For eats, Shays has a limited menu, but a rock solid one with good burgers, including veggie- and plant-based alternatives. But the real jam is its sandwiches.

Cicada Coffee Bar and its backyard garden oasis have the same cozy sense of community and comfort as classic Cambridge institutions, and a menu of fresh and light yet satiating Vietnamese food and drink.

The hottest brunch ticket over the past five-plus years has been Cafe Luna, and its smoked duck tacos show why – though Davis Square’s Painted Burro and Los Amigos Taqueria will more than do for tacos in a pinch. Speaking of hot tickets: Bambara kicks off Pride with a Sunday drag brunch.

Upper Crust has proven a solid addition to pizza on “The Avenue,” and is a crowd pleaser that can satisfy diverse palates across diverse age groups and varying dietary choices and restrictions.

Russell House Tavern has been grinding it out the whole way through the pandemic with a brunch offering everything from cinnamon buns to oysters, eggs Benedict and a breakfast pizza. Opt for a smoked housemade andouille sausage hash and you’ll find it spicy and satiating, yet light.

What exactly are tequeños? If you embrace the warm, filling comfort of mozzarella sticks with a chunky marinara sauce for dipping, you’re halfway there. But Orinoco’s cheese is a soft, salty, white cow’s milk product from the Guayana region of Venezuela, and it is fried almost tempura light.

I’m ecstatic about getting back to my Miracle of Science veggie burger and a place that’s been home to so many great conversations, meetups and post-game beers, with a vibe that’s endeared and persevered over decades of radical change. 

Cafe Sushi has been sitting quietly at the Central Square end of Harvard Square for more than 35 years serving top-flight gourmet sushi and Japanese cuisine at bargain-basement prices – and has scaled back only somewhat for the pandemic.

Making me croissant happy is the breakfast sandwich Cafe Rustica, the European-styled tuck-away just across the Somerville city line on Beacon Street, while Mike & Patty’s in Bow Market has another classic that comes on doughy, homemade English muffins.

There’s just one week left (or so we are told) to get one of the glorious Japanese sandwiches at the Mikkusu Sandos pop-up in the storefront formerly occupied by Cuchi Cuchi.