• Boston,  Darn Good Ideas

    Belgian in Boston: Saus

    Over the weekend Joe and I were lucky enough to try out Saus, the new Belgian street food place down the street from Faneuil Hall. It was started by a couple of young people, who might be the same people working behind the counter when you are there, which is always cool. And they’re a non-bar open late every night, which is almost impossible to find right now.

    First we tried the waffles which were made of hefty yeasty dough, edged with sticky caramelized sugar. Delicious. I got lemon curd sauce and Joe got berry berry mixed with salted caramel. I liked mine the best.

    Obviously they immediately get points for serving it in a beautiful scalloped and lemon-curd colored dish. If you get it to go, which I will as soon as the weather shapes up, you just take a piece of tissue with it, street style.

    We came back that night for fresh, house-cut, crispy frites. We tried the garlic mayo, truffle ketchup and chive sour cream dipping sauces. The truffle ketchup was the table favorite. I love that this is a place you can meet friends, spend a few dollars, shares some fries, and head out. A more savory version of the coffee shop meet-up.

    AND: their walls are covered with Tintin comics.

    Incidentally, they started tweeting their progress almost a year before they opened. If I hadn’t followed their progression on Twitter for so long, I don’t think I would have visited in the first week of their opening, or started telling my friends about them before they even opened. So, if you’re considering whether Twitter is worth your small business’s time: it is.

  • Boston

    The Thinking Cup

    Finally someone noticed the great potential hidden in that desolate strip of businesses along the Boston Common on Tremont Street. The thinking cup opens today serving Brooklyn darling Stumptown Coffee, loose tea, mini cupcakes, sandwiches, the usual. Joe and I stumbled on their soft opening yesterday and were super impressed. They have lots of seating–small tables intentionally designed for lone customers with laptops–and it’s cozy inside, tastefully decorated, and spacious. Those of you not in Boston probably think new coffee shops are not that big of a deal, but remarkably, it takes work to find a good spot among the zillions of Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks downtown.

    I rated this a generous-sized tea mug.