News Bites: Modern Mediterranean Restaurant Kush by Saba Opens in Somerville

Kush by Saba’s coffee-braised lamb shank with potato parsnip puree and wilted radicchio salad, a seasonal special. / Photo by Saba Wahid Duffy

Grab a cup of coffee and settle in for this week’s food news bites, from restaurant openings to delicious events. (You can catch up on past installments of our Monday food news roundups here, and reach out via email with news that should be on our radar.)

Jump to: Openings | Closings | In the Works | In the News | Things to Do This Week

Openings

• Meat-and-cheese alert: Boardeaux—formerly a catering company called Boards by Mo, and still doing catering under its new identity—is now open downtown with grab-and-go charcuterie cups and mini boxes, sandwiches, and salads, plus bottles of wine and other provisions to bring home. (Pre-order larger charcuterie arrangements.) 52 High St., Downtown Boston, boardeauxbos.com.

Gluten-free garlic bread at Capo. / Courtesy of Capo Restaurant & Supper Club

• Northeastern students can get a taste of South Boston’s Capo Restaurant and Supper Club as the Italian restaurant pops up on campus from September 30 through October 17. Pastas and more will be available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Students can swipe in; community members can swing by and pay $18 at the door. The Social House at Stetson West, 10 Forsyth St., Fenway, Boston, nudining.com.
• Cha Yen Thai Cookery, a Watertown favorite (and past Best of Boston winner), moves into new, larger digs across the street on October 5. The new location—with 86 seats, a big jump from 30!—features a full bar to accompany longtime favorites like fried corn cakes with sweet and spicy peanut dressing, khao soi with braised beef, and chef Manita Bunnagitkarn’s popular ice cream, made in-house, in flavors like ginger and Thai tea. 620 Mt. Auburn Ave., Watertown, chayenthaicookery.com.
• Greater Boston’s fourth location of New York City-based cookie chain Chip City Cookies is now open: Taste rotating flavors such as s’mores, horchata, and blueberry cheesecake, plus other treats like “chip crookies” (cookie-dough-stuffed croissants), on Newbury Street. (And in case you missed it, a location opened in Harvard Square earlier this month, too—1 Brattle Sq., Cambridge.) 316 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston, chipcitycookies.com.
• Flake Bakery, specializing in pastéis de nata (Portuguese egg custard tarts), opens in Coolidge Corner on October 1, with coffee, tea, and other Portuguese pastries rounding out the offerings. Flake is owned by husband-and-wife duo Stephen Chen and Cristina Quintino; Quintino grew up in Lisbon. 1298 Beacon St., Coolidge Corner, Brookline, flakebakery.com.

Kush by Saba’s beet hummus with za’atar pita chips. / Photo by Saba Wahid Duffy

• Kush by Saba—the modern Mediterranean food truck putting down roots in Somerville’s Union Square—debuts takeout service from its new space on October 3 (with delivery and dine-in to come at a later date). Swing by between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Thursday, Friday, or Saturday for dishes such as sweet potato and feta croquettes with smoked paprika aioli, harissa brown sugar braised beef with couscous and cilantro sauce, and spicy mac and cheese with lamb merguez crumble. 5 Sanborn Ct., Union Square, Somerville, 774-623-4131, kushbysaba.com.
• Short Path Distillery has just opened a new, 16-seat cocktail bar inside its Everett headquarters—with a distinct menu from its existing onsite cocktail bar. The new one, dubbed the Barrelhouse Bar, is in, well, the barrelhouse of the distillery, and its menu highlights the distillery’s spirits in a variety of cocktails, including dessert cocktails, digestifs, tasting flights, and exclusive pours. Reservations are required, you must be 21, and the Barrelhouse Bar is only open on Friday nights. (The distillery’s other cocktail bar is open daily, does not require reservations, and is family-friendly.) 71 Kelvin St., Everett, shortpathdistillery.com.

Closings

A chop suey sandwich from Salem Lowe in 2023. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

• Salem icon Salem Lowe, probably the most famous home of the chop suey sandwich, has closed (again). The restaurant, which opened in 1912, shuttered in 2022 (after about 50 years of operation under the same family), but new owners—the team from Spitfire Tacos in Marblehead and Salem—took over in 2023. “After finishing our second season we have decided to close the Salem Lowe,” they wrote on Facebook. “We did our best to try and save a piece of history. We learned a lot. We have spent the last three years on this project and it is time for us to move on.” Want to usher in the next era of chop suey sandwiches? Give it a go. 201 Fort Ave. (Salem Willows Park), Salem.

In the Works

Brisket and more at Pig Beach BBQ at PKL. / Photo by Tierney Gregory

• Aaron and Shanna Chambers, the husband-and-wife duo behind Salem restaurant Settler, are opening a second Salem restaurant, Bernadette, in November. Local sourcing will drive the French bistro-inspired menu, which will feature chef Aaron’s spins on coq au vin, beef bourguignon, and the like. (He has a lengthy background in French fine-dining, working under Daniel Boulud, Raymond Blanc, and others.) The wine list will be exclusively French, with an emphasis on female winemakers. 65 Washington St., Salem, bernadettesalem.com.
• The team behind the Dubliner downtown will open a spacious restaurant in the former Dorset Hall space in Dorchester in November, McGonagle’s Pub & Restaurant. Meant to reflect modern Irish cuisine, the menu will include dishes that feel traditional (fish and chips, shepherd’s pie) and those more globally influenced (like the “spice bag” popularized by Chinese restaurants in Ireland, plus wood-fired pizzas). There’ll be live music, too. 367 Neponset Ave., Dorchester, Boston, instagram.com/mcgonaglespub.
• Nouvelle Maison, a French market, bakery, and café, is set to open in Winchester on October 23 with wines, a giant selection of cheeses and meats, and more, not to mention various classes and tastings. Nouvelle Maison is owned by Tom and Celine Kimberly; Celine grew up in France. Boston sweets lovers may recognize bakery and café manager Giselle Miller, known for her intricate desserts at Menton, Deuxave, and more. (Most recently, she was a partner at Lakon Paris Patisserie, which draws long lines for over-the-top croissants.) 30 Church St., Winchester, nouvellemaison.com.
• New York-based Pig Beach BBQ is coming to South Boston’s big indoor pickleball venue, PKL, in October, bringing brisket, wings, smash burgers, and more. Read our full story here. 64 C St., South Boston, playpkl.com. 

In the News

A spread of dishes and banchan at Somaek. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

• The New York Times gives Boston a little attention in its 2024 national restaurant feature, “The Restaurant List,” highlighting “50 favorites for 2024” (mostly new restaurants, but also some old-timers). Downtown Boston newbie Somaek—from the newly minted restaurant group that includes the JM Curley (and more) crew and restaurateur-chef Jamie Bissonnette—makes the cut. With a menu conceived by Bissonnette and his Korean mother-in-law, Soon Han, Somaek “presents Korean home cooking in all its magnificence and abundance,” writes Julia Moskin. “Alongside robust classics like chilled pork belly, seared beef and stir-fried squid with rice cakes, Soamaek serves a master class in banchan like chive-garlic salad, radish kimchi and pickled perilla leaf.” The “full and festive bar program” gets a shout-out, too. 11 Temple Pl., Downtown Crossing, Boston, somaek.com.

Chicken tagine at Moona. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

• Another delightful Greater Boston restaurant mention in the NYT this month, this time in the wedding section: Dr. Yuvaram Nellore Vilambi Reddy and Chetan Bhasker Jhaveri were married in August in Pennsylvania, but the grooms met in Cambridge in 2018. (Each earned graduate degrees here, and Jhaveri is a founder of local mental health startup Sophia.) After meeting on a dating app, the duo embarked on a perfect first-date itinerary: dinner at romantic Mediterranean restaurant (and Best of Boston winner) Moona, followed by ice cream at Christina’s (look at that: another Best of Boston winner)—chocolate hazelnut for Reddy, mint chocolate chip for Jhaveri. Moona, 243 Hampshire St., Inman Square, Cambridge, 617-945-7448, moonarestaurant.com; Christina’s Homemade Ice Cream, 1255 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge, christinasicecream.com.

Things to Do This Week

See also: our general Things to Do guide for music, comedy, art, and lots more

Ongoing

• Wicked Haunt Fest has begun, courtesy of the team behind Tradesman and Urban Wild. Head to Charlestown’s Hood Park through November 3 for two acres of theatrical haunt experiences, a beer garden, themed bars (prehistoric creatures, classic movie monsters), vendor booths, and plenty of family-friendly spooky fun. Plenty of festival food will be available, from fried Oreos to candied bacon strips to caramel apples. Tickets start at $25, and there’s free parking available (up to three hours) in the Hood Park garage. 10 Stack St., Charlestown, Boston, bostonswickedhauntfest.com.
• Brand new Somerville ice cream shop Third Time Ice Cream is mixing up some special flavors for Rosh Hashanah, available by the pint through October 5 (or while supplies last): “Rimon and Garfunkel,” pomegranate gelato with “a hint of pomegranate molasses funk”; “Not Your Bubbe’s Tzimmes,” carrot and sweet potato custard with a parsley swirl; and more. 1 Bow Market Way (Bow Market), Union Square, Somerville, thirdtimeicecream.co.
• Legal Sea Foods is celebrating all things oyster for the month of October. Swing by your local outpost for dollar oysters on Tuesdays (the fine print: dine-in only, while supplies last, not available at airport locations) and special oyster dishes available all month, including Buffalo fried oysters, oysters Rockefeller, and more. Multiple locations, legalseafoods.com. 

September 30

• It’s steak night at Quincy’s modern Vietnamese destination Lê Madeline. The night’s specials include rib eye bò né: Vietnamese-style sizzling ribeye with house sauce, charred tomatoes, Vietnamese ham, eggs, pâté, side of bread, and optional bone marrow. Pair with a fat-washed truffle Old Fashioned. Reserve online and put “steak night” in the notes. 409 Hancock St., Quincy, lemadeline.com.

October 4-6

• It’s the season for Octoberfest and Dogtoberfest at Harpoon Brewery. The former takes place October 4-5, with plenty of beer, food trucks, stein-hoisting competitions, pretzel-eating contests, live oompah music, and more entertainment. Then, on October 6, bring your dog for a costume contests, a run/walk, and beer for humans and “beer” for dogs. Proceeds from Dogtoberfest support MSPCA – Angell and brain tumor research at Dana-Farber. Get Octoberfest tickets here and Dogtoberfest tickets here. 306 Northern Ave., Seaport District, Boston, harpoonbrewery.com.

October 5

• Barbecue bagel sandwich, anyone? The Grateful Bagel is collaborating with the Smoke Shop BBQ for a pop-up at the Assembly Row location of Smoke Shop. Pre-order loose bagels and barbecue sandwiches such as the Frankenswine: pulled pork, cheddar jalapeño link, mac and cheese, and slaw on an everything bagel. Pick up between 9 a.m. and noon. 325 Assembly Row, Somerville, thesmokeshopbbq.com; thegratefulbagel.com.
• If you haven’t made it over to the new location of Bluefin in Jamaica Plain yet, this is a good opportunity: The restaurant and seafood market is hosting its first chef’s dinner on October 5, featuring a three-course menu by executive chef Manya Lulek. (This special menu will be available on October 12, too.) Seats are very limited; book online. 660 Centre St. B, Jamaica Plain, Boston, bluefinrawbar.com.