Dec 31, 2024

BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — A Hannukah themed pop-up bar in Boston is shining a light on the holiday that is very often overshadowed by Christmas.

Maccabee Bar’s award-winning bartender Naomi Levy created this pop-up back in 2018 after seeing numerous Christmas pop-up bars and feeling left out.

“Maybe none of us really get over the trauma of not getting to sit on Santa’s lap, you know?” Levy said. “I thought to myself, what if we just made Hannukah the whole thing and really made it be seen and feel like something special?”

The pop-up is located at the bar Noir in Harvard Square, with another location in New York.

The entire place was decorated blue and gold, with menorahs and dreidels placed all over.

Maccabee’s cocktail menu leaned into the Jewish holiday theme, with drinks such as Hey Judith, Hebrew Hammer, and Latke Sour.

Speaking of latkes, the bar serves those too, but not the typical potato kind – these have cheese in them.

“The original latke was cheese,” Naomi said. “In ancient, ancient times that’s what they had, they had a lot of dairy.”

Read More: Boston’s Puppet Library To Walk In First Night Parade

Levy said she was surprised with Maccabee’s success when it first opened up.

“Nobody cared that they were waiting 30 minutes for a drink, they were just so psyched that this thing existed!” she said.

All in all, Levy was happy to give fellow Jews people a space to celebrate Hannukah in a sea of Christmas festivities.

“Why not get to feel seen this time of the year, when you know you’ve heard Mariah Carey belted out the 17th time today?” Naomi said.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Under an awning covered in flowers, a new bookstore dedicated to the romance genre opened its doors in Cambridge, Mass. on Wednesday. 

Lovestruck Books, in Harvard Square, was founded by Rachel Kanter, a Harvard graduate and former English teacher.

“This is the sort of thing that when I was younger, I would sort of be a little sheepish about it and hide my book under a book cover. And now, I’m just shouting it to the rooftops,” Kanter said.

Shops like this have been popping up all over the country, and Kanter said Lovestruck Books is the first brick and mortar romance bookstore in Greater Boston.

“I think that there’s a really robust literary community here, and obviously a robust romance enthusiast community,” she said.

Kanter said Lovestruck Books will soon also have a café and wine bar.

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.