The Washington Square Tavern: Beer, Burgers, and Banter

A visit to The Washington Square Tavern is an evening for good beer, good burgers, and good banter.  It’s like going to a party at the cool kids' place—you know the ones, who ironically wear tweed jackets and stock their bookshelves with Kerouac and Vonnegut.

Here at the Tavern, the décor is an homage to a passion for books and for biking, in the form of low, dark wood bookshelves and black-and-white photos of the Tour de France. There's a jovial feel in the air, cultivated by Gerry, the owner, who greets the regulars by name. A dining companion remarked that "all the faces look familiar—I feel like I know everybody here."

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slow-roasted tomatoes

I'm going to make a confession, here.  I haven't spent much time at my stove this summer.  I can't tell whether that's marvelous (I've hiked past waterfalls!  Read in the sun!  Broached ocean waves!) or shameful (I've neglected my recipes... and perhaps my writing... and all of you).  You may recall that the same kitchen neglect happened last summer in that cluttered, itty-bitty sublet of mine, but just so you won't think that this is becoming my modus operandi, I'd like to point out that that was for a different reason entirely.  That kitchen was... well, rustic.

Brookline Family Restaurant: Turkish Tastes, with a Diner Feel

Does "Turkish diner" sound like an oxymoron?  If you've ever stepped inside the oddly-named Brookline Family Restaurant Turkish Cuisine, the phrase probably resonates more than you would think.

At this casual Brookline Village restaurant, the portions are generous, the atmosphere friendly, and you can order a fried egg until the middle of the afternoon. The difference here is that instead of that fried egg, you could order any number of Turkish breakfast selections, like Pastirmali Yumurta, an omelet with diced beef and feta cheese.
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Umami: Asian Inspiration in a Bistro Setting

Fusion cuisine is a tricky concept. It's like a clever bait-and-switch, but more so than a simple substitution of one ingredient or side dish for another. Emergent fusion flavors should give a nod to both of their parents, entirely complementary, yet entirely unique. It's an adventure to discover one flavor hiding where another usually lives.  

At Brookline's Umami, the focus is on savory Asian-inspired tastes that meld with traditional French bistro fare. In 2010, after leaving Thai restaurant Khao Sarn, Japanese Chef Yoshi Hakamoto opened Umami with his wife, Nomun.

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Pizzeria Dante: The classics, with a bit of creativity

There are dozens of different types of pizza, and each with their own proponents, but there's one thing we can all agree on: a well-made pie is a thing of beauty.  And something beautiful can be found at Pizzeria Dante, a casual restaurant just outside of Coolidge Corner, with bright red walls and a checkerboard ceiling of emerald and mint green. A loyal delivery and takeout crowd means relative quiet, and seats available for the taking.  Lucky you.

The menu purports to offer "real New York pizza," those wide, thin-crust slices that almost require folding to allow a bite. As the restaurant's name implies, pizzas are the specialty here, and the Margherita is at the top of the charts. Legend has it that when Italian Queen Margherita visited Naples in 1889, a pizza maker served her a pie redolent of the Italian flag: scarlet tomato, snowy mozzarella, and bright green basil. This favorite still hasn't lost its charm. Here, tangy and flavorful tomato sauce is laid thick over a chewy crust.

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Tamarind Bay Coastal Indian Kitchen: Indian Flavors, from the Sea

Seafood might not spring to mind when you think of Indian cuisine.  Chicken tikka masala, sure. Lentils? Yep. Tandoori? Of course. But seafood?

Why not? India's coastline stretches some 4600-odd miles along the Arabian and Laccadive Seas, and, in the Eastern part of the country, the Bay of Bengal.  Thousands of harbor towns, as well as the major cities of Chennai and Mumbai, are right on the water. Once we Bostonians reconcile the fact that there are more options than the Maine-style dipped-in-butter preparation, Indian seafood isn't the oxymoron it might first appear.
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Paris Creperie: the Art of the Crepe

Jay Silverston is a fixture behind the register at Paris Creperie, taking orders and doling out deadpan quips in equal measure. Not catching a customer's name, he asks her to repeat it.

"Kyle or Clark?" Jay asks.  It's Kyle.  "Are you sure?" he inquires, straightfaced.

Behind this comedic welcome is the assembly line, where a few crepe makers work perhaps half a dozen broad circular griddles.  A ladleful of dun-colored batter slurps onto the first griddle, cooking and setting as it's teased into a perfect circle.  Then it's peeled from the griddle and slapped onto another, a blank canvas to receive its fillings—perhaps a cloak of gently-melting cheese, or thin pink layers of ham.  The final step is folding layer upon layer of thin, light crepe upon itself, a tri-cornered pocket of dough and filling that demands to be eaten hot the moment it hits the plate.

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