Restaurants

This weekend: Where to find Mother’s Day specials and unlimited coffee

Plus, the food news you may have missed this week.

By Erin Kuschner

May 7, 2021

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Email
• Email

We’re all eating a little differently these days: Cooking at home more. Ordering takeout. Dining on patios. Whatever your comfort level, here’s what’s been going on in Boston’s restaurant world recently, plus a few ways to enjoy some of our region’s best restaurants and bars from both the comfort of your own home and out in the world.

Here’s what you may have missed this week:

Brasserie opened on May 6.

Dine on lobster croissants and ratatouille at the new Brasserie, which made its South End debut on Thursday.

OpenTable says Massachusetts has three of the best brunch restaurants in America.

What makes Essex County Brewing’s beers so good? Start with their humble brewmaster.

Want a shot with your groceries? Stop & Shop is now offering walk-in COVID-19 vaccinations across the Northeast.

This week, the Boston.com Cocktail Club embraced Cinco de Mayo with two cocktails: a tequila negroni and a classic margarita.

Drink this:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Shōjō (@shojoboston)

Shōjō reopened its Chinatown restaurant in April after a long winter of hibernation, and they’re already getting back into the swing of things with an outdoor patio, menu favorites, and a new bar program coming down the pipeline. In honor of AAPI Heritage Month, the modern Asian restaurant has concocted the Better Together Milk Punch, a smooth libation highlighting Nikka Coffey Gin. A portion of the proceeds from the cocktail, which was inspired by a few of their favorite Chinatown spots, will benefit the Chinatown Crime Watch and the national Stop AAPI Hate fund. We’ll drink to that.

Eating and cooking alone, together:

Mother’s Day pastries from Cafe Beatrice.

Mother’s Day can be hard for so many people, so if you’re hoping to avoid the occasion altogether, feel free to skip ahead. But if you’re still looking for Mother’s Day dining options this weekend, they’re in no short supply around Boston. Bambara‘s Breakfast in Bed kit is a two-person takeout kit that includes French toast and all the fixings, plus coffee and mimosas — just be sure to order by end-of-day Friday. If your mom is a pastry fiend, pick up a six-pack of pastries at Cafe Beatrice in East Cambridge; each box includes a cinnamon roll, maple kouign amann, lemon ginger muffin, rose crème brûlée puff, almond crunch bun, and blood orange and ginger brioche. Anoush’ella owner Raffi Festekjian recently lost his mother, and is dedicating a special Mother’s Day menu to her, with proceeds going toward a non-profit foundation established in her name. You can order the $100 menu for two, which includes a selection of mezze, Caesar salad, grilled Atlantic halibut, beef and eggplant kebob, spicy Lebanese potatoes, and rice pudding. And if it’s just drinks and sweets your mom is after, Flora’s Wine Bar in Newton has a cocktail and dessert package available, featuring a double order of summer cocktails (spiked watermelon lemonade, summer white sangria) and a variety of sweets.

India is currently experiencing a COVID-19 crisis that has put the country at the epicenter of the pandemic. Third Cliff Bakery in Jamaica Plain wants to show its support — all you have to do is stop by on Saturday or Sunday to shop the cafe, and the team will donate 10 percent of its sales to the Hemkunt Foundation, which provides emergency relief through the distribution of oxygen supplies. If you can get to the cafe early enough, you’ll want to snag one of owner Meg Crowley’s kimchi cheddar croissants (they go fast!), and maybe even a slice of grapefruit and olive oil cake.

Students! Are you entrenched in studying for finals right now? Phinista Cafe in the Fenway is hoping to keep you caffeinated. Through May 8, the Vietnamese coffee shop is offering guests a $50 subscription for a week’s worth of unlimited coffee. Subscription holders will be able to order one drink per hour —which should be enough to help you power through your exam (and then some).