Beloved Massachusetts Eatery Named ‘Most Charming Restaurant’ In The State

By Logan DeLoye

October 29, 2024

Photo: iStockphoto

If you’re already planning on dining out, why not enjoy a tasty meal at the most charming restaurant in the state?

A main course pairs well with a few savory, pre-meal appetizers and a sweet desert to follow, but nothing compliments a dish quite like ambiance, or as Gen Z would say: the “vibe.”

If the overall vibe of the restaurant is good, then the food and experience might just soar over your expectations. While there are many restaurants scattered throughout Massachusetts, only one is known for having the most charming vibes around.

According to a list compiled by LoveFood, the most charming restaurant in Massachusetts is Harvest in Cambridge. This restaurant was praised for its ambiance and delicious dishes among other beloved qualities.

Here’s what LoveFood had to say about the most charming restaurant in the entire state:

“In the beautiful city of Cambridge, down a cobbled path in the heart of Harvard Square, is Harvest. This elegant restaurant presents the best of New England cuisine, with chefs working closely with local farmers to devise seasonal menus. The interiors are smart, with dark woods and neutral tones, while there’s a beautiful patio for dining al fresco.”

For more information about the most charming restaurants across the country check out Love Food‘s full list!

By Boston Restaurant Talk • Published September 13, 2024 • Updated on September 13, 2024 at 2:09 pm

 

[This story first appeared on Boston Restaurant Talk.]

A local group of Mexican restaurants is in expansion mode once again, as it now plans to open a new location in one of the busiest parts of Cambridge.

According to a poster within the Friends of Boston’s Hidden Restaurants Facebook group page (via a Harvard Crimson article), Tenoch is going to be opening in Harvard Square, moving into a space in The Garage that had been home to Las Palmas, and before that, El Jefe’s Taqueria and The Taco Truck. Once it opens, the new location of Tenoch will join others in Boston’s North End, East Cambridge, Medford Square, Somerville’s Davis Square, Malden, and Melrose, and it will likely offer such options as tortas, tacos, burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, and more.

The address for the upcoming location of Tenoch in Harvard Square is 83 Mt Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138. The website for all locations is at https://www.tenochmexican.com/

Candace Persuasian’s new show “FABULA: Gods and Goddesses Among Us” will debut during ArrowFest on Sept. 14. It’s part of an opening celebration for the Arrow Street Arts community theater.

Screengrab by GBH News from Boston Public Radio livestream

By Hannah Loss September 03, 2024

Starting Thursday, an 11-day festival will show off Arrow Streets Arts’ takeover of the old Oberon Theatre in Harvard Square and bring visitors into the reimagined space.

Arrow Street added a second performance space and opened up the lobby. It also expanded the original black box theater that was previously leased by ART, the American Repertory Theatre, until the end of 2021.

With these renovations, the new spaces can accommodate everything from spoken word, plays and musicals, to aerial circus and drag performances.

“It’s sort of basically a … wandering smörgåsbord of art forms,” Arrow Street Arts founder David Altshuler told Boston Public Radio on Tuesday.

The nonprofit was created with the mission to provide an accessible, affordable, high-quality performance venue for Boston-area artists to showcase their work.

ArrowFest starts with an immersive spectacle called “Don’t Open This” from the theater ensemble Liars and Believers to showcase the changes.

“We’ve transformed the space into an otherworld called ‘box,’ and it is the source of all your desires. But what happens when what you order online is not actually what your soul needs?” said ArrowFest curator Georgia Lyman.

The event will feature dance, aerialists, puppets and live music, and attendees are free to roam around the theater.

Boston drag star Candace Persuasian will premier her original show “FABULA: Gods and Goddesses Among Us” as part of ArrowFest. “Fabula” is Latin for “fable” and each act will highlight individuality, gender expression and gender identity through dancing, singing and lip synching, Persuasian said.

The re-opening of the theater by Arrow Street Arts helps fill the void in Boston’s theater scene, especially for Persuasian, who said it can be difficult to find drag performance venues.

“We also lost Machine,” said Persuasian, citing the venue that shut down in early 2020. “Coming back after the pandemic, it’s like, ‘Oh, all the places that I went to are no longer there.

“When Georgia approached me with this opportunity, I was like, ‘I’m going to take it,’” she said.

After the 11-day festival, Altshuler says another couple dozen artists will be parading through the theater spaces through the next year, including Bollywood dance groups, puppets and live music.

For more information on ArrowFest and Arrow Street Arts, visit ArrowStArts.org.

The Coop, a Harvard Square institution, is undergoing a leadership change. Jerry Murphy, left, is retiring after leading the store as CEO since 1991. He’ll be succeeded by Jodi Goldstein starting Sept. 1.

The official campus bookstore for Harvard and MIT will undergo its first leadership change in more than three decades in September.

Painted Burro, a Latin American restaurant and tequila bar, opened its third location in Harvard Square last Monday.

Located on 32 Church St., the new establishment stands in the former location of the Border Cafe and features a fuschia building facade.

Since opening in 2012 in Davis Square, the Painted Burro chain has since expanded to Waltham and now Harvard Square. There are also two Burro Bars — “smaller versions of Painted Burro” as described by chain owner and chef Joe Cassinelli — in the Boston area.

With its selection of grilled meats, fish, and moles, Painted Burro aims to highlight the diverse cuisines of Latin America. The restaurant also boasts an extensive alcohol menu, with margaritas, local beers, and a collection of more than 100 craft tequilas.

Painted Burro’s menu features classic Latin American appetizers, salads, and a wide variety of tacos ranging from cilantro grilled chicken to buffalo cauliflower. The restaurant also serves more sizable entrees, including swordfish, chimichangas, and more. On weekends, Painted Burro offers a bottomless brunch special — all-you-can-eat fare for $25.

To celebrate its grand opening, the restaurant is “throwing it back” to 2012 by featuring original dishes on the menu and 2012 prices, according to Cassinelli.

“You can expect some pretty attractive pricing,” Cassinelli added.

The opportunity to establish a Painted Burro location in Harvard Square arose when the space became available following the announcement of Border Cafe’s permanent closing in 2021.

“It was one of the easiest openings we’ve ever done,” Cassinelli said.

Customers can expect “great, upscale Mexican food” and a “lively environment,” according to Cassinelli. The 7,199-square-foot space is completely renovated and features two full bars, with a downstairs bar-lounge area open to private events.

The newly opened location has received positive feedback from diners.

“It’s not that expensive,” Jim Brown, a Cambridge resident, said. “The food is generous, and it’s good quality.”

Brown said his grits were “delicious” and spoke about how friendly the waitstaff were at the Painted Burro.

“I know three names, and I don’t remember names,” Brown said.

Painted Burro opens at 11 a.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. on weekends and closes around midnight. Brown added that their hours are a “big positive” for those who like to stay up late.

Charlotte Wagner, a local resident, said she had a “great experience” and mentioned how well decorated the space was, but thought that Painted Burro has to find its “mojo.”

“It has a really amazing bar, and I can imagine it with students and more people — and it’ll have its own vibe,” Wagner said.

A coffee chain that’s grown in just three years from a small cart in New York to dozens of locations including Boston is expanding to a place known for cultivating a number of startups itself.

The Boston-area healthy-eating chain Clover Food Lab has filed for bankruptcy protection, with its CEO describing troubles stemming from the pandemic and the lending environment following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

A Halloween block party lit up Harvard Square over the weekend, bringing live artists, excited crowds, and glowing art installations to JFK Street ahead of the holiday.

Organized by the Harvard Square Business Association and the City of Cambridge, Harvard Square’s Illuminated Halloween Block Party drew hundreds of Cambridge and Boston area residents Friday and Saturday evening, from children dressed up as astronauts and princesses to adults masquerading as pirates and ghouls.

The celebration featured a variety of performances, including classic rock band Rumboat Chili on Friday and Berklee College of Music student Lumanyano Mzi on Saturday.

Harvard Square was transformed into a light show during the celebration, with many attendees wearing glowing bracelets against the backdrop of a dynamic art installation, which projected scenes and optical illusions on the sides of buildings lining the street.

Also lighting up the Square was an interactive installation by art studio Pneuhaus called “Canopy,” which used bike-driven generators to inflate and illuminate vibrant neon tree sculptures. Children and adults alike lined up to pedal the bikes and power the exhibit.

Pneuhaus co-founder Levi Bedall said the project helped people understand energy in a unique way, adding that it could make the idea of “going green” feel “more tangible.”

“Power can be generated through lots of ways,” Bedall said. “As simple as turning a wheel with your legs, you can create power to power LEDs and a fan, which I think is hard to really get your mind around.”

Attendees also said they appreciated the participation of local businesses in addition to the immersive art installations.

“It’s nice to see people getting together in their communities and appreciating the local businesses and coming together to appreciate the arts, and the music is really good,” said attendee Rebecca L. Rutherford.

El Jefe’s Taqueria hosted a beer garden that bustled with activity both nights, and Russell House Tavern was also packed with partygoers during the celebration.

“It’s a very nice sort of social escape for a lot of people at this point with everything going on,” said attendee Ahmad A. Naqvi, a post-doctoral student at Harvard Medical School.

As fun as it was for many residents to celebrate in costume in Harvard Square, the Halloween theme was the product of coincidence — the block party was originally intended to coincide with the 58th Head of the Charles Regatta, but was postponed by a week due to rain.

Organizers quickly rebranded the event to match its rescheduled dates, which fell right before Halloween.

Regardless of the party’s theme, Denise A. Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, said she was glad to see so many residents turn out for the celebration.

“The decision was made to attempt to create a little street that would be more pedestrian-friendly on the weekend,” Jillson said. “It’s really lovely to build a community that’s safe and clean and welcoming.”

“When you have events like this and the community responds, and they come out to support it, it feels good, and it feels like an accomplishment,” she added.

Boston-based donut chain Union Square Donuts made its debut in Harvard Square on Saturday.

Situated at 15 JFK St., the new location is the latest addition to Union Square Donuts’ existing roster of stores in Boston, Brookline, and Somerville.

The award-winning shop opened their first location 10 years ago in Somerville before moving to 20 Bow St. in Concord, Massachusetts. According to co-founder Josh Danoff, Union Square Donuts has been “actively looking” for a location in Harvard Square throughout the chain’s “slow and steady” growth.

“We’ve always had our eye on Harvard Square. It really was always a location that we wanted to have,” Danoff said.

According to Danoff, Union Square Donuts has been involved in Harvard spaces for a number of years, including bringing donuts to the Tuesday farmers’ markets in Harvard’s Science Center Plaza.

“This just feels really great, having gone from having our donuts in the case on a rack at the Harvard farmers’ market to having a brick and mortar,” Danoff said.

“It’s a small shop, but I walked in and I had a smile on my face,” he added. “Our team did such an amazing job of taking a very small space — and with all the requirements that go into a space — and just getting everything in there that we needed.”

The shop’s interior features a glass display of their donut offerings. Aside from the classic flavors of donuts, Union Square Donuts offers specialized flavors such as “Pumpkin Cheesecake Bar” and “Salted Brown Butter Cruller,” and the store is “constantly coming up with seasonal flavors.”

“This is donut weather, so we have a lot of apple and pumpkin and just those fall flavors that, when you live in New England, you just gravitate towards,” Danoff said.

Christine Li, a visitor to Cambridge, said she wanted to see what food Cambridge had to offer and decided to try out Union Square Donuts, which she described as a “great store experience.”

“It leaned on the sweet side, but I think there was a depth of flavor that balanced out the sweetness,” Li said.

Lauren Crum, a customer, described her donut as “delicious” and was impressed by the “huge sample sizes.”

The store’s free sample tastings are a “plus,” according to customer Emily Song, because customers can try the flavor before ordering.

“I don’t see that at any other shops,” Song said.

Union Square Donuts is currently open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with plans to extend hours as they finalize logistics.

“We took the opportunity and are incredibly, incredibly excited to be able to call Harvard Square home for Union Square Donuts,” Danoff said.