Thursday, June 11, 2009

A Few Boston-Area Restaurant Mysteries

It seems that lately (or in the case of C.F. Donovan's in Hyde Park, NOT lately), there have been some questions concerning the Boston restaurant scene that are seemingly very difficult to answer. If anyone in the know has some information you can give us on some or all of the questions below, please post a comment here, thanks!

All right, here goes:

1) Is Banjos Restaurant in North Cambridge ever going to open?
This roast beef place was supposed to take over the old KFC building at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Walden Street awhile ago, and things seemed to be progressing (albeit slowly) until about the time that the Banjos in Weymouth closed its doors. Now it appears that all work on the place has stopped.

2) Is Basta Pasta really going to open at the old Tullio's site in North Quincy?
Back in February, a local newspaper reported that this highly-rated Italian restaurant in Cambridge was going to open a second location in the spot on Hancock Street where Tullio's used to reside. Some work has been done to the building here and there, but there are still no real signs of life.

3) Is Sala Thai in Arlington closed, or are they just on a really long vacation?
Several months ago, Sala Thai on Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington Heights closed for the evening and never opened back up. The sign for the restaurant is still up, the tables are set, and there are no signs in the windows or on the door indicating that changes are about to happen to the space. And NO ONE seems to know anything about it, even folks who work in nearby stores in the Heights.

4) Is C.F. Donovan's still almost ready to open in Hyde Park?
This has been going on for at least two years now, but C.F. Dononvan's, a friendly little restaurant and bar in the Savin Hill section of Dorchester, has been trying to open a second branch in Hyde Park for a long time now, and the place always seems to be on the cusp of opening. But for some reason, it never does.

5) Will Little Q Hot Pot remain open, move, or close down?
A lot of conflicting reports seem to be getting thrown around about Little Q Hot Pot, a beloved Asian restaurant located in Quincy Center. Some of the rumors include the Burgin Parkway cutting into Quincy, forcing the restaurant to move, the building being torn down, again, forcing them to move, a possible move to the Financial District of Boston, and finally, their fighting any kind of move or closure.

If anyone can shed some light on any of the above questions, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!