Cuisine en Locale Is Now Popping Up Every Single Night

Somerville's Spring Hill area is fairly quiet in the dining arena. There's the ever-popular Highland Kitchen, a longtime mainstay on the Eater Boston 38, but there's not much else nearby. "Locavore" catering and event company Cuisine en Locale found a permanent home in the former Anthony's space in late 2013, a few doors down from Highland Kitchen, and they've been hosting events with increasing frequency, from rock shows to taco nights, but they've never been open for "normal" restaurant hours — until today.

Beginning tonight, January 12, Cuisine en Locale finds a middle ground between its ever-changing pop-up-style events and a permanent restaurant: its lounge will be open nightly for dinner, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and the bar is open until 1 a.m. That's right; there's a new bar in town. Well, it's been hiding there for a little over a year, but now it's regularly open for your local boozing pleasure, from craft beers and ciders to a full range of harder stuff. (There are also some old-school, non-local schnapps that the company inherited from the previous occupants; order one of those as a shot, if you dare.)

Despite the regular hours, Cuisine en Locale will still be doing what it does best — supporting local farmers and creating menus on a whim based on what's available. "Every night is magical," says owner JJ Gonson. "It's always whimsical. We're always gypsies, and it's always pop-ups with us."

So while there will always be new surprises, there are a few things you can depend on. Monday night is always "taco night," for example. And most nights you'll find some kind of a flatbread-and-a-salad combo for $14. There's also talk of arepas landing on the menu in the near future.

Cuisine en Locale launched in 2005 and has been hosting events that would now be described as "pop-ups" long before pop-ups were a thing. Now, even though the company has put down roots, the intention is for that pop-up feeling to never go away. Follow along on Facebook for a peek at what to expect on any given day, or just show up and be surprised. That's the point of a pop-up, anyway.

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• Cuisine en Locale Photos by Rachel Leah Blumenthal for Eater