BOSTON’S FIRST-EVER ASIAN RESTAURANT WEEK KICKS OFF TODAY

The city’s first-ever Asian Restaurant Week launches today, showcasing dozens of the area’s top Asian-owned restaurants from fast-casual spots like Bon Me, Dakzen, and Fiya Chicken to date-night favorites like Lê Madeline, Pagu, and Sumiao Hunan Kitchen. Here’s how it works: Each participating restaurant has three signature dishes on the menu they are featuring for the event from May 3 to May 11. Each diner who orders one of those dishes will receive a digital stamp. Collect the stamps all week and then cash them in for entries into raffles for prizes including gift cards and swag like an Asian Restaurant Week apron. More participation details are available here and see the full list of restaurants and their signature dishes to order here.

An acclaimed local chef plots a new cafe with a showpiece rotisserie chicken

Puritan & Co. chef and restaurateur Will Gilson is adding a new restaurant to his ever-expanding Cambridge portfolio: Amba, a counter-service, Mediterranean-rooted cafe with a menu that includes a centerpiece rotisserie chicken, sold with a variety of sides and condiments, according to a press release on the upcoming opening. The cafe will also be stocked with pastries by the restaurant group’s executive pastry chef Brian Mercury, and coffee from La Colombe. Amba will be located at 55 First Street, between Kendall Square and Cambridge Crossing, as part of the new development First Street Market, which will also house a weekly farmers market and large event spaces. Amba is slated for a Summer 2024 opening.

Is that you, Citrus & Salt?

Chef Jason Santos’ coastal Mexican restaurant, Citrus & Salt, closed down in Back Bay earlier this year with promises to return in a bigger and better format in nearby Fort Point. Now, the time has come for the big reveal: Citrus & Salt is reopening this weekend at 319 A Street with a total refresh that includes more indoor seating, a large outdoor patio, and beachy, colorful vibes throughout. Local design powerhouse Assembly Designs was in charge of creating Citrus & Salt’s new look, and they didn’t hold back. Check out the new digs when the restaurant reopens to the public this weekend, starting on Saturday, May 4, at 5 p.m.

A new Laotian food pop-up to check out this weekend

Hanoahan Laos, a Laotian food pop-up run by Bountheng Tanakhone, is taking over Solid Grounds Cafe in Mission Hill this Saturday, May 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. Head over and get your hands on Tanakhone’s Lao Burger or Lao Ribs, plus, each meal comes with sides of papaya salad, sticky rice, slices of cucumber and a frozen coconut drink. (Note that availability is limited for walk-ins, so plan ahead!)

2024-05-03T18:47:25Z dg43tfdfdgfd