Eat Octopus a la Plancha, Soft-Serve Ice Cream Floats, and Sausage Arrabbiata Pizza This Weekend

Friday is here, and a long weekend is just about to begin. The weather forecast is a mixed bag, but let’s live it up while it’s still shorts weather and enjoy as much patio dining as we can. We’re kicking off this weekend’s dining recommendations with a round-up of this week’s new restaurant openings, and then we’ll highlight some weekend events and more.

As always, we want to see what you’re eating, so don’t forget to use the hashtag #eaterboston on your Instagram photos of Boston-area food finds. We’ll regram some of our favorites.

Here are all the brand new (or newly reopened) restaurants to check out:

• The Blue Room (Kendall Square, Cambridge): This Cambridge institution reopened yesterday at One Kendall Square, just over a year after a fire shuttered it. The interior has been totally redone, and the menu has been refreshed. Sample dishes: octopus a la plancha with nduja, kale, and white beans; tagliatelle with crab, chili pesto, bottarga, and crumbs; fried Brussels with tonnato sauce, chili puffed rice, and bonito.
• Dacosta’s Pizza Bakery (Worcester): Now open at 40 Millbrook St., Dacosta’s serves Neapolitan-style pizza made in a wood-fired oven imported from Naples that fires up to 900 degrees. Sample dishes: Go Fig Yourself pizza with gorgonzola, pecorino romano, prosciutto di parma, oregano, fig jam, fried rosemary, and Mike’s Hot Honey drizzle; wood-fired wings with apricot jam; soft-serve ice cream floats.
• Florina Pizzeria and Paninoteca (Beacon Hill, Boston): And another pizzeria opened this week, this one in the former Derne Street Deli space at 16 Derne St. Sample dishes: Santina’s spinach squares with cheddar, Parmigiano-Reggiano, pecorino, and egg; sausage arrabbiata pizza with Italian sausage, garlic, and Parmigiano-Reggiano; Goat ‘n Honey panino, served hot on ciabatta with Caña de Cabra goat cheese, oven-dried tomato, apple, honey, and arugula.
• Plus, there are two brand new taprooms to check out. Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing Company opened to the public on August 31 at 81 Morton St. in Framingham, and the taproom’s weekend hours are noon to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Taprooms guests can get sample, half, and full pours, and 16-ounce cans and growlers are available for purchase as well. Current beers include a dry-hopped kettle sour, an American brown porter, an IPA, and more. Meanwhile, in Everett, Bone Up Brewing Company just opened at 38 Norman St. The taproom is open from noon to 11 p.m. on Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays, serving up flights and full pours, as well as 32-ounce and 64-ounce growlers. The current selection includes a key lime white ale, a session IPA described as "fruity, earthy, and perky," a "playful" farmhouse ale, and more.

Events:

• Saturday, September 3: You can kick off the day with a cupcake tour around the South End and Back Bay with Boston Chocolate; it runs from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $55. Later, eat waffle sundaes and affogato at Curio Coffee in Cambridge, where The Parlor Ice Cream Co. is popping up from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Just show up — items will be priced a la carte.
• Sunday, September 4: Head to Journeyman in Somerville for a five-course feast by guest chef Mike Betts, who will be featuring Japanese-inspired seafood dishes and summer produce. Seatings are available between 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.; $65/person. This is also taking place on Saturday night. Or try Alibi at the Liberty Hotel in Boston — there’s a luau and pig roast on the patio from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tickets start at $25 and include a Bulleit bourbon cocktail and a plate of food.
• Monday, September 5 (Labor Day): Lots of restaurants are serving brunch on Monday, including Barcelona Wine Bar in the South End (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Loco Taqueria & Oyster Bar in South Boston (10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with live music beginning at 11 a.m.), and Trina’s Starlite Lounge in Somerville (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.).

Maps and guides:

• Newly updated for September, the Eater Boston Heatmap highlights twelve of the hottest new openings around town where you must eat right now. This month’s new additions to the map: Fat Hen (East Somerville), Haley.Henry Wine Bar (Downtown Crossing), and Waypoint (Harvard Square).
• The long weekend is the perfect time to try as many of these breakfast and brunch options as possible.
• New to town or just visiting for the weekend? Start with our dining 101 guide, aimed at students and visitors.
• We will continue to tell you to drink everything on this boozy milkshake map until the summer ends...and even then, we may not stop.
• Hot weather, cool fish: Try some of the newest crudo options in town.