COVER STORY
Mass. appeal
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MORE INFORMATION
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Buckaroos Mercantile 858 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617-864-3637 or www.buckmerc.com. (Get directions).
Cafe Sushi 1105 Mass. Ave. (upstairs), Cambridge. 617-492-0434. (Get directions).
Games People Play 1100 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617-492-0711. (Get directions).
Johnny's Luncheonette 1105 Mass. Ave. (downstairs), Cambridge. 617-495-0055.
People's Republik 878 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617-492-8632.
Roka 1001 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617-661-0344. (Get directions).
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Back to the '50s
The stretch of Mass. Ave. between Central and Harvard squares may be best known for its dozen or so furniture stores, many of them with pieces that seem designed for laptops and VCRs rather than people. In contrast to this high-tech sensibility, several shops here evoke the Eisenhower Era. For example, tiny Buckaroo's Mercantile is jam-packed with a staggering array of drink coasters (themes include Las Vegas, "50s fabric," and robots), lampshades, tin toys, and other items with a retro style. The only jarring note here is that you can order a lot of this stuff on Buckaroo's Web site.
Continue your tour of the ersatz '50s at Johnny's Luncheonette, a chrome-and-Formica restaurant with all the comfort foods from an era when folks didn't keep track of their saturated-fat intake. This is a less kid-oriented branch than the Johnny's in Newton Center, and the dinner crowd peaks fairly late.
You can close the night with a drink at the Peoples Republik, across the street. The kitschy Cold War decor includes Soviet propaganda posters and a blimp-shaped bomb with red paint. Actually, you're more likely to hear an Irish brogue than a Russian accent here, and the regulars seem more interested in throwing darts than in fomenting revolution.
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