restaurant and Tapas Bar (266 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston): Open for over 20 years, Tapeo cited the neighborhood’s “oppressive rents” as a factor in the restaurant’s closure.

Tilted Kilt (96 Brookline Ave., Fenway, Boston): Also known as “Scottish Hooters,” this “breastaurant” and sports bar chain didn’t last long in Fenway. In the region, a Billerica location remains open.

This Time Last Year

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Bao at Pagu, one of the big openings of January 2017

Rewinding back to January 2017, the hot neighborhood of the month was Central Square — particularly the section closest to MIT — with the openings of Pagu, A4cade, and Roxy’s Central. Another notable opening was Frenchie in Boston’s South End, and East Coast Grill made a comeback, only to close for good just under a year later and be remade into Highland Fried (which isn’t totally different from East Coast Grill).

January 2017 also brought the news of a potential boozy Taco Bell Cantina in Somerville’s Davis Square, but it’s not happening.

Boston was awash in poke in January 2017, with Manoa Poke Shop and Poke City kicking off the start of the city’s obsession with the Hawaiian raw fish dish, an obsession that is continuing into 2018.

And Somerville got a cafe devoted to oatmal.

[tonyduncanbb73]

January 2018 in Review, From Ax-Throwing Bars to Ramen

The month in openings, closings, top news, and more

2018 got off to a fast start in terms of local restaurant openings. A few Boston-based groups continued to expand in January, including Tatte Bakery & Cafe and Tasty Burger, while some non-local chains came to town as well, including Israel’s Cafe Landwer and D.C.-based Cava, both serving fast-casual food with a Mediterranean feel. Other openings included the much-anticipated debut of Blossom Bar, the cocktail bar reinvention of Sichuan Garden in Brookline; Delta Haus, a bar inspired by not one but three different frat house movies; Oisa Ramen, a popular pop-up that landed its own permanent space; and more.

But the year started with a few closures, too, including some very longtime spots, such as Sultan’s Kitchen in downtown Boston, the Faneuil Hall location of Bertucci’s, Tapeo on Newbury Street, and Diva Indian Bistro in the heart of Somerville’s Davis Square.

Read on for a summary of January 2018, including the most-read news stories and maps, the openings, and the closings.

Jump to: Most-Read Stories | Top Maps & Guides | Openings | Closings | This Time Last Year

Most-Read Stories

Urban Axes [official photo]

A location of Urban Axes, expanding to Somerville this year.

Somerville Is Getting an Ax-Throwing Bar Because of Course It Is: Urban Axes could open this summer.

Tilted Kilt Shuts the Doors in Fenway: The Scottish-themed “breastaurant” has closed.

The Forthcoming Natick Wegmans Will Have a Full-Service Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar: Courtesy of chef Roberto Santibañez of Fonda in New York City.

Tiki Rock Opens Downtown With a Polynesian Super Burger and Mai Tais: There are cocktail bowls, too.

Cafe Landwer Arrives in Boston With Shakshuka, Coffee, and Sandwiches: This is the Israeli chain’s first United States location.

Blossom Bar Blooms in Brookline This Week: The old Sichuan Garden space has been transformed.

Beer & Mortar: Five Boston-Area Breweries to Watch in 2018: These are a few players making big strides this year.

Delta Haus Brings Bar Pizzas and Frat House Movie Nostalgia to Downtown Boston: There will be toga parties.

Papagayo Shuts Down Its Fort Point Location: Citing a surplus of spots serving Mexican cuisine and tequila.

Pikaichi Ramen, on the Comeback Trail, Lands New Home in Medford: In the former Emiliano’z Mexican Grill space.

Top Maps & Guides

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

The Saturn cocktail at Tiki Rock

The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston, Winter 2018: Boston’s greatest restaurants for any occasion. This quarter’s update included the addition of ArtScience Culture Lab & Café, Bisq, Brassica Kitchen & Café, Café du Pays, Cultivar, The Gallows, Neptune Oyster, Pagu, Pammy’s, and Spoke Wine Bar.

The Hottest Restaurants in Boston Right Now, January 2018: Already updated for February too, the monthly Heatmap features a dozen of the city’s hottest new dining destinations.

The Eater Boston Winter 2018 Dining Headquarters: What’s #OpenInBOS?: Bookmark this page for weather-related openings, closures, and specials all winter long.

Warm up at These 18 Ramen Destinations This Winter: So many noodles.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Boston Proper: Tacos, Thai ice cream rolls, Tiki drinks.

A Guide to the Pop-Ups of Greater Boston: Get them before they’re gone.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Cambridge and Somerville: Just across the river from Boston, there will be poke, burgers, and coffee.

The Eater Boston Food Events Guide: All the local food and drink events you’ll actually want to attend

Where to Eat Egg Boats Around Boston: Otherwise known as khachapuri, these doughy, cheesy treats are worth tracking down.

Chinatown Food Crawl: Dumplings, Eggplant, and Some Awfully Good Offal: Plus, drink a ton of Tsingtao.

Openings

Blossom Bar [official photo, via Instagram]

The Broken Spanish cocktail at Blossom Bar, which opened in Brookline this January

75 on Courthouse Square (220 Northern Ave.): 75 Chestnut and 75 on Liberty Wharf have a new similarly named sibling in the Seaport District, serving burgers, seafood and pasta entrees, and more — as well as a build-your-own bloody mary bar.

The Bagel Table (9 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill): Located in the longtime Rosie’s Bakery space at The Street, this new bakery features OMG! Bagels (a local brand) and serves some of Rosie’s greatest hits as well.

Blossom Bar (295 Washington St., Brookline): Like its Woburn sibling, the Brookline Sichuan Garden now has a snazzy cocktail bar inside. Those who loved dining at Sichuan Garden pre-revamp will still find a number of its dishes on the new, pared-down menu.

Buttonwood (51 Lincoln St., Newton Highlands): This sibling to Sycamore and Little Big Diner is a family-friendly restaurant located in the former 51 Lincoln space, serving grilled meat and seafood entrees, a “pizza shop” Greek salad, Portuguese fish stew, and more.

Cafe Landwer (900 Beacon St., Audubon Circle, Boston): This is the first United States location for the Israeli cafe chain, which will also open in Boston’s Cleveland Circle neighborhood.

Caffe Nero (75 Middlesex Tpke., Burlington): Yep, this London-based cafe chain keeps expanding around the Boston area.

Cava (1346 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston): This fast-casual Mediterranean chain comes by way of Washington, D.C., and it’s also expanding to Boston’s Back Bay and Cambridge’s Kendall Square, as well as Dedham and Hingham.

Counter (209 Essex St., Salem): Drawing some menu inspiration from department store counter lunches, Counter is located in the Hotel Salem — a building that was a department store in the 1950s and 1960s. This spring, it’ll get a sibling restaurant and bar called The Roof, located on the hotel’s roof, of course.

Delta Haus (200 High St., Downtown Boston): From the people who brought Boston a Caddyshack-themed bar (Bushwood Cocktail Club) comes another movie-inspired spot, but this one draws inspiration from multiple frat house flicks: Animal House, Old School, and Revenge of the Nerds.

Globe Bar & Cafe (384 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): This Back Bay spot moved down the street, taking over the former Rattlesnake space. Yes, the rooftop will be open seasonally.

Grassona’s Italian (1704 Beacon St., Washington Square, Brookline): Fairsted Kitchen owner Steve Bowman briefly closed his restaurant to renovate it and reopen it as Grassona’s Italian, serving red-sauce Italian classics.

Hopsters (51 Sleeper St., Seaport District, Boston): The Newton-based brewpub and brew-your-own-beer facility has expanded to Boston proper (and has further expansion plans in the works). Go for a meal, a drink, and/or a brewing session.

Jana Grill & Bakery (2 Watertown St., Watertown): This Armenian restaurant serves khachapuri and more.

Momo Cafe (649 Hancock St., Quincy): No momo (Nepalese dumplings here) — just desserts, teas, and more.

Oisa Ramen (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): This pop-up has found a cozy home in the Financial District, serving up three types of ramen to dine-in customers (there are a few standing spaces at a counter and a few seats by the window) and rice bowls to takeout customers. For those dining in, there’s a small selection of beer, sake, and canned sparkling wine cocktails available.

Olivia’s Bistro (136 Adams St., Nonantum, Newton): This Newton addition is serving wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas and more Italian food.

Rice Passions (163 Squire Rd., Revere): Under new ownership, Maekha Thai has been revamped, renamed, and reopened as Rice Passions, serving a variety of Thai dishes.

Shaking Crab (140 Boylston St., Downtown Boston): This growing local group serves spicy boiled seafood; there was also a recent opening in Cambridge’s Porter Square. This new Boston location is in the original Troquet space (Troquet recently moved to the Leather District.)

Tasty Burger (1 Nashua St., West End, Boston): The local burger chain’s sixth location is at North Station and features the group’s biggest bar (18 seats), at which beer and wine are served. There’s also a takeout window and free pool table.

Tatte Bakery & Cafe (399 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): Yet another expansion for the local cafe chain that now has eight outposts in Brookline, Boston, and Cambridge.

Tiki Rock (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): Adjacent to another January newbie, Oisa Ramen, Tiki Rock serves Tiki cocktails, sushi, and more in a lively atmosphere.

Toscanini’s (159 First St., East Cambridge): Central Square’s ever-popular ice cream joint has temporarily shut down its original location due to construction, but it has a new location in East Cambridge — and this new location will be Toscanini’s production home even once the original reopens. The new spot serves 32 ice cream flavors as well as baked goods and coffee.

Trina’s Starlite Lounge (37 Main St.): This Somerville favorite for hot dogs, cocktails, and a retro vibe has expanded to the North Shore, taking over the former No. 8 Kitchen space.

Xi’an Street Foods (182 Brighton Ave., Allston, Boston): Serving rougamo (flatbread sandwiches that resemble burgers), biang biang noodles, and other cuisine from the Chinese city of Xi’an, this new casual spot in Allston is one of only a few Xi’an restaurants in town. No relation to Xi’an Famous Foods, the New York-based chain expanding here eventually.

White Bull Tavern (1 Union St., Downtown Boston): Right by Faneuil Hall, this new tavern is serving skillet-cooked appetizers, wood-fired pizzas, and more.

Closings

Katie Chudy/Eater

Roast beef sandwich at Kelly’s Roast Beef (the Revere location, which remains open)

Bertucci’s (22 Merchants Row, Downtown Boston): The Faneuil Hall location of local pizza chain Bertucci’s opened way back in 1989.

Bistro Duet (190 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington): Located in the former Flora space (a bank before that), this French restaurant had been open for just over a year.

Diva Indian Bistro (246 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville): The Indian restaurant had been open for over 20 years.

Kelly’s Roast Beef (2 Underprice Way, Natick): This location of the local roast beef chain — which is inside of a Jordan’s Furniture — had been around for about 20 years. Other locations of Kelly’s remain in operation.

Oppa’s Kitchen & Bar (157 Pleasant St., Malden): This Korean and Japanese restaurant was reportedly seized.

Papagayo (283 Summer St., Fort Point, Boston): In an increasingly crowded neighborhood for Mexican restaurants and tequila bar, this location shut down, but Papagayo remains open in downtown Boston and Somerville’s Assembly Row.

Smokin’ Betty’s BBQ (94 Lafayette St., Salem): From the owners of Gulu-Gulu Cafe and Flying Saucer Pizza Company, Smokin’ Betty’s had been open for a little under a year. The barbecue will live on through catering orders — and perhaps an eventual reopening in a smaller space.

Sultan’s Kitchen (116 State St., Downtown Boston):The Turkish restaurant, a staple of the downtown dining scene, had been around since 1981.

Tapeo Restaurant and Tapas Bar (266 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston): Open for over 20 years, Tapeo cited the neighborhood’s “oppressive rents” as a factor in the restaurant’s closure.

Tilted Kilt (96 Brookline Ave., Fenway, Boston): Also known as “Scottish Hooters,” this “breastaurant” and sports bar chain didn’t last long in Fenway. In the region, a Billerica location remains open.

This Time Last Year

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Bao at Pagu, one of the big openings of January 2017

Rewinding back to January 2017, the hot neighborhood of the month was Central Square — particularly the section closest to MIT — with the openings of Pagu, A4cade, and Roxy’s Central. Another notable opening was Frenchie in Boston’s South End, and East Coast Grill made a comeback, only to close for good just under a year later and be remade into Highland Fried (which isn’t totally different from East Coast Grill).

January 2017 also brought the news of a potential boozy Taco Bell Cantina in Somerville’s Davis Square, but it’s not happening.

Boston was awash in poke in January 2017, with Manoa Poke Shop and Poke City kicking off the start of the city’s obsession with the Hawaiian raw fish dish, an obsession that is continuing into 2018.

And Somerville got a cafe devoted to oatmal.

[tonyduncanbb73]

January 2018 in Review, From Ax-Throwing Bars to Ramen

The month in openings, closings, top news, and more

2018 got off to a fast start in terms of local restaurant openings. A few Boston-based groups continued to expand in January, including Tatte Bakery & Cafe and Tasty Burger, while some non-local chains came to town as well, including Israel’s Cafe Landwer and D.C.-based Cava, both serving fast-casual food with a Mediterranean feel. Other openings included the much-anticipated debut of Blossom Bar, the cocktail bar reinvention of Sichuan Garden in Brookline; Delta Haus, a bar inspired by not one but three different frat house movies; Oisa Ramen, a popular pop-up that landed its own permanent space; and more.

But the year started with a few closures, too, including some very longtime spots, such as Sultan’s Kitchen in downtown Boston, the Faneuil Hall location of Bertucci’s, Tapeo on Newbury Street, and Diva Indian Bistro in the heart of Somerville’s Davis Square.

Read on for a summary of January 2018, including the most-read news stories and maps, the openings, and the closings.

Jump to: Most-Read Stories | Top Maps & Guides | Openings | Closings | This Time Last Year

Most-Read Stories

Urban Axes [official photo]

A location of Urban Axes, expanding to Somerville this year.

Somerville Is Getting an Ax-Throwing Bar Because of Course It Is: Urban Axes could open this summer.

Tilted Kilt Shuts the Doors in Fenway: The Scottish-themed “breastaurant” has closed.

The Forthcoming Natick Wegmans Will Have a Full-Service Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar: Courtesy of chef Roberto Santibañez of Fonda in New York City.

Tiki Rock Opens Downtown With a Polynesian Super Burger and Mai Tais: There are cocktail bowls, too.

Cafe Landwer Arrives in Boston With Shakshuka, Coffee, and Sandwiches: This is the Israeli chain’s first United States location.

Blossom Bar Blooms in Brookline This Week: The old Sichuan Garden space has been transformed.

Beer & Mortar: Five Boston-Area Breweries to Watch in 2018: These are a few players making big strides this year.

Delta Haus Brings Bar Pizzas and Frat House Movie Nostalgia to Downtown Boston: There will be toga parties.

Papagayo Shuts Down Its Fort Point Location: Citing a surplus of spots serving Mexican cuisine and tequila.

Pikaichi Ramen, on the Comeback Trail, Lands New Home in Medford: In the former Emiliano’z Mexican Grill space.

Top Maps & Guides

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

The Saturn cocktail at Tiki Rock

The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston, Winter 2018: Boston’s greatest restaurants for any occasion. This quarter’s update included the addition of ArtScience Culture Lab & Café, Bisq, Brassica Kitchen & Café, Café du Pays, Cultivar, The Gallows, Neptune Oyster, Pagu, Pammy’s, and Spoke Wine Bar.

The Hottest Restaurants in Boston Right Now, January 2018: Already updated for February too, the monthly Heatmap features a dozen of the city’s hottest new dining destinations.

The Eater Boston Winter 2018 Dining Headquarters: What’s #OpenInBOS?: Bookmark this page for weather-related openings, closures, and specials all winter long.

Warm up at These 18 Ramen Destinations This Winter: So many noodles.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Boston Proper: Tacos, Thai ice cream rolls, Tiki drinks.

A Guide to the Pop-Ups of Greater Boston: Get them before they’re gone.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Cambridge and Somerville: Just across the river from Boston, there will be poke, burgers, and coffee.

The Eater Boston Food Events Guide: All the local food and drink events you’ll actually want to attend

Where to Eat Egg Boats Around Boston: Otherwise known as khachapuri, these doughy, cheesy treats are worth tracking down.

Chinatown Food Crawl: Dumplings, Eggplant, and Some Awfully Good Offal: Plus, drink a ton of Tsingtao.

Openings

Blossom Bar [official photo, via Instagram]

The Broken Spanish cocktail at Blossom Bar, which opened in Brookline this January

75 on Courthouse Square (220 Northern Ave.): 75 Chestnut and 75 on Liberty Wharf have a new similarly named sibling in the Seaport District, serving burgers, seafood and pasta entrees, and more — as well as a build-your-own bloody mary bar.

The Bagel Table (9 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill): Located in the longtime Rosie’s Bakery space at The Street, this new bakery features OMG! Bagels (a local brand) and serves some of Rosie’s greatest hits as well.

Blossom Bar (295 Washington St., Brookline): Like its Woburn sibling, the Brookline Sichuan Garden now has a snazzy cocktail bar inside. Those who loved dining at Sichuan Garden pre-revamp will still find a number of its dishes on the new, pared-down menu.

Buttonwood (51 Lincoln St., Newton Highlands): This sibling to Sycamore and Little Big Diner is a family-friendly restaurant located in the former 51 Lincoln space, serving grilled meat and seafood entrees, a “pizza shop” Greek salad, Portuguese fish stew, and more.

Cafe Landwer (900 Beacon St., Audubon Circle, Boston): This is the first United States location for the Israeli cafe chain, which will also open in Boston’s Cleveland Circle neighborhood.

Caffe Nero (75 Middlesex Tpke., Burlington): Yep, this London-based cafe chain keeps expanding around the Boston area.

Cava (1346 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston): This fast-casual Mediterranean chain comes by way of Washington, D.C., and it’s also expanding to Boston’s Back Bay and Cambridge’s Kendall Square, as well as Dedham and Hingham.

Counter (209 Essex St., Salem): Drawing some menu inspiration from department store counter lunches, Counter is located in the Hotel Salem — a building that was a department store in the 1950s and 1960s. This spring, it’ll get a sibling restaurant and bar called The Roof, located on the hotel’s roof, of course.

Delta Haus (200 High St., Downtown Boston): From the people who brought Boston a Caddyshack-themed bar (Bushwood Cocktail Club) comes another movie-inspired spot, but this one draws inspiration from multiple frat house flicks: Animal House, Old School, and Revenge of the Nerds.

Globe Bar & Cafe (384 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): This Back Bay spot moved down the street, taking over the former Rattlesnake space. Yes, the rooftop will be open seasonally.

Grassona’s Italian (1704 Beacon St., Washington Square, Brookline): Fairsted Kitchen owner Steve Bowman briefly closed his restaurant to renovate it and reopen it as Grassona’s Italian, serving red-sauce Italian classics.

Hopsters (51 Sleeper St., Seaport District, Boston): The Newton-based brewpub and brew-your-own-beer facility has expanded to Boston proper (and has further expansion plans in the works). Go for a meal, a drink, and/or a brewing session.

Jana Grill & Bakery (2 Watertown St., Watertown): This Armenian restaurant serves khachapuri and more.

Momo Cafe (649 Hancock St., Quincy): No momo (Nepalese dumplings here) — just desserts, teas, and more.

Oisa Ramen (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): This pop-up has found a cozy home in the Financial District, serving up three types of ramen to dine-in customers (there are a few standing spaces at a counter and a few seats by the window) and rice bowls to takeout customers. For those dining in, there’s a small selection of beer, sake, and canned sparkling wine cocktails available.

Olivia’s Bistro (136 Adams St., Nonantum, Newton): This Newton addition is serving wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas and more Italian food.

Rice Passions (163 Squire Rd., Revere): Under new ownership, Maekha Thai has been revamped, renamed, and reopened as Rice Passions, serving a variety of Thai dishes.

Shaking Crab (140 Boylston St., Downtown Boston): This growing local group serves spicy boiled seafood; there was also a recent opening in Cambridge’s Porter Square. This new Boston location is in the original Troquet space (Troquet recently moved to the Leather District.)

Tasty Burger (1 Nashua St., West End, Boston): The local burger chain’s sixth location is at North Station and features the group’s biggest bar (18 seats), at which beer and wine are served. There’s also a takeout window and free pool table.

Tatte Bakery & Cafe (399 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): Yet another expansion for the local cafe chain that now has eight outposts in Brookline, Boston, and Cambridge.

Tiki Rock (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): Adjacent to another January newbie, Oisa Ramen, Tiki Rock serves Tiki cocktails, sushi, and more in a lively atmosphere.

Toscanini’s (159 First St., East Cambridge): Central Square’s ever-popular ice cream joint has temporarily shut down its original location due to construction, but it has a new location in East Cambridge — and this new location will be Toscanini’s production home even once the original reopens. The new spot serves 32 ice cream flavors as well as baked goods and coffee.

Trina’s Starlite Lounge (37 Main St.): This Somerville favorite for hot dogs, cocktails, and a retro vibe has expanded to the North Shore, taking over the former No. 8 Kitchen space.

Xi’an Street Foods (182 Brighton Ave., Allston, Boston): Serving rougamo (flatbread sandwiches that resemble burgers), biang biang noodles, and other cuisine from the Chinese city of Xi’an, this new casual spot in Allston is one of only a few Xi’an restaurants in town. No relation to Xi’an Famous Foods, the New York-based chain expanding here eventually.

White Bull Tavern (1 Union St., Downtown Boston): Right by Faneuil Hall, this new tavern is serving skillet-cooked appetizers, wood-fired pizzas, and more.

Closings

Katie Chudy/Eater

Roast beef sandwich at Kelly’s Roast Beef (the Revere location, which remains open)

Bertucci’s (22 Merchants Row, Downtown Boston): The Faneuil Hall location of local pizza chain Bertucci’s opened way back in 1989.

Bistro Duet (190 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington): Located in the former Flora space (a bank before that), this French restaurant had been open for just over a year.

Diva Indian Bistro (246 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville): The Indian restaurant had been open for over 20 years.

Kelly’s Roast Beef (2 Underprice Way, Natick): This location of the local roast beef chain — which is inside of a Jordan’s Furniture — had been around for about 20 years. Other locations of Kelly’s remain in operation.

Oppa’s Kitchen & Bar (157 Pleasant St., Malden): This Korean and Japanese restaurant was reportedly seized.

Papagayo (283 Summer St., Fort Point, Boston): In an increasingly crowded neighborhood for Mexican restaurants and tequila bar, this location shut down, but Papagayo remains open in downtown Boston and Somerville’s Assembly Row.

Smokin’ Betty’s BBQ (94 Lafayette St., Salem): From the owners of Gulu-Gulu Cafe and Flying Saucer Pizza Company, Smokin’ Betty’s had been open for a little under a year. The barbecue will live on through catering orders — and perhaps an eventual reopening in a smaller space.

Sultan’s Kitchen (116 State St., Downtown Boston):The Turkish restaurant, a staple of the downtown dining scene, had been around since 1981.

Tapeo Restaurant and Tapas Bar (266 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston): Open for over 20 years, Tapeo cited the neighborhood’s “oppressive rents” as a factor in the restaurant’s closure.

Tilted Kilt (96 Brookline Ave., Fenway, Boston): Also known as “Scottish Hooters,” this “breastaurant” and sports bar chain didn’t last long in Fenway. In the region, a Billerica location remains open.

This Time Last Year

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Bao at Pagu, one of the big openings of January 2017

Rewinding back to January 2017, the hot neighborhood of the month was Central Square — particularly the section closest to MIT — with the openings of Pagu, A4cade, and Roxy’s Central. Another notable opening was Frenchie in Boston’s South End, and East Coast Grill made a comeback, only to close for good just under a year later and be remade into Highland Fried (which isn’t totally different from East Coast Grill).

January 2017 also brought the news of a potential boozy Taco Bell Cantina in Somerville’s Davis Square, but it’s not happening.

Boston was awash in poke in January 2017, with Manoa Poke Shop and Poke City kicking off the start of the city’s obsession with the Hawaiian raw fish dish, an obsession that is continuing into 2018.

And Somerville got a cafe devoted to oatmal.

[tonyduncanbb73]

January 2018 in Review, From Ax-Throwing Bars to Ramen

The month in openings, closings, top news, and more

2018 got off to a fast start in terms of local restaurant openings. A few Boston-based groups continued to expand in January, including Tatte Bakery & Cafe and Tasty Burger, while some non-local chains came to town as well, including Israel’s Cafe Landwer and D.C.-based Cava, both serving fast-casual food with a Mediterranean feel. Other openings included the much-anticipated debut of Blossom Bar, the cocktail bar reinvention of Sichuan Garden in Brookline; Delta Haus, a bar inspired by not one but three different frat house movies; Oisa Ramen, a popular pop-up that landed its own permanent space; and more.

But the year started with a few closures, too, including some very longtime spots, such as Sultan’s Kitchen in downtown Boston, the Faneuil Hall location of Bertucci’s, Tapeo on Newbury Street, and Diva Indian Bistro in the heart of Somerville’s Davis Square.

Read on for a summary of January 2018, including the most-read news stories and maps, the openings, and the closings.

Jump to: Most-Read Stories | Top Maps & Guides | Openings | Closings | This Time Last Year

Most-Read Stories

Urban Axes [official photo]

A location of Urban Axes, expanding to Somerville this year.

Somerville Is Getting an Ax-Throwing Bar Because of Course It Is: Urban Axes could open this summer.

Tilted Kilt Shuts the Doors in Fenway: The Scottish-themed “breastaurant” has closed.

The Forthcoming Natick Wegmans Will Have a Full-Service Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar: Courtesy of chef Roberto Santibañez of Fonda in New York City.

Tiki Rock Opens Downtown With a Polynesian Super Burger and Mai Tais: There are cocktail bowls, too.

Cafe Landwer Arrives in Boston With Shakshuka, Coffee, and Sandwiches: This is the Israeli chain’s first United States location.

Blossom Bar Blooms in Brookline This Week: The old Sichuan Garden space has been transformed.

Beer & Mortar: Five Boston-Area Breweries to Watch in 2018: These are a few players making big strides this year.

Delta Haus Brings Bar Pizzas and Frat House Movie Nostalgia to Downtown Boston: There will be toga parties.

Papagayo Shuts Down Its Fort Point Location: Citing a surplus of spots serving Mexican cuisine and tequila.

Pikaichi Ramen, on the Comeback Trail, Lands New Home in Medford: In the former Emiliano’z Mexican Grill space.

Top Maps & Guides

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

The Saturn cocktail at Tiki Rock

The 38 Essential Restaurants in Boston, Winter 2018: Boston’s greatest restaurants for any occasion. This quarter’s update included the addition of ArtScience Culture Lab & Café, Bisq, Brassica Kitchen & Café, Café du Pays, Cultivar, The Gallows, Neptune Oyster, Pagu, Pammy’s, and Spoke Wine Bar.

The Hottest Restaurants in Boston Right Now, January 2018: Already updated for February too, the monthly Heatmap features a dozen of the city’s hottest new dining destinations.

The Eater Boston Winter 2018 Dining Headquarters: What’s #OpenInBOS?: Bookmark this page for weather-related openings, closures, and specials all winter long.

Warm up at These 18 Ramen Destinations This Winter: So many noodles.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Boston Proper: Tacos, Thai ice cream rolls, Tiki drinks.

A Guide to the Pop-Ups of Greater Boston: Get them before they’re gone.

The Winter 2017-2018 Restaurant Opening Guide: Cambridge and Somerville: Just across the river from Boston, there will be poke, burgers, and coffee.

The Eater Boston Food Events Guide: All the local food and drink events you’ll actually want to attend

Where to Eat Egg Boats Around Boston: Otherwise known as khachapuri, these doughy, cheesy treats are worth tracking down.

Chinatown Food Crawl: Dumplings, Eggplant, and Some Awfully Good Offal: Plus, drink a ton of Tsingtao.

Openings

Blossom Bar [official photo, via Instagram]

The Broken Spanish cocktail at Blossom Bar, which opened in Brookline this January

75 on Courthouse Square (220 Northern Ave.): 75 Chestnut and 75 on Liberty Wharf have a new similarly named sibling in the Seaport District, serving burgers, seafood and pasta entrees, and more — as well as a build-your-own bloody mary bar.

The Bagel Table (9 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill): Located in the longtime Rosie’s Bakery space at The Street, this new bakery features OMG! Bagels (a local brand) and serves some of Rosie’s greatest hits as well.

Blossom Bar (295 Washington St., Brookline): Like its Woburn sibling, the Brookline Sichuan Garden now has a snazzy cocktail bar inside. Those who loved dining at Sichuan Garden pre-revamp will still find a number of its dishes on the new, pared-down menu.

Buttonwood (51 Lincoln St., Newton Highlands): This sibling to Sycamore and Little Big Diner is a family-friendly restaurant located in the former 51 Lincoln space, serving grilled meat and seafood entrees, a “pizza shop” Greek salad, Portuguese fish stew, and more.

Cafe Landwer (900 Beacon St., Audubon Circle, Boston): This is the first United States location for the Israeli cafe chain, which will also open in Boston’s Cleveland Circle neighborhood.

Caffe Nero (75 Middlesex Tpke., Burlington): Yep, this London-based cafe chain keeps expanding around the Boston area.

Cava (1346 Boylston St., Fenway, Boston): This fast-casual Mediterranean chain comes by way of Washington, D.C., and it’s also expanding to Boston’s Back Bay and Cambridge’s Kendall Square, as well as Dedham and Hingham.

Counter (209 Essex St., Salem): Drawing some menu inspiration from department store counter lunches, Counter is located in the Hotel Salem — a building that was a department store in the 1950s and 1960s. This spring, it’ll get a sibling restaurant and bar called The Roof, located on the hotel’s roof, of course.

Delta Haus (200 High St., Downtown Boston): From the people who brought Boston a Caddyshack-themed bar (Bushwood Cocktail Club) comes another movie-inspired spot, but this one draws inspiration from multiple frat house flicks: Animal House, Old School, and Revenge of the Nerds.

Globe Bar & Cafe (384 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): This Back Bay spot moved down the street, taking over the former Rattlesnake space. Yes, the rooftop will be open seasonally.

Grassona’s Italian (1704 Beacon St., Washington Square, Brookline): Fairsted Kitchen owner Steve Bowman briefly closed his restaurant to renovate it and reopen it as Grassona’s Italian, serving red-sauce Italian classics.

Hopsters (51 Sleeper St., Seaport District, Boston): The Newton-based brewpub and brew-your-own-beer facility has expanded to Boston proper (and has further expansion plans in the works). Go for a meal, a drink, and/or a brewing session.

Jana Grill & Bakery (2 Watertown St., Watertown): This Armenian restaurant serves khachapuri and more.

Momo Cafe (649 Hancock St., Quincy): No momo (Nepalese dumplings here) — just desserts, teas, and more.

Oisa Ramen (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): This pop-up has found a cozy home in the Financial District, serving up three types of ramen to dine-in customers (there are a few standing spaces at a counter and a few seats by the window) and rice bowls to takeout customers. For those dining in, there’s a small selection of beer, sake, and canned sparkling wine cocktails available.

Olivia’s Bistro (136 Adams St., Nonantum, Newton): This Newton addition is serving wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas and more Italian food.

Rice Passions (163 Squire Rd., Revere): Under new ownership, Maekha Thai has been revamped, renamed, and reopened as Rice Passions, serving a variety of Thai dishes.

Shaking Crab (140 Boylston St., Downtown Boston): This growing local group serves spicy boiled seafood; there was also a recent opening in Cambridge’s Porter Square. This new Boston location is in the original Troquet space (Troquet recently moved to the Leather District.)

Tasty Burger (1 Nashua St., West End, Boston): The local burger chain’s sixth location is at North Station and features the group’s biggest bar (18 seats), at which beer and wine are served. There’s also a takeout window and free pool table.

Tatte Bakery & Cafe (399 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): Yet another expansion for the local cafe chain that now has eight outposts in Brookline, Boston, and Cambridge.

Tiki Rock (2 Broad St., Downtown Boston): Adjacent to another January newbie, Oisa Ramen, Tiki Rock serves Tiki cocktails, sushi, and more in a lively atmosphere.

Toscanini’s (159 First St., East Cambridge): Central Square’s ever-popular ice cream joint has temporarily shut down its original location due to construction, but it has a new location in East Cambridge — and this new location will be Toscanini’s production home even once the original reopens. The new spot serves 32 ice cream flavors as well as baked goods and coffee.

Trina’s Starlite Lounge (37 Main St.): This Somerville favorite for hot dogs, cocktails, and a retro vibe has expanded to the North Shore, taking over the former No. 8 Kitchen space.

Xi’an Street Foods (182 Brighton Ave., Allston, Boston): Serving rougamo (flatbread sandwiches that resemble burgers), biang biang noodles, and other cuisine from the Chinese city of Xi’an, this new casual spot in Allston is one of only a few Xi’an restaurants in town. No relation to Xi’an Famous Foods, the New York-based chain expanding here eventually.

White Bull Tavern (1 Union St., Downtown Boston): Right by Faneuil Hall, this new tavern is serving skillet-cooked appetizers, wood-fired pizzas, and more.

Closings

Katie Chudy/Eater

Roast beef sandwich at Kelly’s Roast Beef (the Revere location, which remains open)

Bertucci’s (22 Merchants Row, Downtown Boston): The Faneuil Hall location of local pizza chain Bertucci’s opened way back in 1989.

Bistro Duet (190 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington): Located in the former Flora space (a bank before that), this French restaurant had been open for just over a year.

Diva Indian Bistro (246 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville): The Indian restaurant had been open for over 20 years.

Kelly’s Roast Beef (2 Underprice Way, Natick): This location of the local roast beef chain — which is inside of a Jordan’s Furniture — had been around for about 20 years. Other locations of Kelly’s remain in operation.

Oppa’s Kitchen & Bar (157 Pleasant St., Malden): This Korean and Japanese restaurant was reportedly seized.

Papagayo (283 Summer St., Fort Point, Boston): In an increasingly crowded neighborhood for Mexican restaurants and tequila bar, this location shut down, but Papagayo remains open in downtown Boston and Somerville’s Assembly Row.

Smokin’ Betty’s BBQ (94 Lafayette St., Salem): From the owners of Gulu-Gulu Cafe and Flying Saucer Pizza Company, Smokin’ Betty’s had been open for a little under a year. The barbecue will live on through catering orders — and perhaps an eventual reopening in a smaller space.

Sultan’s Kitchen (116 State St., Downtown Boston):The Turkish restaurant, a staple of the downtown dining scene, had been around since 1981.

Tapeo Restaurant and Tapas Bar (266 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston): Open for over 20 years, Tapeo cited the neighborhood’s “oppressive rents” as a factor in the restaurant’s closure.

Tilted Kilt (96 Brookline Ave., Fenway, Boston): Also known as “Scottish Hooters,” this “breastaurant” and sports bar chain didn’t last long in Fenway. In the region, a Billerica location remains open.

This Time Last Year

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Bao at Pagu, one of the big openings of January 2017

Rewinding back to January 2017, the hot neighborhood of the month was Central Square — particularly the section closest to MIT — with the openings of Pagu, A4cade, and Roxy’s Central. Another notable opening was Frenchie in Boston’s South End, and East Coast Grill made a comeback, only to close for good just under a year later and be remade into Highland Fried (which isn’t totally different from East Coast Grill).

January 2017 also brought the news of a potential boozy Taco Bell Cantina in Somerville’s Davis Square, but it’s not happening.

Boston was awash in poke in January 2017, with Manoa Poke Shop and Poke City kicking off the start of the city’s obsession with the Hawaiian raw fish dish, an obsession that is continuing into 2018.

And Somerville got a cafe devoted to oatmal.