Eventide Fenway Will Serve Soft Serve (and More Updates)

Welcome back to Morning Briefing, an almost-daily round-up of mini news bites to kick off the day.

Fall Openings

Sorry for the Monday morning reminder about the impending end of summer, but if you’re feeling sad about cooler weather, this is your reminder to check out the fall opening guide — lots of interesting restaurant openings are coming up to make the changing of seasons a little better. We’re updating the guide almost daily with lots of new information about what’s to come. And don’t forget to hit up the tipline if you know of any other fall (and beyond) openings around Massachusetts that should be on our radar.

Soft Serve at Eventide Fenway

Our big sister Eater explores why soft serve has been showing up on so many menus lately. A little local tidbit snuck into the story: The forthcoming Eventide Fenway, sibling to the acclaimed Eventide Oyster Co. in Portland, Maine, will serve soft serve. Pastry chef Kim Rodgers, who works for the restaurant group that includes Eventide, Hugo’s, and the Honey Paw, all in Portland, got a soft serve machine for the Honey Paw a couple years back and now serves rotating flavors with caramelized honey, honeycomb, or a chocolate shell as toppings.

Cafe Alert

Breakfast was always in the cards for Pagu, which opened right at the beginning of 2017 in a flexible space meant to accommodate everything from daytime cafe service to full tasting menu dinners. Today, cafe service finally launches; it takes place from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. every weekday. Here’s the opening cafe menu, from bottomless congee (with optional add-ons, such as a 62-degree egg) to doughnut holes in hibiscus and hojicha varieties. Drink cucumber apple celery juice, orange carrot ginger juice, or coffee and tea. Free wifi and plenty of outlets.

Rachel Leah Blumenthal for Eater

The Unseen Partner

Boston Magazine gets Boston chefs’ ubiquitous but quiet partner, Brian Lesser, to open up and share a bit about his methods. Lesser is a partner in a number of successful local restaurants, including Alden & Harlow, Smoke Shop, Sweet Cheeks, and more. He often seeks out “hype-heavy chefs who want to be the face of a restaurant yet, despite years of kitchen work, lack the means to fund their dream or the business savvy to ensure its success.”

Mocktails Galore

Chowhound dives into the topic of mocktails — booze-free cocktails — with a little help from a couple of Boston bartenders, Sahil Mehta (Estragon and Bar GoGo) and Ezra Star (Drink). Mehta discusses the importance of layering complex flavors — going beyond simple syrup for sweetness, for example, by using orgeat and grenadine, or using shrubs or verjus for sour and green tea or dandelion greens for bitter. For Star, it’s about finding balance, often with the inclusion of an unexpected ingredient, like salt, which helps “round out sweetness.”

Got a news tip for the Eater Boston team? Email boston@eater.com.