Bow Market Adds Filipino Food and Chocolate Purveyors

A hub of food, retail, and entertainment in Somerville added two more vendors over the long weekend: Tanám, which serves Filipino food, and Gâté Comme Des Filles, which sells small-batch chocolates, are now open — at least partially — at Bow Market in Union Square, although grand openings and regular schedules are coming a little bit later.

Tanám is the work of Ellie Tiglao, who has spent the last four years running pop-ups around Boston. She’s partnered with Rain Abdelrazaq and a culinary team to carry the pop-up spirit into Tanám. The restaurant debuted at Bow Market’s New Year’s Eve party, showing off some cocktails and appetizers in its mostly complete space. (A tropical mural is still to come.) In its early weeks, Tanám is holding events for its early supporters who invested in the project; full public hours and an official grand opening are coming very soon, so stay tuned to social media to find out when you can catch Tanám in action.

Through her pop-ups and now with Tanám at Bow Market, Tiglao hopes to share stories of Filipino food and its adaptivity, with a menu that builds on traditional cooking methods. Dishes at past pop-ups have included adobo-braised oxtail, house-made longanisa (sausage), pancit (noodles), and more.

A few doors down from Tanám, chocolatier Alexandra Whisnant also debuted her Gâté Comme Des Filles shop over the weekend. Whisnant rotates through flavors for her truffles, with the most recent holiday batch including timut pepper and yuzu, Moroccan rose and pink peppercorn, and local honey with walnut. At the shop, she’s also serving chocolate cones stuffed with chocolate mousse, hot chocolate, and more.

Gâté Comme Des Filles will hold an official opening party sometime in January, and Whisnant will share details in the shop’s mailing list, so stay tuned for more details and a regular schedule.

Aside from the new additions, Bow Market has around 10 other food and drink options — and a couple more still to come. There’s a wine bar, a brewery, a shop that serves empanadas and lots more, a restaurant that pits a North Shore classic (roast beef) against a South Shore classic (bar pizza), and more, not to mention a comedy club and plenty of retail shops.

Update, 1/18/19: Gâté Comme Des Filles celebrated its grand opening yesterday; exact hours are still being ironed out, so for now, call the shop at (617) 764-5872 to make sure it’s open before making a special trip over.

Tanám is also now officially accepting reservations for late-night bar and snack service and prepaid reservations for two types of dinner service. There’s chibog, taking place most Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, for $90 per person — a five-course meal (plus a zine and “baon” to take home, with cocktails, beer, and wine available for purchase). And every Wednesday night, there’s kamayan, $70 per person, a utensil-free feast that includes over 19 components, served on banana leaf. Book online. Through January 26, Tanám’s early investors are welcome exclusively, and the general public is welcome as of January 30.

• Tanám [Official Site]
• Tanám Coverage on Eater [EBOS]
• Gâté Comme Des Filles Coverage on Eater [EBOS]
• Watch: Why This Chef Left a Career in Neuroscience to Serve Filipino Food [E]