What to Eat (and Drink) This Weekend
Porto patio photo by Ken Rivard provided
Outside!
No sure if you’ve noticed, but it’s unseasonably warm. Despite the calendar reading “February,” some restaurants and bars have opened their outdoor patios on Friday, like Porto, River Bar, Hojoko, and more. Check out our running list, and look forward to glorious actual springtime when the al fresco options abound. If the weather outside is frightful on Saturday, do not fear. It’s still spring-like at Commonwealth, where the Bacon Truck is throwing a backyard barbecue pop-up. Swing by for a la carte burgers, truck-made hot dogs, and sous vide-then-fried pork ribs slathered in special barbecue sauce. The team is whipping up a boozy bowl of rum punch, and weather permitting, the cornhole setup will be outside (though Commonwealth hasn’t opened its outstanding patio yet). The host’s regular menu is still going on, too.
The Bacon Truck at Commonwealth, Saturday, February 25, 5-10 p.m., 11 Broad Canal Way, Kendall Square, Cambridge, 617-945-7030, commonwealthcambridge.com, Facebook event.
The Parlor Ice Cream Co. ‘Choco Taco’ photo via Facebook
The Parlor Ice Cream Co.
It’s always ice cream season, but the warm weather is definitely making us consider a jaunt to Worcester for the Parlor Ice Cream Co.’s latest pop-up at the legendary George’s Coney Island Hot Dogs. Tomorrow, ice cream maven Jacqueline Dole is bringing along pints and scoops of Moxie, and her latest Polar Beverages-inspired flavor, Grapefruit Dry. If you’re reading this right now, you can also catch her scooping two flavors to pair with George Howell Coffee at its downtown cafe. Can’t hang this weekend? Find her sweet corn and chocolate mole “Choco Tacos” and chocolate churro ice cream at Casa Verde in Jamaica Plain on Tuesday, February 28.
Friday, February 24, 1-2:30 p.m., George Howell Coffee at the Godfrey Hotel, 505 Washington St., Downtown Crossing, Boston, 857-957-0217, georgehowellcoffee.com.
Saturday, February 25, noon-3 p.m., George’s Coney Island Hot Dogs, 158 Southbridge St., Worcester, 508-753-4362, coneyislandlunch.com.
Tuesday, February 28, 5 p.m., Casa Verde, 711 Centre St., Boston, 617-477-9977, casaverdejp.com.
All of the crudo
Again, crudo knows no season, but there is something especially satisfying about fresh, refreshing fish on a 55-degree day. Bar Mezzana chef and owner Colin Lynch meets this need anytime with vibrant colors, with delicacies like langoustine and caviar, fluke with cucumber and chili, and striped bass ceviche on the menu. Can’t decide? Who can blame you? Certainly not Lynch—so he just introduced a chef’s tasting of bite-sized portions of six different preparations, paced out into two courses. The best of all worlds.
$30, Bar Mezzana, 360 Harrison Ave., Boston, 617-530-1770, barmezzana.com.
Deuxave Orange Blossom cocktail / spice-crusted tuna / Photos by Andy Ryan provided
It’s Peak Citrus Season
Look out for cara cara oranges, Meyer lemons, and more delicious citrus wherever you dine and drink this weekend. At Deuxave, chef Chris Coombs and his teams are brightening things up with a few new menu items, like spice-crusted ahi tuna with crispy Spanish octopus, featuring blood oranges and Page mandarins; citrusy Scituate lobster with house-made gnocchi, curried walnuts, mushrooms, and green grapes; yuzu mousse from pastry chef Shaun Velez, an Orange Blossom cocktail with gin, and more.
Deuxave, 371 Commonwealth Ave., Back Bay, Boston, 617-517-5915, deuxave.com.
East Coast Grill photo provided
Brunch at East Coast Grill
The reincarnated home for serious spice is now a destination for craft cocktails from the team behind Highland Kitchen—and this weekend, they bring brunch to Inman Square, too. Highland Kitchen’s mid-day meal is legendary for down-home comforts like the gravy-soaked fried chicken-and-biscuit, the Dirty Bird; and shrimp and grits. At East Coast Grill 2.0, there will be a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich, barbecue brisket hash, churros, a breakfast platter with eggs, rice, beans, sweet plantains, and a choice of kicked up proteins, and more. Plus, Joe McGuirk is whipping up new breakfast drinks just for the occasion. Brunch continues every Sunday.
Sundays beginning February 26, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 1271 Cambridge St., Cambridge, eastcoastgrill.net.
