Just to clarify, this is going to be strictly Just-Outside-of-Boston edition. Not to be confused with Boston proper, JOB is its own expansive neighborhood and a really vague qualifier for Arlington, the town I grew up in, and its adjacent towns. While there is plenty of good food within Boston’s borders, the places I think about most and continue to miss were virtually always outside of the city, in one of many largely populated and equally commercial towns outside of Boston. For the sake of accuracy I will call this broad area Boston+. Given my 20+ years of living there, I like to think that I have some understanding of Boston+’s food scene, though admittedly I was less committed to experiencing food and restaurants at that point, being far more invested in cooking and baking and frequenting my favorite spots. That said, this newsletter will be one of many future Boston+ editions that will surely miss some of the city’s top spots and will also be missing a lot of photo evidence. Sorry! It is heartfelt and nostalgic nonetheless.
Since my parents’ move to D.C. two years ago, I have made four visits to Boston. In that time frame I have moved to New York and become acquainted with Washington D.C., having had many good meals in the process. There are, however, a few meals in the area surrounding Boston that I still think about and truly miss, none of which I have had the chance to return to in quite some time. If you were to ask me off the top of my head my three favorite meals in Boston+, this is what I would tell you. Enjoyyyyy!
AND if anyone has special thematic or occasion requests within Boston let me know :)
Row 34
Burlington, MA, Boston, MA, Portsmouth, NH
The love I have for this restaurant is limitless, to be totally honest. Formerly Island Creek Oyster Bar, Row 34 is one of what was once a prolific family of restaurants spanning New England. Island Creek Oyster Bar, the restaurant off-shoot of Island Creek Oysters, a beautiful oyster farm in Duxbury, Massachusetts, was where I really fell in love with the hospitality world. Once a very special occasion spot for my family, ICOB and its siblings, Eastern Standard and Row 34, were restaurants that felt truly important and exciting to me, even as a pre-teen. My grandparents would take us to ICOB in Kenmore Square for holidays and birthdays, or pre-baseball game celebrations. I remember the ambience of each of those restaurants very well, how elevated they felt, and how much I appreciated the opportunity to eat something as decadent as a lobster roll or house-made donuts.
When Island Creek expanded to Burlington, 15 minutes from my house in Arlington, I immediately sent in my resume for a job. Having had one prior restaurant gig, it felt like the perfect opportunity to become a part of a place that had always felt so special to me and my family. At the ripe age of 17 years old, the ICOB family hired me and it was truly one of the most transformative work experiences I have ever had. While the youngest team member by several years, my bosses (shoutout Erin, Laura, Chris, Katie, Meg and Van) were a rock-solid support system during my final years of high school and into my transition to college. I worked every weekend and after school as often as I could, and loved every second of it. I was so lucky to have had that opportunity at that age, in both front and back of house roles, to really grow into myself in such a fun and supportive environment.
Island Creek Oysters is still alive and well in Duxbury, supplying oysters to the best restaurants across the states, with a raw bar at their farm that is to-die-for, and an offshoot in Portland, Maine. In 2021, the owners of Island Creek and Row 34 separated, Eastern Standard and ICOB in Boston closed for good, and ICOB Burlington became a new Row 34 location. With business changes and my personal adoration for the restaurants aside, the food is also very very good. Just named one of the 25 best restaurants in Boston and frequently mentioned on such lists, Row 34 is everything you would want in a New England seafood restaurant, as was ICOB. The lobster roll is, obviously, a MUST! Whether you prefer yours cold with mayo or hot with butter, it comes on a fresh, toasted brioche bun and a healthy serving of fresh lobster. The buttermilk biscuit with honey and rosemary butter was always a family favorite, the perfect marriage of sweet and salty, as is the warm cornbread with maple butter that comes in a very large serving in a hot cast iron skillet. The beer battered fish and chips with malt vinegar aioli were a favorite post-shift meal, the oyster sliders were a fan favorite, and be sure to order as much from the raw bar as you can handle, especially the Island Creek oysters and shrimp cocktail
ICOB also had their own pastry team that baked the bread fresh every single morning, and created the most beautiful desserts. This was my first real exposure to proper, professional baking and I was amazed by them. The Row 34 team will always have such a special place in my heart—if you are ever near any of their four locations, or near the Island Creek outposts, make sure to stop by.
Yume Ga Arukara
I find that some, if not all, of the best places to eat in or around Boston are in severely strange locations. Yume Ga Arukara, and its predecessor Yume Wo Katare are no exception. I need to quickly touch on Yume Wo Katare, a ~15 seat ramen spot on Mass Ave in Porter Square. Yume Wo Katare, which translates to “talk about your dreams” is in a very unassuming storefront on a busy stretch of Mass Ave in Cambridge. With each seat facing an open kitchen where a rich broth is ladled into bowls, topped with either 2 or 5 pieces of pork, depending on your hunger levels, and finished with fresh, hand-stretched noodles, the highlight is just getting to be there. The ramen, their only offering, is very good and incredibly rich, and you are scored on how much of your giant bowl you eat. If your bowl is completely empty, the chef yells to the entire restaurant “we have a perfect!” with great enthusiasm. Different levels of consumption are rewarded with different qualifiers which, in my opinion, is the best tool to fight against food waste I have ever seen. At the end of the meal, you are invited to stand up and share your dreams with your fellow patrons eating their ramen. It is really, very wholesome.
Yume Ga Arukara, which translates to “because I have a dream,” was opened in 2016, in the basement of the mall at Lesley University. Not only is this a mall with virtually nothing in it, it is a maze to make your way to YGA’s booth. Similar to its ramen counterpart, the menu is incredibly limited and serves just one dish: udon. Your options are hot or cold, spicy or not spicy. Cold and spicy was my go to, and was ridiculously good. Fresh udon can be a life-changing meal, even if it’s being enjoyed in the basement of a mall in Cambridge. The broth, the chewy noodles, and sliced beef are all house-made. The bowl is topped with scallion, tempura flakes, and red pepper. It is exquisite, homey and comforting, and worth going out of your way for. The two restaurants have gotten many well-deserved accolades, and I hear Yume Ga Arukara now has a second location in Seaport! Thrilling!
3 Little Figs
This one is so rogue but so nostalgic—a Somerville special that was a destination of mine for years. I have no memory of how I found this place, other than the fact that throughout high school I spent a lot of free time between Somerville and Cambridge, a byproduct of loving to drive whenever possible, and finding cute places to sit. The main appeal of 3 Little Figs, lovingly called “figgy” by my family, was that they brew Tandem Coffee. I am not as much of a coffee snob as one might expect; I don’t know a lot about beans, just the general varieties and roasters I tend to prefer. Based in Portland, Maine, Tandem has been a standalone favorite for as long as I can remember, being probably my favorite coffee shop I have ever been to. The appearance of a Maine coffee roaster in Somerville was exciting, and made this a go-to spot for an extra special coffee treat. As a testament to how long I have been going here, I remember being excited that they sold kombucha… which is the most accessible beverage in every storefront in America now.
Beyond the delicious coffee and very cute, snug space, the food and baked goods were always a hit. I checked the menu for reference and it hasn’t changed… like at all. The highlights were a very soft, flaky black pepper biscuit that housed a simple egg and cheese sandwich, as well as a chia pudding (which usually I don’t care about), that is served with this incredible date caramel, dragonfruit, cacao nibs, coconut, and various other crunchy toppings. Texturally it did everything a chia pudding possibly can, and was delicious and fun without being weird. I feel like this menu was so consistent and simple, and never needed to change. They would always have amazing sandwich and salad specials which were lunch favorites, as well as a labneh bowl with granola and a rotating seasonal fruit, and the Village sandwich which was a sweet potato, goat cheese, arugula, and honey sandwich. Again, simple. Not reinventing the wheel, but so good. There are 100 million coffee shops in New York and I still think about figgy all the time. In 2022 when I had a two hour afternoon in Somerville I stopped there even though it was completely ridiculous given my timing, and had no regrets. Nostalgia can take you quite far. I think the only pictures I have from here are from high school with VSCO filters so I will spare you. Go see for yourself <3
Writing this made me realize how many Boston favorites I have… so while this is a fun start there will definitely be more of these coming!! Next on my list in Boston…
to this day i'll drop everything to make that arlington drive !!!