Rachel Leah Blumenthal
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blumie625.bsky.social
Rachel Leah Blumenthal
@blumie625.bsky.social
400 followers 180 following 110 posts
Food editor of Boston magazine. Also: musician, cookbook enthusiast, succulent enthusiast/killer.
Mainly posting about food, parenting, and whatever I see in my wanderings around Greater Boston.
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blumie625.bsky.social
And if you haven't had Brassica's koji risotto, make haste to Jamaica Plain to try it.
A bowl of risotto has a ring of dark brown broth around the edge and is topped with parmesan and black pepper.
November 14, 2025 at 5:09 PM
blumie625.bsky.social
This is All'Antico Vinaio owner Tommaso Mazzanti. He tells me there could be another 2-3 Boston-area locations eventually, perhaps one as early as next year.
October 6, 2025 at 5:10 PM
blumie625.bsky.social
The cocktail menu is inventive and ever-changing, and Shojo/JM Curley/O Ya alum Mark O'Leary is in the kitchen with small plates both traditional and fun. (The dumplings above and the shrimp toast, pictured here, were particularly big hits during the post-photoshoot snacking!)
Four triangular slices of shrimp toast are garnished with sesame seeds, scallions, and pickled pineapple, served on a brown plate and photographed on a light gray surface.
July 11, 2025 at 4:43 PM
blumie625.bsky.social
Of my photoshoot snacking, I particularly loved the chopped cheese rice cakes, pictured here, but everything was great! Also great: late-night hours (11 p.m./midnight to start, depending on the day, but eventually 2 a.m. Weekday lunch/weekday brunch coming soon too.)
Korean rice cakes are topped with a tomato sauce and shredded cheese, on a restaurant table next to a cocktail.
April 15, 2025 at 12:58 PM
blumie625.bsky.social
I loved the Eaves at Bow Market #Somerville in its previous incarnation, and I love it now with its laser focus on noodle soups (alongside whiskey and sake). Bonus: There’s still a great disco soundtrack, and now I feel like I can’t eat noodle soups *without* Rasputin playing.
Two bowls of noodle soup, one with meat and one with seafood, are nect to a plate of herbs and glasses of sake.
February 2, 2025 at 1:59 AM
blumie625.bsky.social
Haitian spaghetti from my neighborhood spot in #Medford, Neighborhood Kitchen. Usually I’m a Spring Street chicken sandwich devotee (try it!) but sometimes I need an enormous plate of spaghetti with little bits of hot dogs and peppers and onions.
A takeout container is full of spaghetti with hot dog bits and sauteed peppers and onions, plus a hard-boiled egg.
February 2, 2025 at 1:59 AM
blumie625.bsky.social
Pastrami on rye from Beantown Pastrami Co. at Boston Public Market really hit the spot. Yeah, I left the mustard off; I’m a weirdo; sorry. I’m a sucker for a well-made, extraordinarily simple meat-and-bread sandwich sometimes.
Thick pieces of pastrami are on light rye bread on aluminum foil.
February 2, 2025 at 1:59 AM
blumie625.bsky.social
Headed to Prima in #Charlestown for a kind of decadent Friday lunch date, because when you’ve got little kids, weekday lunch is sometimes the only available time for a nice kid-free outing 😂 Still thinking about this spicy pici, which looks like fat spaghetti and has an udon-like chew.
Long, thick noodles that look like fat spaghetti are tangled on a white plate, garnished with cheese and bits of herbs.
February 2, 2025 at 1:59 AM
blumie625.bsky.social
I was in North #Cambridge at lunchtime and excited to finally check out Qingdao Garden and the dumplings I’ve heard so much about. Alas, they were temp. closed for an equipment issue (back open now!) Silver lining, it was a great excuse for a trip to Greek Corner for the special gyro.
Meat, lettuce, and tomatoes are wrapped up in a pita next to seasoned fries, photographed in a homey restaurant dining room.
February 2, 2025 at 1:59 AM
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Probably one of my most frequently ordered dishes over the years: the Dakzen #Somerville khao soi with crispy pork belly. Always a winner.
Overhead view of a yellow-orange soup in a black takeout bowl. It's full of pork belly bits, mustard greens, diced red onion, a lime slice, and a ball of fried noodles.
February 2, 2025 at 1:59 AM
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Oh, Tasca #Brighton. This one brought me back: I used to live nearby in my grad school days and went here quite a bit. But once I crossed the river, I never made it back, until now, and it was lovely as ever. This is the gambas al pil pil—garlicky, spicy, delicious.
Shrimp heavily dusted with a red seasoning sit in a mini cast iron pan next to sliced bread.
February 2, 2025 at 1:59 AM
blumie625.bsky.social
Birria ramen at Abuela's Table, kinda new in #JamaicaPlain. Love birria, love ramen—put them together, and you’ve got the perfect winter food. Get the sweet, spiced, café de olla on the side for contrast.
A hand pulls ramen noodles out of a bowl of dark red-brown broth topped with red onions in front of a wall painted with a colorful floral mural.
February 2, 2025 at 1:59 AM
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An ENORMOUS focaccia sandwich from Table Mercato in the #NorthEnd: “The Table” with chicken cutlets, prosciutto, mozzarella, tomato, arugula, lemon-honey vinaigrette, and balsamic glaze, good for two meals. Got meatballs and roasted garlic, too, for pasta dinner. Love a multipurpose delivery!
A really big sandwich on focaccia, cut in half in white paper.
February 2, 2025 at 1:59 AM
blumie625.bsky.social
Zhaliang (cheung fun + youtiao, or fried dough wrapped in noodles—be still my carb-loving heart), a light-as-a-cloud slice of green tea mousse cake, pineapple bun, and pork floss bun from May’s Cake House, a tiny, basement-level spot kind of hidden on an edge of #Chinatown.
Bits of fried dough wrapped in wide rice noodles, a slice of green tea mousse cake, a pineapple bun, and a pork floss bun in styrofoam takeout containers on a wooden table.
February 2, 2025 at 1:59 AM
blumie625.bsky.social
Possibly the best croissant I've had, and an absolutely lovely space—you've got to check out the new-ish cafe from the Iggy's team in Huron Village, #Cambridge. Sounds like the official name is Imagine (it was unnamed for a time), but there's no sign; look next to Formaggio.
A croissant sits on a wooden tray on a white marble table next to a chocolate drink garnished with dried flower petals. A fireplace and some greenery inside a cafe.
December 17, 2024 at 3:10 PM
blumie625.bsky.social
Good morning. Here's a dramatic (and delicious) lasagna from Standard Italian, now open in #Boston from the Eastern Standard crew. My story is up on the @bostonmagazine.bsky.social website with the details, from big martinis to crispy porchetta:

www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...
Lasagna topped with melted cheese, sitting in a pool of tomato sauce in a shallow bowl
December 10, 2024 at 2:53 PM
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When in Fairfield, CT: Country Cow. The breakfast sandwich that turned me from breakfast-sandwich-hesitant to oh-I've-been-missing-out.
Bacon, egg, and cheese on a poppyseed bun
November 29, 2024 at 2:50 PM
blumie625.bsky.social
Happy Friday. Just gonna leave this giant onion ring tower here.
A tall stack of thick onion rings next to a glass of red wine on the table at a steakhouse.
November 23, 2024 at 3:37 AM
blumie625.bsky.social
A reminder to those who know me and a note to new friends: I do #music stuff too and would love a new project or ten!

I am particularly here for your eerie bass flute needs!! Get in touch if you want to do something fun/weird!
November 17, 2024 at 3:16 PM
blumie625.bsky.social
A few more favorites from this week's visit to the Museum of Fine Arts #Boston:
November 17, 2024 at 2:07 PM
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Did you know that the Museum of Fine Arts in #Boston is open until 10 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays? Very fun to wander at night (especially after a Koji Club x MFA sake tasting event!)
November 17, 2024 at 2:05 PM
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Found myself in #Roslindale for work yesterday so extended the trip into a food crawl around the neighborhood and #JamaicaPlain with stops at Guira & Tambora (photo 1), Mangú (photo 3), Third Cliff Bakery (photo 4), Brassica, Santia's Bakery, and beyond. Feet are tired, belly is full—good day.
Mofongo with chicharrón in front of a colorful painting. A mural in shades of pink, red, and yellow with a winking sun and the words "Love like the sun." Mashed plantain with salami, fried egg, and fried cheese in a styrofoam takeout container. Anthropomorphic baked goods and baking equipment are painted on the walls of a bathroom.
November 15, 2024 at 4:20 PM
blumie625.bsky.social
I'm seeing lots of cats on here (and I'm here for it). Here's my contribution: Sally, who took over the changing table as soon as the radiator kicked on for the season. (Don't worry; we're not changing the baby next to the radiator.)

Sally was named for Sally's Apizza in #NewHaven.
A mostly gray cat with bits of beige and pale orange fur sits on a changing table and stares just past the camera, with an attitude.
November 13, 2024 at 9:03 PM
blumie625.bsky.social
I'm so excited about Thaiger Den, a new Thai #restaurant in #Malden. (It's a short walk from the Malden Center T stop if you're coming via Orange Line!)

Read all about it here:

www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

#food
Cubes of watermelon are topped with a crispy garnish and edible flower. Little balls of turnip sit atop pineapple slices on a wooden platter, with a cocktail in the background. Sliced steak sits in a pool of orange curry with bits of spinach throughout.
November 13, 2024 at 5:58 PM
blumie625.bsky.social
It's the year of "listening bars" in #Boston. Here's my look inside the recently opened Spy Bar in the #SouthEnd.

www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/...

#music #bars
November 13, 2024 at 5:55 PM