The Critics Find ‘God’s Tater Tots’ and More This Week

High Prices and Heavenly Plates

For The Improper Bostonian, MC Slim JB visits the recently opened Les Sablons in Harvard Square, a new venue from the Island Creek and Row 34 team that features “luxury prices” and dishes that are “haute French in inspiration and served with photogenically tweezered precision.” Slim repeatedly mentions the eyebrow-raising “price/portion ratio” of many of the dishes, but he can’t help but rave about their quality as well. The crispy potato small plate, for example, is “like God’s tater tots,” he writes — but it’ll run you $19 for three pieces. (They’re topped with caviar.) The lemon posset dessert is “good-lawd-that’s-heavenly,” he writes. (Team Eater Boston agrees.) Ultimately, this is a special occasion restaurant that is “where the cool kids will want to be.”

“Savory and Satisfying”

The Boston Globe’s Ellen Bhang visits the new By Chloe location in Fenway to investigate the all-vegan menu. She finds a kale Caesar salad that has a nut-based dressing and a topping of shiitake mushrooms that provide “umami flavor and crispy texture.” As for the restaurant’s take on a “burger,” Bhang writes that it is “savory and satisfying in a legumes-and-seeds sort of way.” Additionally, the mac ’n’ cheese sauce (made of sweet potatoes and cashews) is “pretty convincing as a stand-in for Velveeta, smooth and rich enough to coat soft-cooked pasta shells.” She calls the sweet treats at By Chloe “delicious,” including the green smoothie bowl and a green tea-blueberry muffin.

“Neighborhood Bonhomie”

The Globe’s Devra First makes a quick stop at Pammy’s in Cambridge for some pasta and other items. She starts with a pairing of beets and cherries with shavings of goat cheese, and artichokes with ricotta over lemon puree. There’s also a foie gras torchon with figs, and the bread and pasta are made with house-milled flour. The fusilli with clams comes with shishito peppers, she writes, and the Arctic char is served with farro and dried strawberries. For dessert, there’s a cocoa-nib cake and a fruit crostata served with honey ice cream. The restaurant has a certain “warmth” — there’s a fireplace, for one, and First also spies one customer wrapped up in a bear hug, courtesy of Pammy’s general manager.

Hidden Street Food

For the Dig, Marc Hurwitz makes the case for the Boston area having good Mexican food thanks in part to Arlington’s La Victoria Taqueria (which has a big sibling by the same name in Beverly). It’s a bit hidden on Medford Street, located off Arlington’s main drag. With a focus on Mexican street food, La Victoria serves tortas (“the obvious choice for sandwich lovers,” writes Hurwitz), tacos (“tough to go wrong with the taco filled with shaved steak”), burritos (the marinated chicken one is “certainly worth considering”), and more.

• Petite Elite Eats [IB]
• At by CHLOE, Now in Fenway, the Good Vibes Are Entirely Vegan [BG]
• An Early Look at Pammy’s, Cambridge’s New Italian(ish) Trattoria [BG]
• Hidden Eats: La Victoria Taqueria [DIG]