"What real chefs can do with red-sauce Italian." One could be forgiven for expecting very little from Basta Pasta. It sits on a traffic-heavy Cambridge street lined with bodegas and split-level homes. No waiters—just a walk-up counter whose chalkboard menu reads like the Olive Garden’s. There’s a refrigerator stocked with Pepsi and Gatorade; a flat-screen TV hangs overhead. The name’s a little corny. And the owners aren’t even Italian. But with one bite of homemade fusilli, none of this could matter less. MIT grad students, the Cambridge fire department, and Central Square denizens have been holding out on the rest of us—Basta Pasta is no ordinary red-sauce takeout. Order well, and the dishes handed over the counter will be phenomenal....
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Note: On Mondays, one of our various Market Scene correspondents from around the country checks in with what's fresh at the farmstands in a particular region. Today, Penny Cherubino (Boston Zest) drops by from Boston. Steps from Harvard Yard, with historic Memorial Hall as a backdrop, you'll find the Harvard Farmers' Market. It's part of the University's Food Literacy Project, which "cultivates an understanding of food from the ground up." One of the wettest Junes on record has delayed sun-loving summer crops in the Northeast. Farms with greenhouse operations have had an advantage by producing some early broccoli and cauliflower....
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"The bread is basically just a barrier between your hands and the massive pile of meat you’re devouring." The "Beef on Weck" at All-Star Sandwich Bar When top-notch chefs take on low-brow projects, the results can be hit or miss. Anyone respected for his work in the kitchen should be able to work magic with simpler culinary forms. But too often, those accustomed to higher-end fare might have a hard time learning the language of the pizza, say, or the hot dog, or the burger—turning out over-thought, overpriced dishes that lose the spirit of the original. What's important is the match between creator and concept. And in that respect, the All-Star Sandwich Bar, on Inman Square in Cambridge, succeeds wildly....
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Opening a restaurant’s second location is like making a movie sequel. It should capture the feel, the look, and the ambience of the original—faithfully recreating everything that made it a hit in the first place. But it should also bring something else to the table. Move the story along. The Friendly Toast, just opened on Sunday (May 17) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, does so admirably. It’s hard to replicate the success of a local institution. Up in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the original Friendly Toast has earned lines out the door since 1994 for its mammoth pancakes, crazy egg dishes, and over-the-top kitschy décor. But from an airy space in Kendall Square, the owners have crafted a second Crayola-hued temple of...
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