Bagels and Seafood Boils Are So Hot Right Now

The wind is howling, the rain is falling, and downtown Boston is hopefully not flooding too badly. As the week draws to a close, here’s a look back at the most-read stories this week, from beer to dumplings to an izakaya on the Cape:

1. The Hottest Restaurants in Boston Right Now, March 2018: This month, the Heatmap got two sizzling hot new additions: Exodus Bagels and Bootleg Special.
2. This Forthcoming Cambridge Dumpling Joint Has Some Serious Legacy: Dumpling Daughter — related to 1980s waterfront mainstay Sally Ling’s — is expanding from Weston to Kendall Square.
3. Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette Are Doing Another Cool Thing: It’s not a new restaurant, but it’s a chance to eat at three restaurants in one night.
4. Fenway’s Cheeky Monkey Brewing Company Is Playing for Keeps: Fenway is home to quite the gaming and beer-drinking experience — even though the head brewer is thousands of miles away.
5. Lucky Malden’s Getting Two New Breweries (and One Will Have Cheese): Chelsea’s Mystic Brewery will open a taproom near Idle Hands, and a brewpub called Faces — yes, related to the defunct nightclub — is also in the works.
6. A Short-Lived Cambridge Cafe Will Become a Ramen Bar: Brew on the Grid will become Stix Noodle Bar, from the same owners.
7. You’ll Never Believe This, but yet Another Caffe Nero Opens Today: Plus, beer tap umbrellas, a spinach pie you should eat today, and more news.
8. Downtown Boston Now Has One of Those Weird ‘Modern’ McDonald’s With Table Service: Plus, a Southern restaurant debuts today, a seasonal ice cream shop makes its return, and more news.
9. Take a Boozy, Guinness-Filled Crawl Through Brighton: This booze crawl’s not all about Irish bars, but there will be some Irish bars.
10. A Drink Alum Wants to Open an Awesome-Sounding Provincetown Izakaya: Plus, a big birthday for L’Espalier, soft serve you should eat today, and more news.

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