Archives: Media Room

Last summer, it was reported that a ramen spot could be taking over a space in Cambridge that had been home to a longtime Thai restaurant. Now we have learned that a different restaurant that offers ramen and other food items is taking over the space.

Eater Boston is reporting that Bosso Ramen Tavern is getting ready to open in Harvard Square, moving into the former Spicies space on Holyoke Street. The article mentions that the new eatery is an izakaya-style place (rather than a ramen shop) that features Japanese fare including gyoza, tempura, ramen, sushi, seafood dishes, and more, along with sake and wine. Bosso Ramen Tavern has already been “testing the waters” via what appears to have been an ongoing soft opening, though its grand opening is slated for tomorrow (Saturday, March 26).

Two Cambridge artists are raising awareness around what is lost in war with an art installation in the heart of Harvard Square.

When Ross Miller saw photographs of statues covered in protective wrapping in Lviv, Ukraine, he was struck with emotion. A wrapped statue of an ocean goddess with her arm raised reminded him of the water sculptures he likes to create. “It just was heartbreaking that amid everything else, they were also working to protect their artwork, their cultural heritage,” said Miller.

Earlier this month, it was reported that a casual upscale pub in Cambridge was going to be replaced by a location of an eclectic group of restaurants, and now we have learned that the pub has returned, taking over a nearby space that was home to another dining and drinking spot under the same ownership.

According to a source (Beckie Hunter), Grafton Street Pub & Grill is opening in the former Park Restaurant & Bar space in Harvard Square, with a Facebook post from the place indicating that it debuts in its new space at 5:00 PM today. Grafton Street recently left its home on Mass. Ave., making way for an upcoming location of The Friendly Toast, which had an outlet in Kendall Square that closed in the summer of 2020.

Bosso Ramen Tavern, a Japanese restaurant inspired by the ocean, has been quietly testing the waters in Harvard Square (24 Holyoke Street, Cambridge) this month, with a grand opening planned for March 26, 2022.

Although ramen is highlighted in the restaurant’s name, Bosso isn’t a casual ramen shop; it’s a full-service izakaya meant for dates and gatherings, says owner Yasu Sasago, with an extensive menu of options beyond ramen.

Despite his cadre of supporters, most who passed through Harvard Square were never aware of a man known as Michael or his daily life that unfolded in full view of each of them. They were equally oblivious when he died Nov. 18, 2021 in the Bank of America entryway.  

Kody Christiansen, a Harvard Extension School student, was among the first to find Michael lying face-first on the sidewalk, before the bank’s front door early the next morning. Just days before, Christiansen had offered Michael a blanket at the shelter.  

Christiansen called 911.  

The unique partnership takes a holistic approach to boosting health, with a second location coming to the South End soon.

Bryan Timko wanted to create a space for the yoga-loving, green juice-drinking public in Boston — and so he did.

Early this month, Timko’s Life Alive Cafes opened a hybrid vegetarian cafe and yoga studio in Harvard Square. It sells açaí bowls and algae smoothies on John F. Kennedy Street. But behind and below the kitchen are two yoga studios, equipped with heated hardwood floors, touch screen televisions, and teachers from the Down Under School of Yoga.

As the final days of Cambridgian winters draw to an end (save a few snowstorms interspersed between 60-degree days), Harvard students begin to emerge from their thinly insulated colonial dorms and shed their goose-feather overcoats in exchange for sunglasses and T-shirts. Nothing could be more timely than the opening of Harvard Square’s newest establishment and blackhole for college student dollars: Life Alive.

Roughly 200 people gathered at Harvard Square’s Sanctuary Theater on Sunday to watch Cambridge for Ukraine, a performance and fundraising event organized by Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre Dance for World Community.

Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui addressed the audience, alongside Harvard’s Ukrainian Research Institute publications manager Oleh Kotsyuba, University of Massachusetts professor Darren Kew, and activist Brian Corr. The performances featured numerous types of dancing as well as St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church Choir.

It’s been hit hard by the pandemic but BUFF — the 22nd Boston Underground Film Festival — is climbing back, on March 23.
“BUFF hasn’t changed that much since I’ve been running it with my partner Nicole McControversy. COVID changed things the most,” allowed artistic director Kevin Monahan.
“We were canceled in 2020 and we didn’t have one in 2021. COVID has ushered in this era of streaming and online screenings.”
As to what exactly constitutes “underground” these days, “We like weird world cinema. The esoteric with a global perspective on underground — which means different things to different people. We define it as ‘strange international.’”