Critic Finds ‘Different-Flavor-in-Every-Bite Goods’ at a Thai Restaurant in Davis Square

“Get Your Street Noodles On”

Dakzen (195 Elm St., Somerville) “is the latest reflection of this welcome trend” of “traditional, regionally diverse versions of Thai cuisine gaining traction” in the area, writes MC Slim JB in his latest review for The Improper Bostonian. At the “modest little storefront” in Davis Square, Dakzen provides “a high-value, whirlwind tour of Thailand’s Central, Northern and Isan regions,” including a “gorgeous” sausage (sai ua), “bouncy” meatballs, a “balance of sweet, spicy-hot, sour and funky/savory flavors” in dishes like yen ta fo (a Bangkok noodle soup), and a tom yum noodle soup that “delivered the vibrant, different-flavor-in-every-bite goods.” If you’re ready to step away from “Thai food in the American suburban style,” he writes, come to Dakzen to “get your street noodles on.”

“Boston’s Best Pizza”

Elsewhere in Davis Square, another new spot gets some high praise: Dragon Pizza (233 Elm St., Somerville), a new casual pizzeria from Charlie Redd (of the now-shuttered Redd’s in Rozzie) with Sinclair alum Keenan Langlois and Redd’s alum Antonio Reyes. While Kara Baskin’s “Quick Bite” pieces in The Boston Globe don’t usually veer into a full review, instead providing a snapshot of the scene at a buzzy new restaurant, she goes all in for Dragon in this one. It’s “Boston’s best pizza,” she declares. “This is the tastiest pizza I’ve ever eaten in this town — crispy, crackly, sooty, chewy, stretchy, easily foldable New York-style triangular bliss with orange oil that saturates a paper plate before you whisk it to the table.”

• Fire and Funk [IB]
• Fired Up About Dragon Pizza [BG]