Patriotic Fare

I was glad when Antonio's in Davis Square closed its doors because they had a four cheese pasta dish that included American cheese. (American cheese + Italian cuisine = War. In your stomach.) And now in its place stands an eatery that serves as a much more appropriate venue for American cheese: the Boston Burger Company. Yes, Davis Square, you now have the perfect spot to frequent whenever you need to skyrocket your triglycerides to an alarming level. BBC offers 22 different types of burgers, including beef variations, deep fried varieties, and veggie, turkey, chicken, and conch vehicles. There are also 11 types of fries, the portion sizes of which are large enough to stand on their own as a meal. BBC also makes their own potato chips, which, as is usually the case when a restaurant is motivated enough to make things from scratch, are awesome. Apparently Americans eat about 13 billion hamburgers a year. So you’d better a get a move on to BBC. Because it is your patriotic duty to love and eat burgers without question. And if you’re not with us, you’re against us, you commie pinko.

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Edible for Art's Sake

It's rare to find creativity and versatility in budget sushi, but underrated and below-the-radar Takemura in Harvard makes it happen somehow. It's nothing fancy--in fact, it's underground. But if you want to something different from the cheap sushi standbys (Boston roll, Philly roll, etc., etc.), this is the place to go. In fact, Takemura screams NFT. The menu is uncharacteristically wide for being so reasonably priced. Lots of rolls, big and small, with all kinds of crazy combinations. The interior is very minimalist and not exactly traditional, other than the intriguing laminated picture menus accompanied by dry erase markers. But, thankfully, a great deal of effort goes into the taste and presentation of the food, and isn't that the reason why sushi is so popular in the first place--edible art? Takemura seems to do a good business despite being so inconspicuous, but I do think they're underrated. Usually hungry college students are willing to give their eye teeth for good, cheap, unusual rolls, so I'm not sure why they're not lining the streets for Takemura. Sometimes I think those Harvard kids don't know what's good for 'em.

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Your New Diner

In my estimation, you can make just about any meal better by cooking it with a little Southern flair, and putting a side of grits next to it. Judging by the accents you hear when you dine at Victoria's just outside of Andrew Square, this joint will scratch that Southern breakfast itch. Let's get this out of the way quick: They have a photo of Britney as their logo. That's crazy hilarious, and thankfully they used an old one. Bygones. The food is fantastic, with that confederate flair I mentioned and a menu the size of Britney's alimony payment. My favorite example of their varied wares, their sausage choices: Pork, Apple Maple Chicken, All Beef, Hot, Linguica, AND grilled patties. That's a wide meat variety for all you vegans to fall off the wagon for. Let me continue to court you by saying that they also stay open 24 hours on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, have a lunch and dinner menu, serve booze, and have a line out the door the second church ends on Sunday. Just picture pancakes, grits, bacon, and all the sausage you could want at 3 am on a Thursday. This is your new Diner.

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Tofu Somerville

Finally, a sushi place is putting fruit in their rolls! At first glance, Taipei Tokyo might just look like a run of the mill sushi joint, but they're actually rather creative with their dishes. The pineapple maki speaks to me; they must've known I was coming. And the curry lo mein is destined to be the hangover breakfast of champions: almost makes you want to skip the boozin' the night before and go straight to the noodles--almost. They also know how to make a mean fried tofu--it's not just for pasty hippies anymore. (No offense if you're a pasty hippy.) They seem to do more lunch business than dinner. Sometimes I walk by on Saturday evenings and get upset that they're not busier. I've loved and lost many places like this, especially ones with killer rolls. But as long as Tufts students are still swarming Davis, there will always be a home for Taipei Tokyo.

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Late-night Goodness, Oh Yeah

Sweet Southern Fried Jesus, Boston's got a late night wings and waffles joint! The Hen House, just past Andrew Square, is a South of the Mason-Dixon location and this place is INCREDIBLE. They've got barbeque, they've got soul food, and all the sides your confederate taste buds want. Here's what you're going to do. Step 1. Pick out your Waffle. I suggest Buttermilk. 2. Pick your butter--Cajun tastes like heaven ought to. 3. Pick some chicken 4. Pick your syrup and 5. You pick your sauce. What's that you say? They have a combo BBQ and Teriyaki sauce called Teradactal and it's flipping phenomenal? Well I'll go with that one then. I'm going to come out and say that I eat out a lot for this gig, but only rarely do I find a place that when I leave I'm already planning on when I'm coming back, who with, and how many people will need to know about this new spot on the Dorchester line. Come for lunch, come late night for that post club grease fix, but you need to come at some point, because this place just got the Patrick Hellen seal of Awesome-sauce.

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