Eastern Edge, a new food hall that opened Friday in Kendall Square, seems poised to thrive at a time when some food halls are struggling.
The space is bold and big and yet warm and intimate, with Art Deco retro flair and an open yet homey feel. There are plenty of tables for dining as well as comfortable nooks for those who want to nosh, study or work. Its location, atop the Kendall Square T stop on the eastern edge of MIT (hence the name), should bring plenty of foot traffic.
And the food on offer is diverse and delectable. While the space is managed by the Gather Group of Auburn, Ala., eight of the nine eateries are local. Clover Food Labs (originally a food truck catering to MIT students), Lone Star Taco, Việt Citron, Perillas Casual Korean Kitchen, grab-and-go sushi from Fuji, empanadas from Chatty Patty, which is owned by the same hometown chef purveying southern comfort food at Everybody Gotta Eat, plus burgers and more from Juicy Jay’s, also owned by a Cambridge native.
The one non-local shop is Bacaro, a Venetian-style osteria that serves java, loaded croissants (such as the decadent tiramisu croissant) and cicchetti, or small plates/finger paninis. Later in the day it offers fine wine and cheese and charcuterie arrangements. A full-service bar is at the other end of the hall.
A great new sandwich
I tried several of these places over the weekend. Burger lovers will like Juicy Jay’s, headed by hometown chef Jonas Beausejour, but make a point of having the crispy red snapper with scotch bonnet mayo, thick bacon, vinegar slaw and butter lettuce on brioche. Snapper is a firmer fish than haddock or cod and holds together well in the bun. Scotch bonnet mayo has a rep for being up there on the heat scale but the pepper in Jay’s mix is not too spicy. If you’re a big fan of a filet-o-fish-style sandwich — and I am — this is your new jam.
Cambridge caterer Manny Mervil runs the Chatty Patty kiosk and Everybody Gotta Eat, which offers fried catfish or haddock plates with southern yams, collard greens and cornbread, as well as what it’s known for: juicy fried chicken and soul wings (spice rubbed versus a sauce per se).
Perillas Casual Korean Kitchen is my favorite so far. A former Bow Market denizen whose bibimbap helped get me through the pandemic, it now also has locations in Allston and Logan Airport. At Eastern Edge you can get it with tofu, veggies, grilled chicken or classic marinated beef bulgogi. I also tried the grilled pork belly bowl, which is sublime — tender flavorfulness deepened by dipping it in (or drizzling on) some of the smooth and tangy, house made gochujiang (sweet chili) sauce — ask for a second side to be safe. The other kicker to your rice bowl is the pickled kimchi cucumbers: wow, cool and crisp with a pickled kimchi bite — delish. Besides that extra gochujang, be sure to add in the jammy (a soft boiled egg) to each and anything you get at Perillas. Next time in, I’m asking for extra kimchi cukes.
Eastern Edge manages to offer a warm vibe, something you don’t get at Time Out Boston or CanalSide, which are more open with central dining facilities versus Edge’s more integrated space. Many of the booths feature diner-style swivel stools reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell painting or, if you are of a certain age, the Tasty in Harvard Square.
The point-of-sale and order notification systems are unified, which is something Time Out Boston got right. At each stall’s kiosk when you go to pay, you enter your name and telephone number so you can be alerted via text as to the status of your order. There’s also a standalone order kiosk station so you can order without having to wait in lines, which were quite long the day I was there.
According to the Eastern Edge website, booth agreements come in two-year leases, with the rent being 25% of the vendor’s gross instead of a set price. This could be a plus for chefs like Beausejour and Mervil who are making the leap into creating an establishment. The one downside I found, and it’s a minor one, is that Eastern Edge’s website doesn’t let you see the menus for each vendor.
Overall, Eastern Edge seems like the right idea for the right place. A lunch spot for those at MIT or in the tech industries that surround it, an after-work spot for a cocktail before hopping on the T or a dining destination before seeing a movie at the soon-to-be-remodeled Kendall Square Cinema.
Cambridge writer Tom Meek’s reviews, essays, short stories and articles have appeared in WBUR’s The ARTery, The Boston Phoenix, The Boston Globe, The Rumpus, The Charleston City Paper and SLAB literary journal. Tom is also a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and rides his bike everywhere.
A stronger
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