Posts Tagged ‘restaurants’
Joyce Chen Restaurant
Compiled by Deb Mandel, 2022 Locations 617 Concord Ave, 1958-1971 The Joyce Chen Small Eating Place (1967-1988) 302 Massachusetts Avenue Joyce Chen Restaurant (1969-1974) 500 Memorial Drive Website: https://joycechenfoods.com/legacy/ History Joyce Chen was Boston’s first real celebrity restaurateur and holds indisputable importance in American culinary history. In the same era Julia Child was changing America’s…
Read MoreIndia Pavilion
Compiled by Deb Mandel, 2022 Years 1979 – present Location 17 Central Square, Western Ave. Website: https://indiapavilion.com/ History Indian food in New England was born here. In 1979, Mohan Singh bought a Central Square pizza house and turned it into an Indian restaurant – something not found anywhere else in Boston at the time. Not…
Read MoreCulinary History Hub
Culinary History of Cambridge By Rain Robertson, and revised by Deb Mandel, 2022 Cambridge holds a rich and distinctive culinary history. It gave America ice, the Porterhouse steak, Peking ravioli, its first star chef in Julia Child, and a hankering for Indian food. This is a survey of 20th century markets, delis, cafeterias, and local…
Read MoreSimeone’s
Compiled by Deb Mandel, 2022 Years 1949-1976 Locations 41 Pearl St. (1946-1949) 21 Brookline St. (1949-1976) History Simeone’s, whose motto was, “choice foods skillfully prepared served promptly and courteously,” opened on February 24, 1949 on Brookline street in Central Square, after moving from its original 60-seat 41 Pearl St. location. Its menu included pizza, popular…
Read MoreWursthaus
Compiled by Deb Mandel, 2022 Years 1917 – 1996 Locations 4 JFK St., Harvard Square (Formerly Boylston St.) 11 Prospect Street, Central Square History Located in the heart of Harvard Square, the Wursthaus was a popular gathering spot. In 1927, it advertised “palate ticklers,” such as “fancy stuffed fruit, imported German gingerbread, fancy imported…
Read MoreThe Tasty Sandwich Shop
Compiled by Deb Mandel, 2022 Years 1916 – 1997 Location 2a JFK St., Harvard Square History The 24-hour/day Tasty Sandwich Shop, a beloved character in the heart of Harvard Square, was located in the demolished Read Block building, former site of Colonial poet Anne Bradstreet’s home. The Tasty was a no-frills, 300 square foot, 12-seat…
Read MoreS&S Restaurant is still serving up the comfort after more than a century in Inman Square
by Deb Mandel, 2022 In the decade preceding Cambridge Electric Light’s illumination of Cambridge Street, when trolley tracks ran from Inman to Porter Square, a little delicatessen began welcoming hungry patrons. From its opening in November 1919, Rebecca “Ma” Edelstein greeted guests with “es and es,” Yiddish for “eat and eat” – the phrase that lent the…
Read MoreJoyce Chen started with a 250-seat restaurant, went to 350 and only grew her empire from there
I recently began working as a volunteer for History Cambridge, updating the 2011 Culinary Cambridge website written by Rain Robertson. Digging through the Cambridge Public Library’s Historic Cambridge Newspaper Collection has been a great opportunity to revisit some of my favorite restaurants. My best experience so far has been speaking with Stephen Chen, son of Joyce Chen, to review information and enrich the restaurant’s history with photographs and personal stories. In honor of May being Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we salute Joyce Chen, her restaurants and her family legacy.
Read MoreGrendel’s Den: 50 years of Stories to Tell
By Daniel Berger-Jones, Company Leader, President, Cambridge Historical Tours, Inc., 2021 Grendel’s Den is one of the most iconically Cantabrigian bars there is. Founded in 1971 by Herb and Sue Kuelzer, it’s now on its second generation of family ownership in the hands of their daughter Kari. And at 50 years old, the bar is…
Read MoreGuided Tour: Food and Mending in Central Square
As a source of both physical and emotional sustenance, food is intricately tied to our survival as individuals and as a community. During the twentieth century, food also played an important role as a means by which Cambridge visitors and residents could learn about and connect with their neighbors across racial, ethnic and class lines.…
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