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A vibrantly colored portion of ceviche is presented on a white plate on a white table, with a glass of beer on the side.
Ceviche and a beer at Celeste. The 2018 restaurant of the year is offering takeout and delivery six nights a week.
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

How to Eat at Eater 38 Restaurants That Are Still Open in Boston

20 restaurants on Boston’s Eater 38 list are open for takeout and/or delivery during the coronavirus pandemic. Here’s how to order.

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Ceviche and a beer at Celeste. The 2018 restaurant of the year is offering takeout and delivery six nights a week.
| Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Looking at the Eater 38, Eater Boston’s quarterly showcase of 38 of the Boston area’s most defining restaurants, the early impact of COVID-19 on the local restaurant industry becomes quickly apparent. Nearly half of the restaurants on the list have temporarily shut their doors entirely, while the remainder are trying to eke out a bit of business as currently allowed by the state: takeout and delivery only. In most cases, the businesses that do remain open are limiting their hours, menu, and staff; in some cases, restaurants are toying with new business models, such as selling fresh pasta by the pound.

Across the board, restaurants need support: from customers, from insurance companies, from legislators. Takeout and delivery aren’t nearly sufficient on their own, but it’s a start. If you’ve been wanting to support some of your favorite local restaurants, here’s how to order from the Eater 38ers that are currently operating, from wood-fired pizzas in Charlestown to bulk orders of dumplings in Fenway to banh mi in Dorchester to ceviche in Somerville.

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Davis Square Thai gem Dakzen, Eater Boston’s 2018 fast-casual restaurant of the year, remains open for delivery and takeout daily for lunch, dinner, and late-night. Don’t miss the khao soi or ba mee moo dang; throw in sai ua, northern Thai sausage, for an appetizer as well.

Order takeout: (617) 718-1759 / Official Website (Social distancing intervals are marked on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, and customers pick up at the door, not inside.)

Order delivery: Uber Eats

Khao soi — a yellow curry with chicken, egg, lime, crispy noodles, and more — is served in a traditional Thai-style bowl decorated with a rooster. The bowl sits on a yellow surface.
Khao soi at Dakzen
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Yume Wo Katare

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At Porter Square ramen gem Yume Wo Katare, part of the magic is standing up and announcing your dream to other diners after you finish your bowl. For now, you’ll have to announce it only to your roommates and pets at home. The restaurant isn’t currently offering its typical jiro-style ramen; instead, it’s offering a rotating array of takeout-friendly special dishes most nights. Keep an eye on Instagram for announcements, because you must preorder on the Souskasa platform (which is also facilitating preorders for sibling restaurant Yume Ga Arukara, as well as Yume Ga Arukara’s neighbor Ittoku).

Order takeout: Souskasa (Only six customers can be inside at once, and there are numbered boxes to indicate where to stand; hand sanitizer is available.)

Ramen noodles and slices of pork are stacked impossibly high in a white bowl, topped with ample garlic.
Yume Wo Katare isn’t currently serving its signature jiro-style ramen, pictured here; instead, there are daily specials, like ramdon and mazesoba.
Yume Wo Katare [Official Photo]

Cambridge Italian restaurant Giulia is one of the hardest reservations to get; now you can enjoy some Giulia staples at home with a limited takeout menu available daily. Customers must order and pay by phone only — call with your full order ready, as well as your credit card. Ordering opens at 3 p.m. each day. Check Instagram or the restaurant’s website for the daily menu, which, in addition to prepared dishes, includes fresh pasta and sauces for those who prefer to cook it themselves.

Order takeout: (617) 441-2800 (Customers are grouped into half-hour time slots for pickup between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. to minimize the number of people arriving at once.)

Closeup shot of thick pasta noodles covered in red sauce and grated parmesan cheese on a green ceramic plate.
Pasta at Giulia
Giulia/Official Site

Celeste

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Eater Boston’s 2018 restaurant of the year, Celeste, is a tiny Union Square spot known for its hospitality and flavorful Peruvian cuisine. The restaurant is offering takeout and delivery from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with an ever-changing menu that features some Celeste classics as well as specials. The comforting lomo saltado (pictured here) — a beef stir-fry with tomatoes and onions — is a must. Once you get your meal, add ambiance: Go to the Celeste website and scroll down for curated playlists.

Order takeout: Official Website (curbside pickup)

Order delivery: Official Website (free within the Greater Boston area)

A white plate sits on a white table, full of cubes of marintaed beef with peppers and tomatoes. A glass of red wine sits to the right.
Lomo saltado at Celeste
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Another Union Square restaurant of the year alum, Juliet, is serving a limited and always-changing menu for takeout — generally a few sides, entrees, and dessert options — several nights a week, as well as some weekend brunches. Recent dishes have included pasta fra diavolo with shrimp, mussels, and boquerones; banh mi; beef bourguignon; and more. Sign up here to get a daily email with the details, and place dinner orders before 5:30 p.m. for pickup between 6 and 8 p.m. Online preordering and paying is required.

Order takeout: Official Website (The link becomes available during days when takeout will be available; sign up for mailing list for notifications and details. Call (617) 718-0958 when you’re on your way to minimize wait time.)

French onion soup on a white background with a plastic cup of iced coffee nearby.
French onion soup at Juliet
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Brewer's Fork

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Charlestown’s Brewer’s Fork is a popular hangout for wood-fired pizza and a great beer list. For now, the restaurant is offering a large menu for takeout (pizzas but also cheese and charcuterie, sandwiches, and more) and a limited menu for delivery for lunch and dinner daily.

Order takeout: (617) 337-5703 / Official Website

Order delivery: Uber Eats

Sausage pizza at Brewer’s Fork. The cornicione, or outer crust, is charred from being cooked in a wood-fired oven.
Sausage pizza at Brewer’s Fork
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Pammy's

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Pammy’s, the Italian-inspired trattoria between Harvard and Central squares, is currently offering an abbreviated menu for takeout; find it on the restaurant’s website. Pammy’s takes phone orders only, opening up the lines at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and assigning pickup times between 5 and 9 p.m. Sales of the $20 fresh bread are divided 50/50 between a fund for unemployed staff to access if they need more help than the state can provide and nonprofit organization No Kid Hungry.

Order takeout: (617) 945-1761 / (857) 285-6185 (Only four or five people are assigned to each pickup slot to minimize crowding, and the restaurant is marked with social distancing indicators and sanitation stations. If you’d prefer curbside pickup to going inside, let them know when you place your order.)

A big white bowl on a white tiled surface, filled with lumache in a red sauce and garnished with a thinly sliced green herb.
Lumache Bolognese with gochujang at Pammy’s
Natasha Moustache

Tawakal Halal Cafe

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Tawakal Halal Cafe reopened in East Boston (at a new address) a couple years ago after a seven-year hiatus, and the restaurant’s rebirth was more than welcome, serving excellent Somali food (and dishes influenced by other cuisines around East Africa as well as the Middle East). Be sure to order a bottle of the restaurant’s house-made, mango-based hot sauce (if available) and some sambusas to dip in it.

Order takeout: (617) 418-5890 (Prepay on the phone. Curbside pickup is available if you don’t want to go inside.)

Order delivery: DoorDash / Uber Eats

Overhead view of two Somali dishes on a pale peach tablecloth with white accents. One dish is chapati strips cooked in a tomato sauce with chunks of beef; the other is a beef biryani with multi-colored rice in shades of yellow and orange.
Tawakal plate (left) and beef biryani at Tawakal Halal Cafe
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Regina Pizzeria

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Perhaps Boston’s best-known name in pizza, brick-oven chain Regina is offering takeout and delivery for lunch and dinner daily from its original North End location (and other locations around the region). Regina dates back to 1926 and has since spread itself pretty thin to numerous locations, especially inside malls, transportation hubs, and the like, but the original location on Thacher Street still holds a place in many a local’s heart.

Order takeout: Official Website (curbside pickup available)

Order delivery: Grubhub

Giambotta pizza at Regina Pizza
Giambotta pizza at Regina Pizza
Regina Pizza/Facebook

KO Catering and Pies

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East Boston’s favorite purveyor of Australian meat pies is currently offering takeout — be sure to follow the instructions and “step the fuck back” — as well as delivery. In addition to meat pies, the menu includes sausage rolls, a chicken schnitzel sandwich, and more; plus, watch social media for family meal specials meant to feed four.

Order takeout: (617) 418-5234 (Call once you’re onsite and follow all posted instructions for payment and pickup.)

Order delivery: DoorDash / Uber Eats

An Australian meat pie sits in a paper container on a red tray on a red and white picnic table
A meat pie at KO Pies
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Craigie On Main

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Central Square icon Craigie on Main is offering a concise selection of classics and specials for takeout and delivery. Yep, you can get the pig’s head, the whole roasted chicken, or the “OG” burger for dinner, 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Order takeout: Official Website

Order delivery: Caviar

Glamour shot of a burger on a white background. There are potato strings on the side.
The “OG” Craigie burger
Sarah Storrer/Eater

Villa Mexico Cafe

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This Financial District lunchtime staple is churning out its grilled burritos, special black salsa, and more for takeout and delivery on weekday mornings and afternoons. Phone orders and credit cards only. Customers are also able to donate a meal to first responders if they’d like.

Order takeout: (617) 957-0725

Order delivery: (617) 957-0725 (within Boston)

 

Cross-section of a stuffed chicken burrito. A wrapped starlight mint is on the side of the plate.
Chicken burrito at Villa Mexico Cafe
Dana Hatic/Eater

Mei Mei

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The casual Chinese-American food-truck-turned-restaurant is currently offering takeout but only for a small menu of bulk items (and merch) — orders of 20 dumplings, trays of red cooked pork, quarts of soup, and such. Double Awesome lovers will have to wait for the return of their favorite scallion pancake sandwich.

Order takeout: Official Website

Three plump fried dumplings sit on a white plate with a blue floral pattern, garnished with chopped scallions
Mei Mei’s pierogi dumplings are available in bulk
Mei Mei/Official Site

Fox & the Knife

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The South Boston restaurant is James Beard award winner Karen Akunowicz’s love letter to Italian cooking. The restaurant is currently offering a two-pronged takeout and delivery program: From noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, customers can order fresh pasta by the pound, as well as sauces and other accoutrements. Then, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., there’s a limited menu of Fox & the Knife dishes available. For phone orders, note that there’s only one person answering the phone, so you might have to try again; order early if possible as items may run out. Check Instagram for menu updates.

Order takeout: (617) 766-8630

Order delivery: Caviar

Overhead view of a round white plate filled with bright green twists of pasta.
Campanelle al pesto di pistacchio at Fox & the Knife
Sarah Storrer/Eater

Bar Lyon

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The French restaurant is teaming up with several of its siblings under the Columbus Hospitality Group umbrella to offer a joint menu that includes dishes from each spot. It’s available for delivery as well as takeout, but takeout orders must be picked up at sibling restaurant Mistral (223 Columbus Ave., South End, Boston), not at Bar Lyon.

Order takeout: (617) 867-9300

Order delivery: (617) 867-9300 / Caviar

Cheesy French onion soup in a gold bowl
French onion soup at Bar Lyon
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Bintimani Restaurant

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Sierra Leonean food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Tucked away inside Mr. G’s Plaza in Nubian Square, Bintimani is currently offering delivery from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., serving dishes like crain crain, foo foo with okra, and pepper soup with chicken.

Order delivery: DoorDash

A whole fried tilapia sits on a plate on a pile of white rice. Underneath is a placemat that reads “Bon Appetit!” Two pink bowls hold side dishes.
Fried tilapia at Bintimani
Terrence B. Doyle/Eater

The Haven

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The Haven, Boston’s “Scottish headquarters,” is currently open for takeout and delivery in Jamaica Plain, with menu updates and other details posted frequently on the restaurant’s website. Expect to see options like the popular burger, scotch eggs, white pudding, fish and chips, deep-fried Mars bars, and more. Call after 4 p.m. for takeout orders, or email at anytime, including a note about when you want to pick up your order (between 4 and 8 p.m.), and await an email confirmation.

Order takeout: (617) 524-2836 / Email

Order delivery: DoorDash

A portion of haggis sits on a bed of mashed rutabaga, garnished with Drambuie butter
Haggis from the Haven
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Singh's Roti Shop

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Fill up on doubles and Trinidadian roti from Singh’s Roti Shop — and you must order a bottle of the house-made hot sauce, too. Open for takeout and delivery from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Order takeout: Grubhub

Order delivery: Grubhub

A serving of doubles — spicy and sweet chickpeas sandwiched between two pieces of fried dough — sits on white paper on a counter, illuminated by a glowing blue light.
Doubles at Singh’s Roti Shop
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Banh Mi Ba Le

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One of the most well-known restaurants in Dorchester’s extraordinary Vietnamese food scene, Banh Mi Ba Le is currently open for phone orders only, and customers must pick up their orders from the window — no one can go inside. The selection may be limited, but if available, get the grilled beef banh mi.

Order takeout: (617) 265-7171

Hands hold two banh mi over pavement
Banh mi from Ba Le in Dorchester
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Brassica Kitchen + Cafe

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Cafe by day, funky upscale-yet-casual dinner destination by night, Brassica Kitchen is offering its cafe menu for takeout from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and dinner from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Delivery is also available for dinner and Sunday mornings.

Order takeout: (617) 477-4519 / Official Website

Order delivery: Grubhub

Two hands hold a wicker basket full of fried chicken toward the camera
Brassica’s fried chicken
Brassica [Official Photo]

Dakzen

Davis Square Thai gem Dakzen, Eater Boston’s 2018 fast-casual restaurant of the year, remains open for delivery and takeout daily for lunch, dinner, and late-night. Don’t miss the khao soi or ba mee moo dang; throw in sai ua, northern Thai sausage, for an appetizer as well.

Order takeout: (617) 718-1759 / Official Website (Social distancing intervals are marked on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, and customers pick up at the door, not inside.)

Order delivery: Uber Eats

Khao soi — a yellow curry with chicken, egg, lime, crispy noodles, and more — is served in a traditional Thai-style bowl decorated with a rooster. The bowl sits on a yellow surface.
Khao soi at Dakzen
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Yume Wo Katare

At Porter Square ramen gem Yume Wo Katare, part of the magic is standing up and announcing your dream to other diners after you finish your bowl. For now, you’ll have to announce it only to your roommates and pets at home. The restaurant isn’t currently offering its typical jiro-style ramen; instead, it’s offering a rotating array of takeout-friendly special dishes most nights. Keep an eye on Instagram for announcements, because you must preorder on the Souskasa platform (which is also facilitating preorders for sibling restaurant Yume Ga Arukara, as well as Yume Ga Arukara’s neighbor Ittoku).

Order takeout: Souskasa (Only six customers can be inside at once, and there are numbered boxes to indicate where to stand; hand sanitizer is available.)

Ramen noodles and slices of pork are stacked impossibly high in a white bowl, topped with ample garlic.
Yume Wo Katare isn’t currently serving its signature jiro-style ramen, pictured here; instead, there are daily specials, like ramdon and mazesoba.
Yume Wo Katare [Official Photo]

Giulia

Cambridge Italian restaurant Giulia is one of the hardest reservations to get; now you can enjoy some Giulia staples at home with a limited takeout menu available daily. Customers must order and pay by phone only — call with your full order ready, as well as your credit card. Ordering opens at 3 p.m. each day. Check Instagram or the restaurant’s website for the daily menu, which, in addition to prepared dishes, includes fresh pasta and sauces for those who prefer to cook it themselves.

Order takeout: (617) 441-2800 (Customers are grouped into half-hour time slots for pickup between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. to minimize the number of people arriving at once.)

Closeup shot of thick pasta noodles covered in red sauce and grated parmesan cheese on a green ceramic plate.
Pasta at Giulia
Giulia/Official Site

Celeste

Eater Boston’s 2018 restaurant of the year, Celeste, is a tiny Union Square spot known for its hospitality and flavorful Peruvian cuisine. The restaurant is offering takeout and delivery from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with an ever-changing menu that features some Celeste classics as well as specials. The comforting lomo saltado (pictured here) — a beef stir-fry with tomatoes and onions — is a must. Once you get your meal, add ambiance: Go to the Celeste website and scroll down for curated playlists.

Order takeout: Official Website (curbside pickup)

Order delivery: Official Website (free within the Greater Boston area)

A white plate sits on a white table, full of cubes of marintaed beef with peppers and tomatoes. A glass of red wine sits to the right.
Lomo saltado at Celeste
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Juliet

Another Union Square restaurant of the year alum, Juliet, is serving a limited and always-changing menu for takeout — generally a few sides, entrees, and dessert options — several nights a week, as well as some weekend brunches. Recent dishes have included pasta fra diavolo with shrimp, mussels, and boquerones; banh mi; beef bourguignon; and more. Sign up here to get a daily email with the details, and place dinner orders before 5:30 p.m. for pickup between 6 and 8 p.m. Online preordering and paying is required.

Order takeout: Official Website (The link becomes available during days when takeout will be available; sign up for mailing list for notifications and details. Call (617) 718-0958 when you’re on your way to minimize wait time.)

French onion soup on a white background with a plastic cup of iced coffee nearby.
French onion soup at Juliet
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Brewer's Fork

Charlestown’s Brewer’s Fork is a popular hangout for wood-fired pizza and a great beer list. For now, the restaurant is offering a large menu for takeout (pizzas but also cheese and charcuterie, sandwiches, and more) and a limited menu for delivery for lunch and dinner daily.

Order takeout: (617) 337-5703 / Official Website

Order delivery: Uber Eats

Sausage pizza at Brewer’s Fork. The cornicione, or outer crust, is charred from being cooked in a wood-fired oven.
Sausage pizza at Brewer’s Fork
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Pammy's

Pammy’s, the Italian-inspired trattoria between Harvard and Central squares, is currently offering an abbreviated menu for takeout; find it on the restaurant’s website. Pammy’s takes phone orders only, opening up the lines at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and assigning pickup times between 5 and 9 p.m. Sales of the $20 fresh bread are divided 50/50 between a fund for unemployed staff to access if they need more help than the state can provide and nonprofit organization No Kid Hungry.

Order takeout: (617) 945-1761 / (857) 285-6185 (Only four or five people are assigned to each pickup slot to minimize crowding, and the restaurant is marked with social distancing indicators and sanitation stations. If you’d prefer curbside pickup to going inside, let them know when you place your order.)

A big white bowl on a white tiled surface, filled with lumache in a red sauce and garnished with a thinly sliced green herb.
Lumache Bolognese with gochujang at Pammy’s
Natasha Moustache

Tawakal Halal Cafe

Tawakal Halal Cafe reopened in East Boston (at a new address) a couple years ago after a seven-year hiatus, and the restaurant’s rebirth was more than welcome, serving excellent Somali food (and dishes influenced by other cuisines around East Africa as well as the Middle East). Be sure to order a bottle of the restaurant’s house-made, mango-based hot sauce (if available) and some sambusas to dip in it.

Order takeout: (617) 418-5890 (Prepay on the phone. Curbside pickup is available if you don’t want to go inside.)

Order delivery: DoorDash / Uber Eats

Overhead view of two Somali dishes on a pale peach tablecloth with white accents. One dish is chapati strips cooked in a tomato sauce with chunks of beef; the other is a beef biryani with multi-colored rice in shades of yellow and orange.
Tawakal plate (left) and beef biryani at Tawakal Halal Cafe
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Regina Pizzeria

Perhaps Boston’s best-known name in pizza, brick-oven chain Regina is offering takeout and delivery for lunch and dinner daily from its original North End location (and other locations around the region). Regina dates back to 1926 and has since spread itself pretty thin to numerous locations, especially inside malls, transportation hubs, and the like, but the original location on Thacher Street still holds a place in many a local’s heart.

Order takeout: Official Website (curbside pickup available)

Order delivery: Grubhub

Giambotta pizza at Regina Pizza
Giambotta pizza at Regina Pizza
Regina Pizza/Facebook

KO Catering and Pies

East Boston’s favorite purveyor of Australian meat pies is currently offering takeout — be sure to follow the instructions and “step the fuck back” — as well as delivery. In addition to meat pies, the menu includes sausage rolls, a chicken schnitzel sandwich, and more; plus, watch social media for family meal specials meant to feed four.

Order takeout: (617) 418-5234 (Call once you’re onsite and follow all posted instructions for payment and pickup.)

Order delivery: DoorDash / Uber Eats

An Australian meat pie sits in a paper container on a red tray on a red and white picnic table
A meat pie at KO Pies
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Craigie On Main

Central Square icon Craigie on Main is offering a concise selection of classics and specials for takeout and delivery. Yep, you can get the pig’s head, the whole roasted chicken, or the “OG” burger for dinner, 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Order takeout: Official Website

Order delivery: Caviar

Glamour shot of a burger on a white background. There are potato strings on the side.
The “OG” Craigie burger
Sarah Storrer/Eater

Villa Mexico Cafe

This Financial District lunchtime staple is churning out its grilled burritos, special black salsa, and more for takeout and delivery on weekday mornings and afternoons. Phone orders and credit cards only. Customers are also able to donate a meal to first responders if they’d like.

Order takeout: (617) 957-0725

Order delivery: (617) 957-0725 (within Boston)

 

Cross-section of a stuffed chicken burrito. A wrapped starlight mint is on the side of the plate.
Chicken burrito at Villa Mexico Cafe
Dana Hatic/Eater

Mei Mei

The casual Chinese-American food-truck-turned-restaurant is currently offering takeout but only for a small menu of bulk items (and merch) — orders of 20 dumplings, trays of red cooked pork, quarts of soup, and such. Double Awesome lovers will have to wait for the return of their favorite scallion pancake sandwich.

Order takeout: Official Website

Three plump fried dumplings sit on a white plate with a blue floral pattern, garnished with chopped scallions
Mei Mei’s pierogi dumplings are available in bulk
Mei Mei/Official Site

Fox & the Knife

The South Boston restaurant is James Beard award winner Karen Akunowicz’s love letter to Italian cooking. The restaurant is currently offering a two-pronged takeout and delivery program: From noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, customers can order fresh pasta by the pound, as well as sauces and other accoutrements. Then, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., there’s a limited menu of Fox & the Knife dishes available. For phone orders, note that there’s only one person answering the phone, so you might have to try again; order early if possible as items may run out. Check Instagram for menu updates.

Order takeout: (617) 766-8630

Order delivery: Caviar