It's Night Side with Dan Ray. I'mdell you easy Boston News Radio.
All Right, the weekend approaches. It's not Saint Patrick's Day weekend, so it's not a long weekend, and we can kind of sit back and kick back and enjoy the weekend. And one of the things that many people do on the weekend is they try to find, oh, maybe a new restaurant, a restaurant that they haven't been to before. And so we thought, and we haven't done this before, that we would try to help you out. Maybe you're looking for a restaurant in your neighborhood that might not
be the most expensive, but might really be good. And if there's one person who knows a lot of the hidden gems of restaurants in the greater Boston area, it's Mark Hurwitz who joins us. Mark has been a writer in this field for many years. He primarily works for NBC ten. He's a food writer there. And Mark, thanks very much for joining us on a Friday night and maybe providing some guidance to some of our listeners. They
can pick your brain. I'm going to pick your brain too, about some of the great restaurants that maybe most of us some of us haven't heard about. How are you tonight?
Good?
How you doing Dan? Thanks for having me on.
Absolutely absolutely. I will tell you that there was a period of time, a long, long time ago when I lived in Boston, in the city, when I knew the great restaurants and all of that. But times have changed and the city's a little more difficult to get into for those of us who don't live in the city proper, and parking is becoming more difficult, Navigating the streets of Boston is becoming more difficult. How's the restaurant seen generally? I mean, you have as good a sense of this
as anybody I could imagine. Is the restaurants seen? When I say Boston's, we're also talking Great Boston too, because there's great restaurants in some of these the suburban towns as well. Overall, what sort of a rating would you give the restaurant scene in greater Boston at this point in time?
Well, it's a little choppy. So ever since the pandemic, you know, it's what five years now, it was booming. Yeah, it was booming until early twenty twenty, and then, of course it's all off a cliff.
So everyone was.
Doing takeout and delivery, or a lot of plays just shut down tempor earlier permanently, and then they slowly clawed their way back, and you know what, by last year things were going pretty well. There are pockets of areas that are still hurting because like office space, people might not have come back into the office is like you know, downtown Boston, it's been a little slow, Kendall Square a
little slow. But lately it feels a little I don't know, it's it depends on where you go again, but I've been in a lot of empty restaurants lately. So I'm a little nervous because there's so many restaurants, new restaurants that have opened lately, and I am finding even on weekends it's it's you can walk into most restaurants now there's no lines at all. It's a little worrisome.
Now. I can remember, you know, a time when it was tough to get restaurant reservations. Oh there's always some restaurants that you just impossible to get, you know, small, you know, hot restaurants. But why is it? I mean, you know, twenty twenty was five years ago. I remember when we were doing our grocery shopping at six am in the morning and bringing home can goods and wiping them off before you would bring them in the house. I mean, well, I look back on that, I'm thinking
to myself, how weird was that. I mean, kids are going to our great kids are going to laugh at us and say you were wiping off can goods before you brought them in the house. But that's what we was told to do. Yeah, you know, the Seaport was open back in twenty twenty. How much of a hit did the Seaport take as the newest, you know, restaurant district in Boston did they Did they get hit harder than others or have they bounced back more quickly than others.
I think the Seaport did a little better than people might think. So, you know, people think that, oh, you know seaports, it's a lot of new apartments and condos, so people recently moved in. It's mostly people who live there who go to restaurants. And you know, there are some tourists who come in there too, and they didn't come during the pandemic. And you know, I think, along with every other part of the area, they were hit
during the pandemic. But you know, I go to the Seaport a lot, and I think they're doing pretty well. I think some of the restaurants there are the ones that you cannot get into because they're so busy. I think, I really think, I really think the Seaport has done
a good job. And I know some people will agree with me on that, but I go down there and it's kind of booming, really, especially compared to say downtown Boston Financial District, maybe Kendall Square, you know, some places like that that are almost all office space.
I assume that the Financial District is hurt during the day because those those office desks haven't been filled up again. But I also assume that because there aren't that many people hanging out during the day in the Financial District, that some of those bars and restaurants which all of us knew, you know, five ten years ago, they probably have shut itered.
Correct, Yeah, a lot of them have closed.
You know.
I write a lot of news stories on opening and closings, and a lot of those little independent restaurants and some of the chains they have shut down, mostly right in the heart of Financial District. So we're not talking Chinatown. We're not talking Daniel Hall, but you know they area Broad Street, High Street, Milk Street. A lot of those there are a lot of those places are hurting. Not
so much the Friday night bars. You know, those places have done okay, But if you're talking about the breakfast and lunch spots, a lot of turnover and people have some people have come back to the offices there, but not everybody. You know, there's still a lot of people work at home, and I think that's that could be permanent. I mean, the way things are these days for us, people working at home, and the same in the suburbs. People do work at home now more than before the pandemic.
When we get back, I want to take a break. I want to invite people to call and if you have a great restaurant that you really like and you want to share it with well, with me and Mark. I'd appreciate it, and Mark will give you compare notes with you on it. I'd like to find out if Boston is doing better in terms of restaurants in the in the squares around you know ros Roslyndale Square, Claire Square in Hyde Park, you know, Mattapan, Blue Hill Avenue.
If if there's a resurgence of people finding good restaurants in those areas as opposed to driving into downtown Boston or going to the North End, which of course is always a great place to go if you can find a parking space. My guest Mark Rwitz. Mark is with NBC Boston. He is a food writer. He's also written written. His work has appeared in a litany of other places.
We'll ask Mark about that as well. But we come back, well, we'll talk about some of the different aspects of Boston because we're just not going to talk about Boston downtown. We can talk about that, but we're going to talk about some of the community restaurants and then also some of the restaurants in now the city's Cambridge, Wealthy and Watertown, Somerville, h Revere, all sorts of the communities that surround our
city are the capital city. So feel free if you got a question and you're looking for if you were looking for a great type restaurant this weekend to impress someone, I'm sure that Mark could give you a couple of ideas as well. Six one, seven, two, five four thirty or six one seven, nine, three, one ten thirty. Mark has told us that He would be happy to stay with us for an hour, but I think you'd be smart if you get on early. We're coming back on
Nightside with my guest, Mark Hurwitz, a restaurant critic. There's nobody that I know in Boston that knows the restaurants seen better than Mark, and that's why we have them here tonight. Back on night Side right after this.
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World nights Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.
You know, Mark, We're going to do is We're not going to make people wait in the phone. So we'll get the phone calls. And I've got a number of areas I want to cover, but I want to accommodate callers and encourage people but to call and ask questions. Let me go to Larry down on the Cape. Larry you wan my guess, Mark Hurwitz. He is a food writer, works primarily at NBC ten, but he's written for a lot of other places that you're familiar with. Go right ahead, Larry, you got a question or comment?
I have a comment.
Yeah.
So a lot of people from the Boston area come down to the Cape for vacation. Sure, and I'm going to give them the best kept secret in Dennis.
Oh, here we go. Listen up, people take coats.
Go ahead, okay, And I know you spend time down the Cape, so a little bit. Okay. There is a place on the north side of Dennis. Have you heard of the marsh Side Restaurant?
Never have marsh Side Restaurant?
Well, well that's not the one I'm gonna talk about anyway. This place is right next to it. The name of the place is Ummammy Pizza. You m a m i ummmmi pizza and fusion. And they have a pizza there. It's called New Haven Style clam Pie. It's clams, bacon, cheese, olive oil, and it's to die for.
Not a big clam guy. Can I get it? Just with the with the bacon.
It's cape cod Dan, Come.
On, I get it. I get it.
I get it.
That's my tip for the night. And by the way, I missed your last episode because I was picking up my daughter at the airport, who lives at the most friendly country in the world.
Oh, I know exactly where she lives, Kaboul in Afghanistan. And you have her or give me a call or whatever and I'll talk with her next weekend.
I'll try you in the next couple of days when she settles in.
Sounds great, sounds great. Thank you, Thanks Claire, thank you. Have you let me ask Mark? Mark, have you do you have any knowledge of the Cape restaurants scene as well, because that is a very vibrant scene, trust me, particularly between a Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Well, I've actually been to marsh Side. I believe it's not the restaurant. I think that's the one. There's a special table, round table that overlooks the Marsh is just a beautiful space. I have been there. It's a great spot. I didn't realize there was a Haven style pizza place in that area long or off Strafford sixth Day. I love new Haven style pizza.
Yeah, said you money, So was the marsh Side restaurant? Is that one that you would recommend? You know, we spend some time down the Cape and it's funny in the summertime, it's impossible. I worked Monday through Friday and to get into a restaurant on a Saturday night that you want to go to, I mean it's you know, unless you personally know the owner, it's it's impossible.
I mean, yeah, it's tougher to get tables on the Cape than it is in the Boston area during the summer.
Oh absolutely, I mean that's why everybody, everybody has left the Cape. So let's talk about restaurants. You know, Mayor Menino was big about trying to build up Rosindale Square and Clary Square and the different squares around Center Street in West Roxbury. And there's lots of good restaurants that you are in technically Boston, but they're not downtown Boston. I think Mayor Menino called it Main Streets. That was
a very good program. How are those restaurants doing, because there's some really good restaurants in the again, not the suburbs, but in the neighborhoods of Boston.
Well, I think, you know, it's interesting, the further you get out into the into the Boston neighborhoods and the more suburban they feel, the tougher it is to get into the restaurants. So it's it's actually a little like the suburbs, especially satellite suburbs like Burlington, Braintree, Peevity, where it's tough to get a table. You go to places like Rossendale's Square to make a plane. Maybe parts of Dorchester, like Lower Mills or Adams Village, Adams Village. It's tough
to get a table in Adam's Village. I've been there so many times trying to get a parking space and be a table. So those outer neighborhoods, Yeah, the restaurants are doing really well, and I think it's because you have a lot of residential areas and also in like CA say, Adams Village, expressways so people can easily get there. So they're doing really well.
But also the amount of money that you're going to drop at a restaurant in you know, Adams Square, Adams Circle, whatever on Adams Street is going to be a heck of a lot less than when you when you go downtown, and it's going to be a lot less aggravation. So again I just have become much more of an anti downtown guy. It's just not worth the aggravation anymore. War And you know, I don't work downtown. I never worked downtown.
I practiced law downtown in the seventies and early eighties during the day, and but I worked in television at night. So my base of operation was Soldiers Field Road. But it what give us give us two or three restaurants that maybe most people haven't heard of, but they they are their secret gems that that people will not be disappointed in.
Are you talking within Boston city limits or or anywhere?
Let's try Let's let's try Boston city limits however you want to define it, and then we can move out into the suburbs a little bit.
Okay, Well, one that's been around forever, and I'm surprised a lot of people still don't know about it as a pleasant cafe in Rossendale. I don't know if you've been there, but seriously, one of the best pieces I've had, not in Boston but in New England. I mean, there are times where I think they have the best peeps in Boston.
It is that good.
And the thing is it's old school. There's one side is a bar, it's all the wood paneling and TVs and Keno, and the other side is a restaurant with all these wooden boots and they have the steam radiators and the servers who have been there forever, and they call you honey and sweetie. You know, it feels a little like the old Doyle's in Jamaica Plaine, and it is just fantastic. It's it's such a great place.
I can't right, is that right in the square?
No, it's up the hill. It's near the West Roxbury border on Washington Street, so as you head out of Rosendale Square heading up the hill toward right there, heading towards den Him. Yeah, exactly. So that's a really great place that And again I'm surprised people don't don't really know about it that much. You know, it's it's a special spot. It's a place I go to more than
most other places. You know, I don't go to restaurants and repeat much because I'm always reviewing, but that's the one I go to when I take the reviewer's head off. So that's one. Another one I like, is uh the Galway House in Jamaica. Plane, it's it's old school, another old school place. You go there for their fish chips and you know, maybe their steak tips or the chicken palm. From the outside, the Galway House looks a little dicey,
but it's not. You know, it looks like a dive bar, but it's really not a dive bar because you know, the harder Jamaica Plane, it's it's gender five. There's there's nothing really scarying down in the downtown area anymore, so that's definitely hit in Gem. I absolutely love that place.
I just had someone who and I just happened to pick up my phone. I never look at my phone, so, uh, Meg call, uh send me a text here just a few minutes ago, said Hi Dan, and again she said, we love a grill in tavern in Arlington. Fresh great fresh food, great cocktails, wonderful staff. And I probably won't pronounce this correctly, and I wish that Meg had called in so she could pronounce it. Uh, monotymy grill? Have you ever heard of that in in Arlington? Monotymy grill?
Enemy y Have I mispronounced it?
No, that's the old name for Arlington. Arlington used to be called Mononymou, and that's where they got the name. And it's you know, it's a very nice place for you know, American food, maybe new American food. I wouldn't call it up scale, but maybe leaning toward casual upscale.
Uh.
They do music, they have events there, and they have good beers. And that's an interesting thing because Arlington used to be a dry town. Though you would not go to Arlington if you wanted to have a beer or hind with your meal, and now you can go to on Re Tavern or a few other places in town and get a nice meal and maybe glass of wine. So yeah, that's a good call there.
Okay, well that that's a good That is a good suggestion a lot of Again, I want others to join the conversation and uh and and ask questions, uh if if you want to find you know, if you're looking for a specific type restaurant this weekend an Italian restaurant. We're doing an event with nightside listeners and I want to I don't want to use this as a plug, but it's a restaurant that Bill and Bowl Winnaker really think is great in Westwood. And again I don't know
how far you get out in that direction. It's called Naroli any r O l I. They claim that it's like one of the best restaurants that I've ever been. It's on Route one A in Westwood. No problem with parking. They have a parking space behind the restaurant him on street parking without meters, which is my idea for the way the world should be. And we're going to do a brunch there on April twenty seventh with night Side Listeners. Have you ever heard of this? It's an Italian restaurant any r O L I I.
Think isn't that's fairly new, isn't it isn't. I think it's in Islington maybe, which is within Westwood. I'm pretty sure that's a fairly new place. So you said it's not.
It's yeah, it's one A. It's on Washington Street, two eighty two Washington Street. And yeah, I'm familiar that Islington is sort of like a sub section of either Denham or Westwood. I've seen the signs entering Islington leaving Islington. It's not that big. But yeah, well again, I just I'm looking for ideas and looking for suggestions. My guest is Mark Hurwitz. He is a food writer for NBC ten. Has to be a nice job to have to just go around and enjoy food at different rest Are you
able to metabolize this food? Mark? I hope that you're not putting on extra weight here and if you if you are, we have awakened one to eighty, which will help you out. By the way, how many nights a week do you eat out? Seriously?
And people always ask me that they just assume I'm out every single night. You know, I may I probably have. I go out to eat maybe i'd say three times a week. And I'm also a hike leader for the Appalachian Mountain Clubs, so I actually did. I did fifty thousand vertical feet of hiking last year alone, So it balances out. So, you know, somehow I'm under two hundred pounds, and I do go out to eat a lot, so it's you know, I have a hike tomorrow morning, for instance,
so it all balances out. But yeah, i'd say maybe two or three times a week, and I cook a lot at home, so it's not quite as much as people think.
That's okay. You've You've built up over the years quite a retinue of restaurants. My guess, Mark Hurwitz, NBC ten food writer here in Boston, been doing it for a while, and he knows this city well well. I have. I have a million other questions about restaurants, and I hope you do as well. Six one, seven, two, five, four ten, thirty six one seven, nine, three one tenth. There. We've got a quick news break here and we'll be back.
Mark's gonna stick with us until eleven o'clock and then we're gonna go to the twentieth hour and we're gonna change topics and talk about the retail change that maybe you grew up with and that you now miss. And I can think of a couple and I suspect most of you will be able to as well. Back on Nightside with Mark Hurwitz, food writer. Back right after this.
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's news Radio.
With me is food writer Mark Hurwitz. Uh. He is a font of information. So there's just probably no restaurant that you can mention him. You know, one that I just wanted to throw out there, which I know is a favorite of not only mine but also my colleague Morgan White, is the Midway Cafe, the Midway restaurant over in Dedham, just over the West Roxbury line out of Washington Street. Have you been to the Midway or no?
Oh, I've been there many times. In fact, I was there the night that the NBA shut down during the at the start of the pandemic. That's when I found out that this thing was real at the pandemic. But yeah, I've been there countless times for their meat low they have a what is a porterhouse, sporkshop something like that and everything. The burghers are great. The turkey chili, I love that place.
Yeah, and that's the sort of place that you walk into and you walk out and you city yourself. Wow, that was great. And it didn't cost me at arm and a leg. I mean it's moderately priced. It's the guy that owns a Bob Jenks is a great guy and he and his wife have it and uh, it's it's comfortable. The boots are comfortable, the bar is comfortable, and this the parking isn't bad. And if you uh, if you know where it is, easy in, easy out, it's on on good good roads. Those are the sorts
of places that that I tend to like housing. Let's switch from Dedham and Westwood. Uh and if any of these restaurants that I've mentioned you folks like, feel free to join the conversation. We got some calls coming in right now. We'll get to those as well. Tell me about the North End. How's the North End doing. I know they've had the fight over there over the outdoor dining with the mayor. And I love the North End, but it's tough to get to there is no parking.
I got to believe that that it's that things are are not as as good as they were a few years ago. In the North End.
It's tough to, you know, on weekends, and I go there a lot, and I'm one of those The North End is lightning rod. I mean, I know people, including some food critics, who won't go there, and and I love it. I just love everything about the North End. And on the weekends, I mean it is, it is packed, especially on nice weekends in the spring summer. So I think they're doing pretty well. I'm sure that there are some places that aren't doing all that quite as well
on the whole thing with the patios, the big controversy there. Yeah, you know, I think overall the North End is doing fine, maybe not quite as good as before the pandemic. But I do find that when I go to restaurants there, like Cafe Vortoria, which is in a real restaurant's cafe, But whenever I go a Cafe Victoria on Hanover, it is packed. So I think they're there.
That's the place that that's the place, that is the cigar bar downstairs.
Correct, Yeah, yes, And you go there and you get the viscotti, and you get a cappuccino, and you dip the this scotti in the cappuccino and there's nothing like it.
Yeah. Well, I'll tell you this. I went into the cigar bar. I don't smoke cigarettes or cigars, but I went down there and just had a beer or whatever it was. The next day I literally had to have the suit directly sent to the drug leaders. It was unbelievable. It was like forty dollars just to get it fumigated.
I mean, oh, I can imagine.
Something like Yeah, never had before. Let's get some more calls. Let me go to Judy in Medford. Judy, you were next on Nightside with my guest, Mark Hurwitz, NBC food writer. Go right ahead, Judy.
Yeah.
One of my favorite restaurants, actually my most of the Italian in Arlington, Scuotra.
I will be surprised if Mark does not know that one. What do you say, Mark Scutra in Arlington?
I know of Scootra. I know people have been there. I have not been there myself. I have heard really great things though family owned.
The chef is great, the staff is terrific. You go there to die and you don't push you out in the bar. And the bartenders are terrific even they have all different kinds of options for those of you who don't want to invobe alcohol, but very good on mocktails as well.
And is that on Summer Street. I'm trying to picture that.
It looks like Summer Street to you, but it's really Summer Street is right.
Off of it.
It's in back and mass al.
You're off the lakes, right, Yeah, No, I have not been there there.
You are want to yourself to take a trip out there, definitely. And then my favorite world million in town is true?
That name of the Let me ask both of you this since your since you know Arlington, what was the name of the Great Steakhouse which was on mass Avenue very close to the kidneys.
Yeah, yeah, Jimmy's Jimmy Jimmy Steerhouse. Yeah, it's sure.
I have not been there. Again. What happens is you get to the suburbs and you just you go to the same places and it's you know, you get comfortable. And that's that's a mistake that I that I make, which I don't want to make. Think the future. These are great. So it's called scutro, Judy.
Right, s c U r O s c U t r A SCOO truck scootra.
What does that mean in Italian?
I don't know.
You asked the wrong girl.
Well that's okay. I'm sure it means great food or something like that.
Especially all the time. It's really great.
And you don't walk out of there, you know, having spent five hundred dollars for two people.
Right, No, you do not no, no, And and it is really they go a lot with the seasons of to where they've had with us. But the specials are there's always a special on and then deserves are terrific as well.
They were.
Really it's a terrific Uh, it's a truic place to Oh, if you haven't tried it, have you guessed by all news?
Go and try it sounds great, sounds great.
Thank you, Judy, You're welcome.
Let's let's keep rolling here. Going to go to Karen in Wisconsin. Karen, I have no idea if you're going to give us a restaurant in Wisconsin. But I'm not sure Mark is going to be able to call me if go ahead, Karen.
Now what I'm going to do is now that I know it's still there and I love it is. I'm going to give a second the Pleasant Cafe in Rosendale. He had mentioned it, and I lived right down the street from there. I love that place, the pizza and the stakes and everything he said about it. I want to give us a second notion to that bar. I'm glad that it's, you know, like restaurant bar and it's great.
Right. Well, Karen used to live here in the Boston area, and that's why that's why she knows your Boston restaurants. That is for sure, no doubt about that. Yeah, all right, that's a good one, Karen, appreciate it. Thank you for all the way for Wisconsin. Hope everything's well.
Okay, there's several good ones also, he mentioned in JP and Death surrounding area. So there you go.
Okay, thanks, thanks for participating. It is always thanks for listening.
Thanks very much, thank you.
One thing about the Pleasant Cafe. One thing I didn't mention about the Pleasant Cafe. One of the reasons I go there. Besides the pizza, they have a list of drinks that basically are from the nineteen thirties and forties. You know, you can get like a Brandy Alexander, Tom Collins Slow Jin Fizz. You can get a California root beer. I mean they I go there and sometimes I grab my phone, which they shouldn't do in a restaurant, and I'll quickly I'll type in, like what's this story? What's
the godfa? You know, and and and all the drinks are fantastic, But you know, they're not pretentious drinks. They're not the new fangled stuff. These are drinks that you've got back well, none of us were back around the thirties, but these are drinks.
At least we weren't drinking in the thirties, that's for sure.
Exactly.
Here's one that that I love in Malden and went there a lot. It's run by a friend of mine, Paul Solano. Pearl Street Station in Malden, mass It's a great restaurant. The food is fat. Have you been there? Pro Street Station?
Oh?
Yeah, so I do. I do radio and a lot of the radio people will go there. We've had big groups at Pearl Street Station. They used to be at another location long ago, but now they're in that huge space. It's multiple rooms and uh oh, they have some of the one of the best chicken palms I've ever had.
Yeah, yeah, you're talking my language now, that's that's for sure. Chicken bob the best. I am not the most adventures in either for me as a as an Irish kid from Reidville. Uh. I you know the idea of Italian restaurants, that's that's that's pretty good for me to get out there and enjoy it. I love Italian restaurants, I really do. Uh. And there's so many good ones in our area. We we ate the other night with some friends out at
a restaurant in Sherborne, Massachusetts. We lived there for many years. It's been the Sherborne Inn. I don't know if you ever been out there. It's now called I think the Fireside Tavern. And it was really good. It was really good. The whole atmosphere had changed. A number of the people who were in there were trying to take it up high and make it, you know, a big, a big number restaurant, and they have changed, they've have taken it down a little bit. We hadn't been there in years.
We were with some our some of our friends from hollist and we met there and that was really good. Now again, maybe we just hit it in a great night. But I enjoyed it, that's for sure.
Yeah, it's a beautiful space. It's just old school New England. I love that place.
Yeah, and they have a great The bar there is wonderful if you just want to sit at the bar as opposed to the restaurant. So yeah, yeah, Hey, I'm hanging in there. Everything I've mentioned, you're with me on it, which is great. We're going to take a quick break. I got three more calls to deal with quickly. By the way, I noticed that you have a lot of followers on your Facebook page. Well, how many people do you have following your story your report?
Well, on social media, maybe three hundred thousand. And I run a group. I run a group, a restaurant group on Facebook that has about forty five thousand. And that group's great because there are chefs, restaurant owners, food critics. A lot of my friends who are food writers are on that. So if you ask questions you will get some really good am.
Wow wow, that that is a big number. I hope you you'll let them know you're going to be on Night Side tonight and if if you haven't, they can listen to the this hour will be posted at Nightside on Demand and you can put it up on your web page and allow people to listen to you tonight here on Nighttide, it will be available.
I definitely will do that. I already told everybody in the group, and I told us others on social media, and my mother who's sleeping, h she wants to listen. Then I said, I told my mother. I said it's going to be on a podcast, so she can do it over the weekend.
Yeah. No, we have big numbers of people who listen to the to the podcast, so it's just Rob Brooks who post this. It would be probably posted by time Rob goes home by three am this morning, so it'll be the ten eight hour Nightside on Demand dot com pretty easy to find. We'll take a quick break here on Nightside. I got Linda, Tim and Christine coming right up with their restaurant selections Weymouth, Wilburn and Denham. That's great. We'll be back on Nightside after this.
Now back to Dan ray Line from the Window World night Side Studios on WBZ.
News Radio, where we were talking, by the way about restaurants on the Cape. There's a great restaurant in Chatham called Pates. It used to be an old school more you know, kind of like a nineteen fifties sixties restaurant, but they have changed it up and it's a really great restaurant owned by a friend of mine named Jim Peterson. And if anybody can get into there in Chatham on a on a well, anytime, whether it's March or May,
June or July, you like that. Have you ever been down to Pates and Chatham?
No? I think the only place I've been to in Chatham is that outlet of Max for lobster roles. But no, I haven't been to that place.
Oh yeah, No, that that the outlet I've been to that one. Yeah, Max Max, this is a good one. I'm familiar with that as well. Let's keep rolling here. We're going to pick up a couple more, at least, well three more. Callers. Got to be quick, Linda, you got to be quick for me. You got two behind you, Go right ahead.
I can be real quick. I get a question, somebody else can follow up and answer. I've in New Hampshire. I can recall from younger days ninety nine restaurant I think it might have been. The original is still up there.
What time was it? Ohgi, Okay, well, let's see. Let me do this. I'm going to ask I'm going to ask Mark if if he knows if the ninety nine began in New Hampshire. That's a very popular restaurant. I think it's still doing well at the ninety nine, still doing Walmart.
Yeah, yeah, I still I go to them. Don't tell any when I go to them. Whenever I go there, people say, what are you going ninety nine for?
You're a food writer.
I'm like, I like one ninety nine. But yeah, I don't know if that's a good question about Hampshire. I mean, I know there's a lot of them in the Boston area, but I'm not sure.
Just over the border. Okay. The other question is is Dallly's in Braintreet used to be there? It's now with the Toyota with the hype flying flag.
Yeah.
Dall's Steak House.
Called next Hour on that because those that's one of those that I missed. I missed that, and I missed the uh the steak place on Route one going north that had the fake cows out there. Oh well, the Hilltop the Hilltop Standouse, absolutely da. I got two more. I gotta get to thank you so much. Have a great weekend. Gotta go, gonna go next to Tim in wilbur And Tim, you were next on nights. I go ahead.
I think I heard somebody say Jimmy's and Arlington.
Yeah, yep, absolutely.
Years ago. I was alignment for the EDS, and we used to go in there, the whole crew, about five of the line trucks. They wouldn't chat yet.
Now that's that's my sort of restaurant right there. I wasn't alive with the electric we were you with me?
I'd live the waitress a twenty dollars tip.
Well, at least Tim, Were you with Boston Edison and then the back in.
The day, Yeah, there was nineteen seventy eight. I was here for three years and I didn't like the job that much, so I left. It was a big mistake. I'd be rich.
Yep, there's no doubt about that. All right, Thanks Tim.
Great. By the way, I got my night side T shirt.
All right, we'd proudly weird, proudly I were good. All right, Thanks Jim, thanks for it. Have a great night. Good night. Christine in Denham. Christine, I'll bet you've been to the Midway Cafe in Denham, Right, I have, I have, so give us another restaurant in debt him or what anywhere you want? Get what? What? What would you want? Which restaurant would you like to talk about? To ask a question about?
I love the Bay Point in Quincy.
That's the I love that place Bay Pointed.
Yeah, Yeah, it's really nice. It's beautiful. The location. You gotta there's a patio that overlooks the ocean. It's so nice there.
Yes, how often? How often do you get there? Christine?
Almost every summer?
Wow, that's beautiful, it's always. It's a great tradition.
The mill Walk in Situate, that's another good one.
Oh, I was just there.
You are?
I was.
Yeah, that's terrific, great great seafood there.
Thanks Christine, talk to you hater good night. Uh what happened in the Marley Ive in downtown? Is that still around to now? No?
And I'm really depressed about that. That was one of my go to places back way back when. Well, I think it was the oldest Italian restaurant in I mean it wasn't truly Italian. I think it was Italian and French. But one of the maybe the oldest Italian restaurant in Boston, along with what was it in Javelli's and East Boston. Those two places were just legendary.
Well, another good one, which again when we were at this when I'd be working at the State House, was Denis. We were around when Deani's right on on on Tremont Street.
I might have been. Was that around in the eighties?
Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, it was there for many many years, and it was it was just it was a great political restaurant. I mean, you know, you got you at the Parker House and then Deni's and uh, you know, now there's a whole different group of restaurants that have come in. But what would you give as an overall rating, Mark, I'm sure you've traveled to Boston as a restaurant town, Greater Boston as a restaurant town. What sort of grades
would you give it. I'm sure New York is an a because you can get anything you want in New York, and Chicago probably has some great steak places. Wait is Boston rank? And and you know, look, Washington has a lot of great restaurants as well, but Boston rank do you think?
Well, I've been in Chicago Philly, Washington, Boston, San Francisco, New York, Churs, Boston, and I give it. I'd say a minus B plus. I mean, it's a really great city for food, and it's it's gotten better in many ways. It's also lost a little bits charmed with the Old School restaurant's closing. So i'd say minus B plus is a great city for food. I'll tell you though, Providence,
and I just wrote about a place for Providence. It just went up tonight on NBC L Providence has an incredible food town.
So Hill's tough to be tough to beat. Federal Hill. Hey, I got one more here, let's get one more under the wire. Different community. Melvin in Roxbury, Melvin, we get less than a minute. What can you do with it?
Buddy Roll, Paul mod Dixon's Dona, the best fried Chicken, the best Chittling's, the best hog Marks was the best of all. Dad and Bob the chef.
Yeah, I remember Bob the chef. Absolutely. Hey, Melvin, you've never called me? Yeah, go ahead, go ahead.
I'm gonna here. Bob the Chef used to work for Mob Dixon's at Shamattabb which he owned the place down there and he stole all her recipes and he opened up Bob the Chef at six oh four Columbus alf At the True Story.
Hey, Melvin, is this your first call the night side. Yes, we got to give you a quick round of applause our digital studio audience. Melvin, thank you so much for listening. Thank you for calling. Talk again. Okay, thank you, right back at you Melvin's thanks and Mark, this was a fun hour. I really we we got to talk about a lot of different locations. I really enjoyed the hour.
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did and love to have you back at some point, you know, maybe as we talk about summer dining.
Okay, that was great. Yeah, definitely, summer dining would be te rific with doutor patios. I would love to come back and talk about that.
Mark, I appreciate very much Friday Night. You have a great guest. We had some great calls. This hour far exceeded my expectations. Thank you, my friend. We got a grab mine. Okay, thanks Mar and it's on me. Talk to you later. Okay, here comes the eleven o'clock news. It is the twentieth hour and We're going to change the focus just a little bit. Okay, gonna give you a chance to tell me what retail chain store do
you miss. I don't miss many, but there's a whole bunch of them that have gone the way of all good things. And let's talk about that in the next hour. We will be back on Night's side right after this