Experience Some of Boston's Savory Secrets

(photo courtesy of www.ijon.de; sushi similar to that served at Suishaya in Chinatown)

Published Mar. 20, 2006

This kind of service piece is by now par for the course for Beacon Lifestyle. I worked with two new trainees out of the 6 vying for the position of Assistant Lifestyles--5 more than were interested in the position when I came on as assistant ed. in the Spring of '05. Kasey, Nicole and I originally conceived this article as one where we would enter the "double-dare dives" of the city, the ones you know haven't seen a health code investigation since the Nixon administration, the ones with obscured signs and even more obscure foods. But what we came up with, fortunately, was a much more comprehensive and accessible guide to the small and tasty operations right under our noses, which we were seeing with fresh eyes as we looked around for potential restaurants to review. With the help of a savvy Indian friend, I unearthed a Brazilian barbecue restaurant (all you can eat for $5 a plate) and a Turkish family restaurant, as well as a delicious sushi restaurant we found in Chinatown a stone's throw from campus. Here are the results:

[on Suishaya] "...For first-timers, all you need to know is this: don't try to get a table here at noon. This corner café serves Korean and modern Japanese cuisine to mobs of suited businessmen and local residents who wait patiently to preside over steaming bowls of noodles and eye-popping displays of sushi.

One of the hallmarks of the midday crush is the lunchbox special, presented in an elegant version of a cafeteria tray (for those of you who went to public school). For $8.95, you receive a small entrée potrion, an individual California roll, a smattering of salad with peanut dressing, a tiny crab cake and a serving of vegetable tempura, all in their own tiny compartments, as well as a cup of miso soup..."