This 1950s-style diner with red vinyl stools, white-and-black tiled floors and upholstered booths is all plant-based, down to the comfort food meatball sub.

This tortilla-and-toppings refreshment at Orale Mexican Grill was tasty and elevated by its avocado, but overall needed more to feel complete.

Newly opened boba tea and coffee cafe Teaholic in Cambridge’s Port neighborhood plans to expand its menu to include desserts made on-site.

The vegan club at Somerville’s Forge Bakery, Bloc and Diesel Cafe; smoked turkey and cranberry sandwich at Flour; and The Dagwood at P&K Delicatessen in Somerville are good not-too-heavy dishes for your January.

Lyndell’s offers one of the best cupcakes money can buy – which helps explain how a bakery can survive for more than 130 years.

A seafood sausage of shrimp, scallops and whitefish in a brioche bun crowned with dill and relish offers joy without the usual meat-based issues.

An affordable yet delicious spot for ramen, sushi and other Japanese dishes near Porter Square makes a great roll.

You can find shoyu-style ramen elsewhere, but this chicken-based white-broth paitan, not so much. Your taste buds will register something new at Tsurumen, something rich and creamy with a pleasingly sweet flourish.

Swinging by the Black Sheep Market in Cambridgeport is an alternative way to get Black Sheep bagels from Harvard Square without a Harvard Square wait.

A burger joint is replaced by The Cornerstone, now taking its cues from Japanese and Hawaiian cuisine yet somehow serving up what are, without question, the best fries I have had in my recent, recallable culinary past.