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Eat Korean Street Food at Cafe Madeleine in Boston’s South End

Plus, Vietnamese cafe Cicada Coffee Bar adds dinner service with wine and beer, and more news

Browned pancakes are stacked on top of each other. A bite out of the top one reveals a black sesame filling.
Black sesame hotteok from pastry chef Hana Quon’s first “hotteok party night” at Cafe Madeleine in Boston’s South End.
Hana Quon

Welcome back to AM Intel, a round-up of mini news bites to kick off the day. (Got intel that should be on Eater’s radar? Contact the team here.)


Cafe Madeleine is hosting hotteok party nights

South End gem Cafe Madeleine (seriously, take a look at everything that pastry chef Hana Quon posts on Instagram and then go eat it) is now hosting occasional “hotteok party nights,” with Quon featuring the popular Korean street food hotteok, a sweet filled pancake. You’ll have to keep an eye on her aforementioned Instagram account for announcements, but the next party is tomorrow, October 6, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., with traditional and green tea hotteok available, as well as a hotteok ice cream sandwich (choose traditional, green tea, or black sesame hotteok with sweet cream ice cream.) Pre-order by phone to guarantee your order: (857) 239-8052.

Cicada Coffee Bar adds dinner service

Cambridge’s fairly new (and excellent) Vietnamese cafe Cicada Coffee Bar — from the team behind the popular pop-up series Nem Kitchen — now has a beer and wine license, with dinner service to go along with it. Currently available Friday through Sunday, “Cicada @ Night” deviates from the simple daytime menu of banh mis and noodle bowls, giving diners the opportunity to try dishes like a seasonal salmon passion fruit tartare; monkfish with turmeric, dill, and vermicelli; oxtail with red wine, potatoes, and a Viet baguette; duck with basil and black sushi rice; and more. (Here’s the menu; there are several vegan options available.) On the boozy side, choose among a few natural wines, by the glass or bottle; a couple local beers and a Vietnamese lager; or a junmai ginjo sake or Cicada’s house-infused cucumber sake. Cicada is taking dinner reservations via Resy, but walk-ins are also welcome.

50Kitchen is popping up at City Hall

Dorchester’s 50Kitchen, which serves a fusion of Southern soul food and Asian cuisines, is in the midst of a pop-up at Boston’s City Hall — you’ve got a few more days to swing by to try breakfast or lunch. Chef Anthony Caldwell is featuring dishes such as Nutella French toast, chicken and waffle sliders, honey fried cornbread, and more. Find the pop-up on the 8th floor of City Hall (it’s open to the public) between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. through Friday, October 8.

And a beer and wine garden is also popping up at City Hall

Pop-up beer and wine garden Essex Park, a collaboration between Roxbury’s District 7 Tavern and the Leather District’s Savvor Lounge, is taking place on the Congress Street side of Boston’s City Hall Plaza through October 15 (4 to 8 p.m. on weekdays). With a capacity of 300 and some covered space, the rain-or-shine event has live entertainment some nights, and local food trucks are onsite for dining options.

Bondir’s Jason Bond joins the Clover team

Chef Jason Bond closed his Cambridge restaurant Bondir over the summer; the upscale farm-to-table restaurant had been open in the intimate space on Broadway for a decade, and Bond noted his intention to find a larger space after “a long summer break.” (Judy’s Bay, a New England izakaya, will soon open at the Broadway address.) No word yet on future plans for a new Bondir, but for now, Bond is keeping busy joining local vegetarian fast-casual chain Clover Food Lab as executive chef. His role at the company will include cooking classes, pop-ups, and more.

“Having the opportunity to team up with a renowned healthy food brand that I’ve been enjoying for years, and whose ethos and mantra aligns with my own, is the perfect way to begin my next chapter in the chef world,” Bond said, via press release.

Cafe Madeleine

517 Columbus Avenue, , MA 02118 (857) 239-8052 Visit Website

Bondir

279 Broadway, , MA 02139 (617) 661-0009 Visit Website

Cicada Coffee Bar

106 Prospect Street, , MA 02139 Visit Website

50Kitchen

1450 Dorchester Avenue, , MA 02122 (617) 474-2433 Visit Website

Clover Food Lab

1075 Cambridge Street, , MA 02139 (617) 798-7335 Visit Website

Savvor Restaurant and Lounge

180 Lincoln St, Boston, MA 02111 (857) 250-2165 Visit Website