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In a city synonymous with tradition, Boston chefs have spent recent years rewriting culinary history. The stuffy, wood-paneled formality is gone; the endless renditions of chowdah, lobster, and cod have retired; and the assumption that true foodies better hop the next Amtrak to New York is also—thankfully—a thing of the past.
In their place, a crop of young chefs has ascended, opening small, upscale neighborhood spots that use local New England ingredients to delicious effect. Traditional eats can still be found (Durgin-Park remains the best place to get baked beans), but many diners now gravitate toward innovative food in understated environs. Whether you're looking for casual French, down-home Southern cooking, some of the best sushi in the country, or Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches, Boston restaurants are ready to deliver. Eclectic Japanese spot o ya and iconic French restaurant L'Espalier have garnered widespread attention, while a coterie of star chefs like Barbara Lynch, Lydia Shire, and Ken Oringer have built mini-empires and thrust the city to the forefront of the national dining scene.
The fish and shellfish brought in from nearby shores continue to inform the regional cuisine, along with locally grown fruits and vegetables, handmade cheeses, and humanely raised heritage game and meats. But don't expect boiled lobsters and baked apple pie. Today’s chefs, while showcasing New England’s bounty, might offer you lobster cassoulet with black truffles, bacon-clam pizza from a wood-burning oven, and a tomato herb salad harvested from the restaurant’s rooftop garden. In many ways, though, Boston remains solidly skeptical of trends. To wit: the cupcake craze and food truck trend hit here later than other cities; the Hawaii-inspired poke movement has only recently arrived. And over in the university culture of Cambridge, places like the Harvest and Oleana espoused the locavore and slow-food movements before they became buzzwords.
Despite o ya’s tucked-away location and hidden door, the place isn't exactly a secret: critics from the New York Times, Bon Appétit, and Food & Wine have all named this improvisational sushi spot among the best in the country. The chef--owner plates a 20-course nightly omakase dinner with sushi and cooked preparations. The extensive sake list includes sparkling and aged varieties. Make a reservation well in advance.
Let your nose lead you here on a Saturday night, but expect to wait in a massive line of foodies looking to get their hands on one of four award-winning niku udon noodle dishes (cold or hot, and spicy versions of each) topped with sweet and savory beef. The restaurant itself is absolutely tiny, but its local reputation is huge. For a scratch-made quick bite that's truly unique, this is a must-stop.
The name in Japanese means "house of elegance," and the gracious and efficient service hits the mark at this flagship location, along with the interior's tatami mats, rice-paper partitions, and wooden ships circling a moat around the sushi bar. The extensive menu is both elegant and novel, with thick slabs of superfresh sashimi, inventive maki rolls, and plenty of cooked items, like beef fried rice or chicken curry, for those not into seafood or raw fish.
Although the entrance to this superb sushi restaurant may elude you, simply follow the crowds of raw-fish fans streaming into the sleek, gray, industrial space, to find edible aquatic enchantment in the form of Tokyo-style soft-shell crab, lobster tempura, and Chilean sea bass. The vibe is stylish and so are the pricey diners. While it's easy to rack up quite a bill, especially ordering endless sushi a la cart, the omakase is a splurge; at $265–$280 its six to nine courses include Wagyu with truffles and sake add-ons.
Although this place looks like it could be part nightclub, the soup here is no joke. Each bowl of broth has been simmered over a long stretch to create a rich and flavorful base for a dozen varieties of ramen topped with fresh ingredients. There's a great selection of sake and soju (a rice alcohol), including a house sake brewed in the United States.
