COVER STORY
Mass. appeal
|
|
|
|
|
MORE INFORMATION
|
|
Bookcellar Cafe 1971 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617-864-9625. (Get directions).
Cottonwood Cafe 1815 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617-661-7440. (Get directions).
Day-Old Antiques 1644 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617-354-1999. (Get directions).
Elephant Walk 2067 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617-492-6900. (Get directions).
Evergood Supermarket 1674 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617-354-8331. (Get directions).
Forest Cafe 1682 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617-661-7810. (Get directions).
Joie De Vivre 1792 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617-864-8188. (Get directions).
Kate's Mystery Books 2211 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617-491-2660. (Get directions).
Kotobukiya Market 1815 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617-354-6914. (Get directions).
Tea-Tray in the Sky 1796 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617-492-8327. (Get directions).
Tags Ace Hardware Porter Square Shopping Center. 617-868-7711.
Temple Bar 1688 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617-547-5055.
|
|
Porter Square
After this riot of traffic signals, Mass. Ave. smooths out for another stretch of dining and shopping. Despite the presence of a Starbucks at the corner of Shepard Street, this is a largely chainstore-free zone. The Evergood Supermarket is especially anachronistic, with paper signs in the window advertising specials on such items as biscuit mixes and "exlarge plums." Nearby is Day-Old Antiques, which specializes in vintage posters and other "pop ephemera." A block of stores with a decidedly whimsical bent includes Joie De Vivre, a gift shop with a clock for every pop-culture devotee. One timepiece is a statue of Elvis Presley, swiveling his hips to an unheard beat; another features silent-film star Harold Lloyd hanging from the minute hand of a clock atop a skyscraper, as in the classic film "Safety Last." This block also includes Tea-Tray in the Sky, which offers foccacia sandwiches, pate, and free dog biscuits for canine customers.
The Forest Cafe is among several options for a more substantial meal. You might imagine that the US-Mexican border runs down the middle of this restaurant: The left side looks like a desert cantina (tapestries and faded photographs on the wall), and the right side like an American Legion post (wood paneling and a US Marines poster). The food does not suffer from this schizophrenia, however. Look for seafood specials as an alternative to the usual burritos.
Porter Square proper begins at the Porter Exchange, a shopping mall that has undergone several transformations since its origin as a Sears store. It now has a strong Japanese flavor. In fact, all nine of the eateries in its food court offer sushi, tofu, or miso soup. Toward the back of the mall, the Kotobukiya market has Japanese food items, magazines, and videos. Also in the mall, the Cottonwood Cafe is a handy place to stop for a late-night snack or a pitcher of margaritas.
Just north of Porter Square are two treats for bibliophiles. The Bookcellar Cafe has new magazines, used volumes, and occasional performances in its small front room. And Kate's Mystery Books is self-explanatory. You'd need a pretty wild imagination to come up with a way of killing someone that isn't already chronicled in a book here. Mystery writers regularly come to this spooky red-clapboard house for book-signings and readings.
Outside of Kate's is a wooden tombstone inscribed with her address (2211 Mass. Ave.). As it happens, the pedestrian traffic almost disappears beyond this point, as Mass. Ave. enters suburbia and the narrow shops and restaurants are replaced by quiet apartment buildings and auto-oriented businesses. After several miles of eating, drinking, and noisemaking, Mass. Ave. wants to take it easy for a while.
Previous page | First page
|
