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Friday, March 29, 2024

Five questions. We just want to ask you five questions — or, rather, get five recommendations of things to read, listen to, watch, eat and buy from people who live, work or otherwise spend time in Cambridge. Here are some from Huron Village’s John Moukad, who has lived all around the United States consulting but settled in Cambridge in 1994. (And he’s related to the award-winning English musician Mika!)

Read: Moukad is an avid reader, so this was a tough choice for him. He recommends the book “Someday this Pain will be Useful to You” by Peter Cameron, which is about a high school senior about to head off to college. “It’s a very New York book, which is one of the reasons I enjoy it so much,” says Moukad, a native New Yorker. (Cameron, the author, also happens to be a friend of his.) A film of the book starring Lucy Liu, Toby Regbo and Ellen Burstyn was released last year.

Listen to: Not one to be too consumed by popular culture, Moukad recommends musician Tim Hardin, who does “old folkie folk.” Moukad listened to Hardin as a kid, when he was actually making music, and it was part of the soundtrack to his high school days, so there is an element of nostalgia in his choice.

Watch: Although Moukad’s taste in music may not be mainstream, his choice for television watching is right in the zeitgeist — he recommends the hit AMC series “Mad Men,” which takes place in the world of Madison Avenue advertising in the 1960s. “There are good dialogues, good performances and an entertaining look back at another time,” Moukad says.

Eat: Moukad, who is part Lebanese, recommends Café Barada, 2269 Massachusetts Ave., which serves Lebanese food. Although Moukad enjoys most of the food from that restaurant, he especially recommends the classic falafel sandwich.

Buy: Moukad has the good fortune to live practically across the street from Formaggio Kitchen, 244 Huron Ave. Although Formaggio sells many scrumptious desserts, Moukad especially recommends the salted oats cookie. “The salt is good, and the whole cookie is also good. The salt adds to the taste of the whole cookie,” he says.

Send us your own five recommendations and your best big photo at [email protected].