Food Archives - Cambridge | Somerville Independent

The newest kid on the block is Café+ by Pagu, where global fare includes Enso’s dusted Taiwanese doughnut

by Corky White September 23, 2026

Tracy Chang, chef-owner of Pagu has opened a small café with a global menu within the new home of MIT's School of Architecture and Planning.

BITE

Spicy chicken sandwich at bb.q

by Marc Levy September 23, 2026

$8 The quest for a great spicy chicken sandwich goes on, having not ended at the bb.q franchise opening in Davis Square this past month. That inspired a chance at redemption from 2023, when I ate at...

FOOD

Yafa Bakery & Café looks to convert empty space in Davis Square into its second location

by Marc Levy September 22, 2026

The Yafa Bakery & Café plans an expansion within Somerville, taking over the old Posto restaurant site in Davis Square after a vacancy of 1.8 years.

BUSINESS

What was once Clover’s kitchen near Inman Square could become open to all in Redevelopment Authority plan

by Marc Levy September 21, 2026

The former Clover fast food location near Inman Square could become Cambridge’s first commercial kitchen as part of a CRA mission to spark economic opportunity.

BUSINESS

The Half Shell closes in Porter Square, making way for a sandwich lover’s haven called The Sub Shop

by Marc Levy September 18, 2026

The Half Shell’s Greek-style pizzas, calzones, pastas and salads are gone, but The Sub Shop, a buzzy transplant from Boston, specializes in artist-level sandwiches.

LET’S GET COFFEE

Follow your nose: Pavement Coffeehouse and its predecessors

by Corky White September 16, 2026

Memories of coffee in places sometimes layer over each other; there’s been a lot of movement and those of us who remember have followed the coffee aromas across town.

BITE

Pork belly bao at Noodle Lab

by Marc Levy September 16, 2026

A quick-serve bowl restaurant offers appetizers of two steamed baozi filled with anise soy-braised pork belly, green onion and vegetable slivers drizzled with hoisin sauce.

BUSINESS

Coffee shop in the making aims to bring together Salvadoran beans and Cuban cheese rolls

by Marc Levy September 15, 2026

Launch could come before the end of the year in a vote of confidence in, and expression of gratitude for, the community and business district south of Porter Square.

FOOD

Talking food: A conversation with Ana Sortun of Sofra, Sarma and Oleana

by Corky White September 9, 2026

At 14, Ana Sortun washed dishes at a Seattle restaurant. By 19 she was at La Varenne, the cooking school in Paris. Then she went to Turkey and found her culinary home.

FOOD

Revelations on taste: New thoughts on coffee and food at Sofra

by Corky White September 9, 2026

Almost never is a café visit only about coffee, and that is particularly true at Sofra, a café-deli-restaurant-destination. Its food, with a morning cup of coffee, offers a lesson in pairings.