In the year or so since I moved to Somerville, I have to admit that I've only visited Harvard Square about three times. The reasons for this are a bit too many to list in an article such as this, but the two primary factors were a complete lack of time, and an intense desire to avoid driving anywhere near Harvard Square. For those who don't know, driving in Harvard Square is an activity best left to those who truly enjoy being neck-to-neck with other drivers, most of whom are lost and bitter, while shouting obscenities behind closed windows at both drivers and pedestrians (who don't seem to understand the natural laws of traffic - but that's all right; the drivers don't either). This is why I live near the T - because Harvard Square and anywhere in Boston will never be navigated by me in a car willingly.
But lately, on the verge of major burnout from trying to continue marketing and growing my studio while working on a major branding project that's taking up most of my day and working on projects for other clients, I've found that the walk from my place off of Union Square up to Harvard is actually quite scenic and relaxing (although longish), and I've taken to wandering up there on the occasional weekend afternoon along with a loved one.
Two Saturdays ago, I took my mom up there, where we spent some quality time under a tree in the park on Mass Ave. and, after teaching Mom some key yoga moves and truly unwinding for the first time in weeks, I went a bit insane with my spending, getting a bounty of wonderful personal-care stuff at <a href="http://usa.lush.com/cgi-bin/lushdb/index.html?lang=en_US" target=_blank">Lush</a> (their henna treatments ROCK!) and a box of chocolate squares (which, with some custom wrappers I have yet to design, will become self-promo pieces) and some white tea from<a href="http://cardullos.com/" target="blank"> Cardullo's</a>, which is about as close to food porn as you can reasonably get (although their site could SERIOUSLY use a facelift). The evening was finished with Mexican/Cajun food at the<a href="http://boston.citysearch.com/profile/4745774" target="_blank"> Border Cafe</a>, which I do recommend, although it isn't the best I've tried. Mom, however, was in heaven with the Shrimp and Crawfish Quesadilla; my Black Bean and Corn Empanada (which I asked for as a rice plate instead of the fried-burrito concoction it normally is), was fair, but not like the black beans and rice I normally make at home, which spoiled the experience a bit for me. The guacamole and salsa is also not the best, although the chips are divine.
This Saturday, Nick and I decided to take the 45-minute-or-so walk up to Harvard Square and ended up on a book spree - stopping on the way to visit <a href="http://www.surfacecity.net/weeklydig.php?topicid=weeklydig&article_id=2" target="_blank">Rodney's Books</a> on Mass Ave and upgrade my edition of Harry Potter 3 from paperback to hardcover, as well as pick up the first three Lemony Snicket volumes and an interesting book on Vegan Cooking. When we finally reached Harvard, we were in need of sustenance but short of conviction as to what we should eat. After getting a passion fruit bubble tea at the bubble tea place (whose name I forget, but it's near the store that has the Berk's logo on the door and sells shoes at prices that should simply not be allowed) and resting for a moment, we headed on down to Eliot Street, where we discovered <a href="http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/food_drink/dining/documents/04617886.asp" target="_blank">Smile Thai Cafe</a>.
What can I really say about Smile Cafe? It's a fairly unassuming place when seen from the outside - just a sandwich board with a picture of pretty Thai food and a note that said "Dinner Combo $10.95" and a list of several things, totalling five courses, you could choose to make up your combo meal. Needless to say, Nick and I were intrigued.
The interior of the Cafe is very nice, with a bunch of tables, nice ambience, and a good view of the square from the window seats (which Nick and I were fortunate enough to get). I will admit that the table tents, which were layed out entirely in Comic Sans (ack!) did make me twitch a bit, as did the "Micheal Bolton Swings Sinatra" poster displayed prominently on the wall to the side of the door (which one of the waitresses offered for me to take home as I was staring agape at the poster, to which I replied "No, really - that's OKAY.") I do, however, forgive them this, as the food was amazing.
The combo dinner comes with a LOT of choices, all of which look incredibly good, and the meal comes out on a big sectioned-off plate (kinda like a cafeteria tray) with just enough food to make a person's stomach VERY happy. Nick got the red curry with tofu, along with the Chicken Tom Yum soup and an appetizer I forget. He loved the soup (although he said he likes my version better - he's a good boyfriend!) and the curry, which seemed more like a golden curry than a red curry, but was quite tasty in its coconut-infused goodness.
I got the scallion pancake (one of my new favorite appetizers) with the tofu-vegetables soup (which was very light and perfect for a hot summer day) and the Pad See You, which had flat noodles sauteed with Chinese broccoli, egg, tofu and veggies with a very simple soy flavoring. It was a bit oily for my taste, and the tofu was a bit overcooked, but overall it was so wonderful I could scream. The vegetables were cooked perfectly, as were the noodles, and the sticky rice that I got with it (instead of the steamed rice that normally comes with it) went perfectly dipped in the various sauces that came with our meals - the peanut dressing for the salad, and the sweet soy-ginger sauce that came with our appetizer. I highly recommend the Smile to anyone happening to visit Harvard Square.
We were pretty full after leaving the Smile, but in need of something sweet, so we stopped in at <a href="http://www.burdickchocolate.com/" target="_blank">Burdicks</a> and got a soy iced chocolate. If you have never had the experience of LA Burdick's chocolate, it is one that must be had as soon as possible. The drink, a thick icy concoction that tastes like dark chocolate ganache thinned out with soy milk (which, I think, it is) is one of those experiences that can't help but bring a smile to your face by its very nature. In fact, the smile that started across my face went from ear to ear the entire time I was consuming this beverage, which was so rich I had to share it with Nick, being unable to handle the whole thing. That's when you know you've found something good.
Overall, I think I'll be spending some more time in Harvard Square when I get the chance. It's a shame I haven't discovered more of it before now. And you know, I could use an excuse to head to Cardullo's again.
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Comments: 9
You know what's funny—I actually know Beadworks, but not from Harvard Square. One opened on Thayer Street in Providence (where I grew up) when I was about 16, and I practically lived there all through high school and much of college. I was pretty thrilled when I saw it in Harvard last time I was there, but I haven't gotten a chance to go in yet.
Another Harvard Square favorite of mine: the bargain basement at Urban Outfitters. If you don't mind digging through a lot of crap, some inexpensive gems can be had there! I haven't been since college, so not sure if it's still there (~5 years ago now) but was always one of my pitstops when in that area.
It's been interesting living here for a while and seeing how many things I grew up with in Providence that got their start here; so far, I've found In Your Ear, Beadworks, Garment District, and Sicilia's Pizzeria, among others I can't think of right now. It's too bad there isn't an Esta's—but that was always a true original, anyway.
Good for you for walking there, it's always a challenge for us to find a spot each time Tyler gets a hankering for 'exotic licorice' from that place there with the yummy treats.
I have a friend who frequents Harvard Square to play chess. He loves it but often has to park far away and walk. He finds HS the perfect escape on a summer's evening.
I've done the outdoor yoga thing a couple of times now—the other day, I did it in Nick's courtyard while I was waiting for him to come out of his place. I do like being on grass when I do yoga.