Korean fried chicken for Davis
The Korean barbecue chain called bb.q Chicken won its licensing Tuesday to open in Somerville’s Davis Square, but it’s not clear when it will open. The former Boston Halal space at 248 Elm St. needs to be converted, and the vagaries of construction leaves even a target date of summer or fall impossible to identify, said the office of attorney Russell Chin on Thursday.
This franchise is under the same owner as the bb.q Chicken at 736 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge’s Central Square. Whereas Cambridge has a competing Bonchon in Harvard Square, Somervillians who can’t wait for bb.q Chicken have an option in Union Square: K-Bok Korean Fried Chicken, 249 Washington St. (Our recommendation is to opt for the Spicy Yangnyeom chicken over the plain or Soy Garlic Bliss; and the veggie mini mandu dumplings are a delicious deal.) The small bb.q Chicken in Davis will be open until 10 p.m. weekdays and until 11 p.m. on weekends.
Brazilian grill and bites
Also approved Tuesday by Somerville’s Licensing Commission: Marinho’s Brazilian Grill at 85 Broadway, East Somerville, which was the restaurant La Cosecha. The father-son business expects to be open until 11 p.m. daily. It joins a thriving Brazilian scene in Somerville: Gauchão Brazilian Cuisine in East Somerville; Oliveira’s Steak House in the Inner Belt neighborhood; and Modelo’s Market Cafe in Magoun Square, just to name three from our guide to all-you-can-eat buffets in Cambridge and Somerville.
Speaking of Brazilian: Kero + Homemade Bites Brazilian Cafe is coming to 374A Medford St., Somerville, not far from Sarma in Gilman Square, making its pães de queijo – a cheese bread – available to green line riders and the students from the nearby high school. The incoming restaurant was reported April 16 by Marc Hurwitz on Boston Restaurant Talk and April 15 by Cat Broughton on What Now, where owners Daniane Felicio and Júnior Garcia said they hope to create a “sense of warmth and familiarity” from homemade favorites such as the chicken croquettes known as coxinhas, sandwiches and Brazilian coffee.
Mister Q. Cafe in Cambridge
The same sources say the Mister Q. Cafe in Charlestown is expanding to 150 Western Ave., in the Riverside neighborhood of Cambridge, a former Beantown Taqueria location that opened in 2013 and lasted only a couple of years. The cafe is known for breakfast items, baked goods, pastries, soups, salads and sandwiches, Hurwitz noted April 15, and is run by Klevis Qyrasi, also behind such businesses as the Peabody Diner and Marblehead’s Ella Taverna, Broughton wrote April 14.
ArtBar changes
Diners should say goodbye to the first-floor ArtBar restaurant at the Royal Sonesta Hotel, 40 Edwin H. Land Blvd., East Cambridge, which is changing its name and concept from a “warm, intimate retreat for food, wine and art lovers” to become the Scull and Keel Fish House and Spirits, “a modern concept rooted in local waters and coastal tradition” with a menu that “celebrates fresh, locally sourced seafood, seasonal ingredients and refined technique presented in an upscale casual setting.” (ArtBar already had a lobster roll and blackened Atlantic salmon entree.) The restaurant has patio seating along the Charles River; in addition to being a past winner of the East Cambridge Business Association’s Smoke This Rib Fest, ArtBar made a few lists for best patio and outdoor dining. The name change is, according to promotional text given to the OpenTable reservations site, intended to reflect “the spirit of the Charles River and the energy of the Head of the Charles Regatta.” With the change comes updated floor plan to extend the interior bar and improve accessibility to people with disabilities, according to Cambridge’s License Commission on Friday.
Send your (news) tips about menu changes and other items affecting Cambridge and Somerville food and restaurant to editor@csindie.com.
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