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March 2017 was a relatively quiet month on the local restaurant front; we only tracked nine openings in Boston proper and a few more scattered beyond the city limits. Of the few openings that occurred, the cuisines were fairly diverse, ranging from Thai-style ice cream rolls to Texan barbecue to Indonesian cuisine to upscale French.
Fortunately, there weren’t too many closures either. We bid farewell to just a couple Boston proper spots — Crossroads Irish Pub and the Prudential location of P.F. Chang’s, along with a few places in Brookline, Arlington, and Framingham.
Read on for a summary of March 2017, including the most-read news stories and maps, the openings, and the closings.
- Will Ferrell-Themed Bar Will Bring Scotchy Scotch Scotch to Boston?: The 10-day pop-up, coming to Umbria in mid-April, will have themed cocktails and a subtle aura of rich mahogany.
- Boston Restaurants Standing in Solidarity With ‘A Day Without a Woman’ Strike: A number of local restaurants closed for the day or supported the strike in other ways.
- Juicy Spot Cafe Opens Thursday With Ice Cream Rolls, Smoothies, Juices, and More: It’s the first local outpost of the New York cafe.
- Boston Restaurants With the Most Stunning Design: Take a look back through four years of Stone Cold Stunner nominees and winners.
- Kokeshi Bursts Onto the North Shore With Fried Chicken Ramen and Octopus Hot Dogs: Take a peek inside the new Salem project from the Bambolina team.
- Beer Updates: Breweries Expand in Boston and Beyond: Lamplighter, Lord Hobo, Wormtown, Castle Island, and more have development plans in the works.
- The Boston Area Will Soon Be Down Two P.F. Chang’s: The Prudential Center and Peabody locations are closing.
- Intelligentsia Coffee Will Flood Watertown With Free Coffee This Week: As the cafe opening gets closer, the Intelligentsia truck has been doling out drinks and snacks in the parking lot.
- Shed’s BBQ Lands in Boston This Week: Smoked meat, cornbread, and more.
- Sorelle Brings Italian-Inspired Dishes to Abington on April 4: Chef Andrea Schnell will serve up pizza, pasta, and so much more.
- The Hottest Restaurants in Boston Right Now, March 2017: For the March Heatmap update, brought to you by the letter “B,” we welcomed Burro Bar in Brookline, Buttermilk & Bourbon in Back Bay, By Chloe in the Seaport, and Gre.co in Back Bay.
- The Hottest Brunches in Boston Right Now, March 2017: The Brunch Heatmap got a complete refresh in March, with new additions including East Coast Grill, Frenchie, SRV, Little Donkey, and more.
- Where to Eat Vegetarian and Vegan Food in Boston: Updated in March to add even more options for meat-free dining around the Boston area.
- A Guide to Dining and Drinking in Salem, Massachusetts: Where to find French pastries, hard cider, ice cream, old-fashioned candy, and more. Updated in March to add new openings, remove places that have closed, etc.
- 70+ Restaurants Opened Around Boston in Winter 2017: Get to know all the newcomers.
- Al’s Cafe (600 Technology Sq., Kendall Square, Cambridge): Weekday lunchtime subs, soups, and salads.
- Back Bay Beats (B3) (160 Massachusetts Ave., Back Bay, Boston): A menu inspired by cuisine from the South and beyond, plus tons of live music, in a new Berklee building.
- BB.Q Chicken (182 Harvard Ave., Allston): Located in the former Soulfire space, this is the first New England location for the Korean chicken chain.
- Biryani Pot (255 Worcester Rd., Framingham): Hyderabadi cuisine, featuring biryani. This is the 14th location for the Texas-based chain.
- Cafe Luna (612 Main St., Kendall Square, Cambridge): The popular Cambridge brunch spot relocated from Mass. Ave. in Central Square to a larger space; the menu will soon expand.
- CraftRoots Brewing (4 Industrial Rd., Milford): Milford’s first brewery. It has a seven-barrel capacity and a taproom.
- Juice Press (109 Seaport Blvd., Seaport District, Boston): The fifth Boston-area location for the New York-based juice chain. Smoothies, salads, cold-pressed juices, and more.
- Juicy Spot Cafe (16 Tyler St., Chinatown, Boston): Rolled ice cream, smoothies, juice, and more. There are also two New York City locations.
- Kaki Lima at Wink & Nod (3 Appleton St., South End, Boston): The newest resident in Wink & Nod’s culinary incubator is Kaki Lima, a popular Indonesian pop-up that’ll stay at the South End bar through mid-September.
- Kokeshi (41 Lafayette St., Salem): Asian-inspired noodles and more from the team behind Bambolina, the nearby “neo-Neapolitan” pizza-focused restaurant.
- Nirvana: The Taste of India (1680 Massachusetts Ave., between Porter and Harvard squares, Cambridge): Indian cuisine in the former West Side Lounge space. There’s a daily lunch buffet.
- Noodle Market (470-472 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington Center): Vietnamese and Thai food in the former Sweet Chili space. Open for lunch and dinner.
- Shed’s BBQ (32 Bromfield St., Downtown Crossing, Boston): Texas-style barbecue from the owners of Viga Eatery. For now, it’s only open for lunch, but dinner may be added later.
- Troquet on South (107 South St., Leather District, Boston): After years on Boylston Street, this upscale French restaurant with a notable wine list has moved to a larger space downtown.
- Tuscan Kitchen (581 Lafayette Rd., Portsmouth, NH): The Italian restaurant portion of Tuscan Kitchen & Market is now open; the market will follow. The dual concept is coming to Boston’s Seaport District in fall 2017.
- Verts Mediterranean Grill (545 Boylston St., Back Bay, Boston): The second Boston-area location for the Texas-based fast-casual Mediterranean chain.
- Yoki Express (101 Seaport Blvd., Seaport District, Boston): This fast-casual sibling to Medford’s Yoki Restaurant & Bar features sushi burritos and poke.
- Baja Betty’s (3 Harvard St., Brookline Village): The 20-year-old burrito shop will be replaced by Boca Grande.
- Capri Pizza & Subs (1323 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington): This casual pizza shop shut down early in 2016 before reopening under new ownership. Now it’s closed again.
- Crossroads Irish Pub (495 Beacon St., Back Bay, Boston): A restaurant called St. Locale will replace the longtime Irish pub.
- J&M Diner (969 Concord St., Framingham): A devastating fire wiped out an entire shopping complex, including this diner, which opened nearly 20 years ago. The owners will try to find a new location.
- The Middle Gray (6 Station St., Brookline Village): The venue itself isn’t closed — it’ll remain in operation as an art gallery and event space — but The Middle Gray is no longer a coffee shop.
- P.F. Chang’s (800 Boylston St. — Prudential Center, Back Bay, Boston): The national chain’s Prudential location closed in March, and the Peabody location is slated to close in April.