Rolling out Lebanese specialties

No one can match his mother's Lebanese cooking, says Charbel Salameh. Claude Salameh's flavorings and textures, never mushy or dry, are what Cafe Barada's customers expect and why the popular Middle Eastern restaurant closes when she goes on vacation. Case in point: Her light and tender stuffed grape leaves look identical; they're snugly wrapped, finger-size cigars, stacked in a steamy pyramid. Her son brings them to the table smiling. Filled with ground beef, rice, and tomatoes, six grape leaves ($8.95) are more than ample for lunch with a simple rice pilaf. Dinners add in a few more grape leaves, plus Syrian salad, rice pilaf, or yogurt ($14.95). Vegetarian stuffed grape leaves are traditionally eaten cold but here are served hot in deference to American taste. In the open kitchen of the 19-seat cafe, Claude Salameh uses hand-picked ingredients and boils the stuffed rolls in lemon-scented water. Café Barada, 2269 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-354-2112. -- JANET MENDELSOHN

The new Sassy Sauces, dessert sauces from former pastry chef Maureen Gallagher Harder, are rich and luxurious. Harder whips up batches of bittersweet chocolate, peanut butter fudge, and rum caramel ($7.99 for an 11-ounce jar), all of which can be spooned over ice cream, pound cake, or fruit, or blended into milkshakes and floats. A fourth flavor, spicy dark chocolate, nimbly seasoned with chipotle, cayenne pepper, and Vietnamese cinnamon, debuts next month. Available at Bacon Street Farm, 100 Bacon St., Natick, 508-653-4851; Savenor's, 160 Charles St., Boston, 617-723-6328; and 92 Kirkland St., Cambridge, 617-576-6328; as well as some area farmers' markets, including Natick Common on Saturday mornings. -- LISA ZWIRN

The word "borscht" conjures up a frumpy bubbe (Yiddish for grandmother) slaving over a heavy concoction. Brookline's uber-delicatessen, Zaftigs, turns that notion on its head with its cold version of the famous bowl. The crimson soup ($2.95 for a cup to $7.50 for a quart) is faintly sweet from earthy beets, and is spiked with piquant slivers of dill pickle along with chopped boiled potatoes and crisp scallions. Topped with a dollop of sour cream, this chilled treat is perfect for hot days when nothing else hits the spot. Even Bubbe would approve. Zaftigs, 335 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-975-0075, or go to zaftigs .com. -- ELIZABETH NAVISKY

When you order food at Bottega Fiorentina in Brookline Village, the cashier slices off a 3-inch-wide hunk of crusty bread and hands it to you with your napkin, knife, and fork, gesturing for you to take a seat. A menu of specials changes daily, but pasta is a stalwart, with more than a dozen sauces to choose from. Penne with pesto ($5.95) is fragrant with basil and garlic and coated in olive oil. The tiny restaurant sells a lot of food to go, and regulars make up the bulk of its business, says a nephew of the owners, Robert Ferini. The food here is simple and straightforward -- sometimes exactly what you need. "Something quick and good -- that's the motto around here," says Ferini. Bottega Fiorentina, 41 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-738-5333. -- LEIGH BELANGER