With the June 7 closing of the S&S Restaurant, the deli and Jewish spot serving Inman Square since 1919, there has been some friendly debate over what should replace it. (Co-owner Gary Mitchell told GBH there will be an S&S food truck.)
Inevitably, it will be a bank branch, but it’s fun to wish for better things. The most obvious choice would be a restaurant, but what kind? It happens that I live nearby and am prepared to publish a detailed inventory of what there is to eat and drink in and around the square, extending as far as Kirkland Village, also known as the Gwacca, or Greater Wine and Cheese Cask Area. In the same sense that Chappell Roan is a giver – I am an eater. Let’s dig in.
Coffee
1369 Coffee House. Reliable. Big drinks, good pastries. Definitely cozy, with inadequate seating and a line out the door. The newspapers are free and the staff is mostly awesome.
Broadsheet. Best coffee in the area. Strangely bad pastries and expensive food.
Jamie’s Ice Cream Co. The honorable mention in all things. Attempts to compete with Christina’s for ice cream and Broadsheet for coffee, but does neither. Nothing wrong with it in general.
Verdict: There are enough coffee shops in the neighborhood, aside from weekends around 9:30 a.m., when these places have lines down the block. The former S&S would not be useful as a coffee shop.
Bars
The Druid. Famous for a reason. The only point against this place is that it’s impossible to get a seat there at any of the good times. But once I had a Guinness here in the middle of the day with my German friend, and the Irish bartender made us feel like day drinking was a natural and cool thing to do, which was reassuring.
Trina’s Starlite Lounge. Called this place once to ask if it had room for eight. The annoyed employee said the restaurant doesn’t take reservations, so I should show up and hope for the best. Which I did, and the best happened: We ended up all getting shots on the house and had a dope night. This place is cool, if, like most, slightly too expensive, and I wish it had more entrée options. My friend said the menu is “short and gross” – basically true, but the onion strings are a hit. And no, you don’t need to try the “Dog of the Day.”
Parlor Sports. Really just the back room of Trina’s, and so small that I can get in only when my poor Boston University Terriers are losing a hockey game.
Tall Order. Came here right when it opened. Got chips ($10), which turned out to be a dollar each. Ordered the titular “Tall Order” ($14), which was a glass of sparkling water with a thimbleful of white wine in it. There was a 3 percent kitchen fee upon opening. When the junk fee law passed, it was rolled into the price, which is why all the prices on the menu have several decimal places, as a crabby note at the end explains.
New Republik and An Sibin. I haven’t been to these places because my drinking buddy left town and we didn’t make it this far south. They seem cool.
Turing Tavern. Joke’s on you; this bar no longer exists. It was always empty but had weirdly elevated food for a bar with lights so bright that you could see your friends’ pores. It’s now the Urban Hearth restaurant.
Verdict: We could always use a dive bar. We’ll never get one, but we should keep asking.
Upscale restaurants
Puritan & Co. Always want to go; never have the money.
Oak Bistro. Took my mom here for brunch, and it was delicious, although we had to ask multiple times for the right menu. Hard to justify going here for any other meal, as it does that French thing in which the meat is the dish, and it’s like, let’s eat a whole duck! Let’s have a big slice of chicken! Okay, man.
Moona. The servers here have a strange affect, although they clearly try hard. I like the place, but the dishes (besides the pitas) are hit or miss. The falafel is middling for a Mediterranean place. But there is a French cider that is really gas.
Dali. When this place is on, it’s on. The decorations alone are worth a trip. The staff is quirky and friendly. Yeah it’s a lot of money, but I’d rather spend it on sangria and garlic shrimp in a place where I feel welcome than somewhere more corporate.
Zuzu’s Petals. This is a “walk by and look in the window” kind of place.
Café Saint-Germain. The site of one of the most perplexing dining experiences I’ve ever had.
Oleana. I won’t review this place unless The Independent pays me to – and I’m not a food reviewer, so that’s won’t happen unless the restaurant makes some kind of social faux pas for me to comment on.
Verdict: The neighborhood is well-served by nicer spots.
Takeout
Thai Hut. Honorable mention, as this long-standing place is closing. I will miss this nice, reliable family-owned spot.
Hot Chix. Despite its tacky name, this is an expensive way to have a couple pieces of chicken.
Pita. Ate here once, at this fast-casual sibling of Moona. Didn’t like it, probably won’t return.
Olé. Good, but doesn’t have that same “it” factor that good Mexican spots like Union Square’s El Potro do. I would love a proper taqueria in this neighborhood.
All Star Sandwich/Pizza Bar. Elevated and creative, locally owned, but a 20 percent tip over an already pricey sandwich will never satisfy me.
Christina’s Homemade Ice Cream. Despite the dingy interior, this place is awesome and deserves its heavy foot traffic. It’s a spot that when you remember it exists, you wish you were there.
The Kebab Factory. “Bob,” as it’s known, is a funny place. The food takes about 45 minutes to prepare regardless of how busy the restaurant is. Once I ordered something that it was out of, so the kitchen just put something else and a dessert in the bag with a handwritten note. I won’t talk smack about Bob, because some people love him.
Punjabi Dhaba. The first time I ate here I’d had a tough day and was sweaty and tired, and I sat down to the most generous spread of rice and chicken I’d seen in a long time, served on a metal tray. Tears may have been shed. The food here is by no means elevated, nor is it the best Indian food around, but the place is authentic and the food is always hot and intensely edible. I’m here all the time. Just don’t scroll too far down the menu – it’s better at the basics.
Verdict: We could use a replacement for Thai Hut, maybe something cafeteria-style like the unparalleled Nud Pob Thai over at Boston University. I would also love a local taqueria on par with Felipe’s – there are about seven such restaurants down the road in Harvard Square and none here.
We are lucky we live here, and that we can walk, bike or get a bus to all these spots. The postpandemic question that plagues restaurantgoers is that of value. There is a fine line between the experience, convenience and caloric content of a restaurant feeling like a scam and it being a place that you can bring your friends on a Friday night. Let’s hope the next person willing to open something here figures out the latter.
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