Highlights for the Week Ending October 4, 2013

A few more stories and articles centering on the Boston-area restaurant scene came out over the past week, including a couple of new spots coming to the Seaport District, plans for a burger place coming to Cambridge's Central Square falling through, and a recently-moved Boston restaurant serving pizza once again. In addition, our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants) included an updated review of a restaurant in a very hidden location, a new slideshow on comfort food items, and a photo of coconut chicken tenders from a dining spot at the end of a long dead-end road.

Below are links to these and other items from the past week:

Boston Restaurant Talk

Blue State Coffee, Cosi to Open at Seaport Place in Boston's Seaport District

Tasty Burger Doesn't Get Alcohol License, Will Not Be Coming to Cambridge's Central Square

Changes Coming to the Milk Street Cafe in Boston's Financial District

The Middle East in Cambridge May Have to "Grow or Leave"

Nebo in Boston Starts Serving Pizza (Again)

Boston's Hidden Restaurants

Updated Review: KO Pies at the Shipyard in East Boston, MA

Photo: Waffle with Nutella from Victoria's Diner in Boston, MA

New Slideshow: Twelve Comfort Food Items from Boston-Area Restaurants

List of Restaurant Closings and Openings for September

Photo: Coconut Chicken Tenders from Louis in Quincy, MA

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Legal Oysteria to Open in Former Olives Space in Charlestown

[Ed note: This article was updated on January 15, 2014 and then again on March 13, 2014 to reflect new information given about the restaurant replacing Olives.]

After much speculation, it appears that we now know what may be moving into the space in Charlestown that had been occupied by Todd English's Olives restaurant.

A Facebook post from Foodservice East indicates that the owner of Legal Sea Foods will likely open a new dining spot in the City Square space, with the note saying that "there's a 90% chance Roger Berkowitz will do a new Mediterranean concept geared to the neighborhood in the former Olives space." Olives had been closed for a long stretch of time after a grease fire damaged the restaurant in the spring of 2010; it reopened in the spring of 2012 only to close once again this past June.

The Legal Sea Foods chain has a number of locations in and around Boston, along with such offshoots as Legal Test Kitchen and Legal C Bar. Its website can be found at http://www.legalseafoods.com/

[January 9, 2014 update: The Boston Hospitality and Tourism Industry Blog is reporting (via a Licensing Board hearing page on the City of Boston website) that the restaurant looking to open in the former Olives space could be a location of Legal C Bar.]

[January 15, 2014 update: A new article from Zagat says that the upcoming dining spot will not actually be a Legal C Bar after all, but a brand new and as-of-yet unnamed concept from Legal's that focuses on Italian-style seafood. Thanks to Eater Boston for bringing this to our attention.]

[March 13, 2014 update: The Boston Globe states that the name of the restaurant coming to the Olives space in Charlestown will be Legal Oysteria, and that it will focus on coastal Italian seafood. The article also says that it plans to open sometime this spring.]

[July 8, 2014 update: A new article from The Boston Globe mentions that Legal Oysteria is expected to open on July 16.]

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Bombay Club Is Moving into the Former Mughals Space in Burlington

A new Indian restaurant is replacing another Indian eatery in a northern suburb of Boston, and the name of the new spot may be familiar to some.

According to both an email and a post from The Daily Lunch, Bombay Club is taking over the space in Burlington where The Mughals had been until closing last month, with the Cambridge Street restaurant possibly being open already (we are currently trying to confirm this). The folks behind the new dining spot also run Masala Art in Needham and also owned a few other places that are now closed, including locations of Bombay Club that were in Cambridge's Harvard Square, the South End of Boston, and Faneuil Hall.

[October 10 update: A post on the Chowhound site indicates that the new Bombay Club in Burlington is now open.]

The Mughals had been open for a bit more than a year.

The address for this new Indian restaurant in Burlington is: Bombay Club, 184 Cambridge Street, Burlington, MA, 01803. Its website is at http://bombayclub.com/

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Modern Pastry in Boston's North End Is Taking Over Space Where Piccola Venezia Had Been

[Ed note: This article was updated on October 8 to reflect new information given, including confirmation that Modern Pastry will be moving into the space.]

Last week we reported that an Italian restaurant in the North End was apparently looking to close, with a popular pastry shop possibly moving into the space. Now we have been able to confirm the first part of the article, though we have not yet confirmed the second part.

According to a Twitter post from Patrick Maguire of the Server Not Servant blog, Piccola Venezia at 263 Hanover Street has indeed shuttered, with a sign in the front window saying that "After 32 years we have closed our doors. Thank you to all our loyal customers over the years." Earlier we had mentioned that the dining spot had been looking to close yesterday, and that appears to have indeed been the case. Also mentioned last week was the possibility that Modern Pastry--which is currently at 257 Hanover Street--could move into the space, but there is no confirmation on this just yet. (As soon as we receive more information, we will post an update here.)

[October 8 update: A segment on WBZ Newsradio 1030 yesterday confirmed that Modern Pastry will indeed be moving into the space vacated by Piccola Venezia, with the move possibly being completed sometime before Christmas.]

[December 5 update: NorthEndWaterfront.com mentions that Modern Pastry plans to operate in both its existing location and in the new location next door where Piccola Venezia had been. The post also indicates that the new space could be a bakery-cafe with takeout service that possibly has beer, wine, and cordials.]

[May 8, 2014 update: A new article from NorthEndWaterfront.com indicates that the new space for Modern Pastry is now open, with an Instagram photo from conciergeboston showing the interior of the shop.]

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[New article from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): Slideshow--Twelve Comfort Food Items from Boston-Area Restaurants]

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Blue State Coffee, Cosi Are Opening at Seaport Place in Boston's Seaport District

It looks like a Rhode Island-based group of coffee shops and an Illinois-based chain of sandwich places will both be coming to the red-hot waterfront of South Boston.

The Boston Globe is reporting that Blue State Coffee and Cosi are planning to open at Seaport Place in the Seaport District, with the two spots possibly opening along Seaport Boulevard by the end of the year. Blue State Coffee, which is headquartered in Providence, features organic, fairly-traded coffee and seasonal food items while Cosi, which is based in Deerfield, focuses mainly on soups, salads, and sandwiches. Blue State has one location in Boston (by BU), while Cosi has several in the city, including one at South Station.

[April 2, 2014 update: Based on a Licensing Hearing page within the City of Boston website, the address for the upcoming Blue State Coffee in the Seaport District has been confirmed as 155 Seaport Boulevard, which is indeed where Seaport Place is located. The hearing, which will look into its request for a common victualler license, will take place on Wednesday, April 9.]

[April 11, 2014 update: A job post on the Craigslist site indicates that the new Cosi in the Seaport District could be getting close to opening, as the place is currently looking for people to fill both full-time and part-time positions. (The post mentions that the eatery will be on Seaport Lane, which is between B Street and D Street.)]

[April 15, 2014 update: According to a post on its Twitter page, Blue State Coffee is now open at 155 Seaport Boulevard.]

[June 27, 2014 update: A new Twitter post from @CosiBoston indicates that its new location in the Seaport District opens today.]

The website for Blue State Coffee is at https://www.bluestatecoffee.com/ while the website for Cosi can be found at http://www.getcosi.com/

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Local Roots Market in Boston's North End Has Closed

An "urban farmer's market" in the North End of Boston has closed after being in business for less than a year.

NorthEndWaterfront.com is reporting that Local Roots on Hanover Street shut its doors this week, with owner Marco Imbergamo saying that "It was tough to build up a steady clientele in a short amount of time." The market, which first opened over the past winter, featured locally-sourced produce, dairy products, and meat, with the emphasis being on fresh and healthy products.

It is not yet known what might be going into the space vacated by Local Roots; the article does say that there is a chance the next owner could combine the space with another empty one next door.

The address for this now-closed market in the North End was: Local Roots, 402 Hanover Street, Boston, MA, 02113.

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[New article from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): Slideshow--Twelve Comfort Food Items from Boston-Area Restaurants]

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