What to Eat (and Drink) This Weekend
Night Shift beer on the Charles River Esplanade, bibimbap and cider, a spicy Sunday in Southie, and more.
The Night Shift Owl’s Nest on the Esplanade.
More Beer Outside!
The Esplanade location of the Night Shift Owl’s Nest grandly opens today at 4 p.m. The draft list boasts Santilli, Furth hefeweizen, One Hop This Time: Mosaic, and more Night Shift beers; plus brews and non-alcoholic options from Night Shift Distributing partners. Slightly closer to the Hatch Shell, the al fresco Charles River Bistro also recently unveiled a fenced-in beer garden with Adirondack chairs, and a vintage car-bar serving cans like Narragansett Shandy and Bent Water Brewing, plus wine, cider, sangria, and mimosas. On Sunday, Castle Island Brewing Co. seats sail with a Charlestown beer garden at One Constitution Wharf. And the summer of the beer garden continues, as well: we’ll highlight that forthcoming Brato Brewhouse + Kitchen continues its pop-up tour this Sunday (and on August 19) with sausages at the Lamplighter beer garden at the Central Flea.
Exodus Bagels. / Toan Trinh for “Small Bite: Hole in One”
Bagels in Rozzie
We love Exodus Bagels in Jamaica Plain, but the small storefront is more of a sandwich shop and café that happens to serve the best bagels in Boston. It’s not yet the most reliable place to stock up on a dozen, because “loosies” often sell out. But as the Exodus team has found its groove in JP, they are simultaneously building out another space in Roslindale, and finally, starting this weekend, bagel fans can get their fix at the once-and-future headquarters. Preorder bagels by the dozen and eight-ounce containers of house-made cream cheese flavors—online orders received by Thursday night are ready to be picked up in Rozzie any (and every) Saturday and Sunday through October.
Saturdays and Sundays beginning August 4, 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m., 2 McCraw St., Roslindale, exodusbagels.com.
Perillas bibimbap. / Photo via Facebook
Bibimbap and Cider
This deliciously unusual pairing is brought to you by Bantam Cider—the best place to drink in Union Square—and Perillas, a Korean restaurant in-the-works that’s popping up around Boston as it seeks a permanent location. The quick-service menu centers on bibimbap (traditional Korean rice bowls); for this Saturday’s pop-up, it will be bulgogi beef and white rice with carrots, zucchini, spicy kimchi cucumbers, and more fresh veggie options, house-made sauces, and crunchy garnishes. On the cider side of things, we want to try the big, new Mighty Mammoth—a New England-style dry-hopped, 8.5 percent cider—and we also want to meet the cider house’s new pup, Baby Hugo.
Perillas Pop-Up, Saturday, August 4, 3-6 p.m., Bantam Cider, 40 Merriam St., Somerville, Facebook.
/ Photos provided
Sweetfish and Sake
The 34-year-old Café Sushi recently unveiled a transformative new look—go see it for yourself, and order up a summer feast. Chef Seizi Imura just got in some fresh ayu, a smelt-like “sweetfish” from Japan, which he’s lightly searing on the skin side, and serving with house-aged soy and grated daikon on the omakase menu. Now is also the perfect season for a cold glass of Tensei Sake, a honjozo-style sake from the Japanese surf town of Kanawaga. Its melon-y flavors pair well with sushi, particularly salmon, Imura says, and the new-to-the-menu sake is a perfect summer drink.
1105 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-492-0434, cafesushicambridge.com.
A Spicy Sunday in Southie
The Chopped judges may not have loved chef Asia Mei’s fiery flavors when the Moonshine 152 chef-owner was on the Food Network show last month, but that opinion is not shared by the firecracker herself, or her guests. Mei’s infamously spicy Angry Chili Sauce is now available at Moonshine every Sunday to kick up anything on the menu. It’s also featured in a Sunday special, Angry Fried Chicken Wings—buttermilk fried chicken smothered in the habanero sauce. Can you handle it?
152 Dorchester Ave., South Boston, 617-752-4191, moonshine152.com.
This post was updated Friday, Aug. 3, at 9:30 a.m. with news that Castle Island debuts a Charlestown beer garden on Sunday.
