The Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub is known mostly for the latter portion of its name, but beyond coming to hear music almost every night of the week, people also trek to the Middle East for its authentic Middle Eastern cuisine.

Vegetarians will enjoy an extensive menu catered to their tastes. I loved the fool m’dammas, a slightly spicy soup comprised of Middle Eastern staples like chick peas and fava beans, as well as diced tomatoes and onions. The falafel was also tasty, but I found the tahini accompanying it to have an almost musty taste.

The Middle East offers a variety of entrees including kabab dishes made with your choice of meat or tofu. Each kabab plate is served with rice pilaf, a small salad, and beans (the pilaf is to die for so order it as a side if you’re not going with the kababs!). Other Middle Eastern standards like cous cous served with chick peas and a tomato sauté, as well as lamb shanksappear on the menu.

Dinner prices are fairly reasonable, with most dishes falling in the ten to fifteen dollar range. Lunch (served from 11am to 4pm) is more of a bargain, but the menu is limited to mostly kabab dishes and a select number of vegetarian options. The Middle East also runs a weekend brunch from 11am to 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

Fool M'dammas

Be prepared for long waits and loud noises on nights when a crowd-drawing act plays. View The Middle East’s events calendar at http://mideastclub.com/scheduleall.html.

The Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub

472 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA‎

(617) 864-3278‎

I’ve long held the theory that the measure of a great Mexican restaurant lies in the quality of its chips and salsa. If this is true (and I certainly hope it is), then Harvard Square’s Border Cafe has a leg up on most Boston-area Mexican eateries with straight from the fryer tortilla chips and fresh salsa with just the right amount of kick.

Photo courtesy Eric Wilbur

What sets Border Cafe further apart from said establishments is the variety of their menu. Besides offering traditional Tex-Mex dishes, diners can enjoy a number of Cajun inspired selections, including Crawfish Ettouffee and Blackened Swordfish.

Border Cafe shines with its Tex-Mex standards, including enchiladas and tacos made with insanely fresh corn tortillas. Both can be filled with your choice of marinated pulled chicken, beef, or cheese. The chicken burros are a delightful study in the best the southwest can offer and is served, as are all the Mexican Specialties, with your choice of rice and black beans or jambalaya. I found the rice strangely vinegary, and would recommend going with the jambalaya, which can be prepared as a vegetarian side or with traditional andouille sausage and chicken rice. Border Cafe also features an extensive vegetarian menu, including the Black Bean Tostada Grande salad and the Eggplant St. Charles, a wonderfully spicy dish.

Border Cafe does not take reservations and is frequently busy during lunch and dinner, but with two floors of dining space, tables free up pretty quickly. Worst case scenario: you end up spending time at the bar, downing a margarita or three. Service is normally extremely fast, which can either be a blessing for those who like to eat and run, or a curse for people looking to sit and chat for a while (though conversation can be hard to come by – this place is LOUD).

Border Cafe

32 Church Street

Cambridge, MA 02138

617-864-6100

When the craving hits, there’s no avoiding it, and any good mac n’ cheese lover knows where to get their fix.  Lately I’ve been getting mine at MMMac & Cheese, located in Faneuil Hall’s Quincy Market.

There’s no shortage of new takes on mac n’ cheese, so MMMac stays true to the classic dish’s humble nature, offering a few simple additions to jazz things up.  Every order of mac n’ cheese – with or without toppings – is cooked to order and ready to eat in about ten minutes.  This may irk some mac purists who balk at anything outside of grandma’s roux-based, slow baked, crunchy-topped casserole.  But before anyone starts getting that awful PROCESSED CHEESE dread, let me just say this: MMMac’s cheese blend is fresh, tasty, and contains no hint of plastic.

Basic items – like ground beef or grilled chicken – are added to MMMac’s solid foundation of cavatappi and an American-cheddar cheese blend for a surprisingly delicious experience.  Things get slightly more complicated but no less tasty with dishes like the Italian, a mix of standard mac and parmesan cheese, topped off with grape tomatoes and pesto (it’s green!).  Other inventive renditions include the BBQ Chicken and Boston Seafood.   Diners can choose to load up on custom toppings, including an array of fresh veggies.

MMMac & Cheese offers both small and large sizes.  I overwhelmingly recommend getting the small – as is the case with all things sinfully cheesy, a little goes a long way.  Prices were reasonable, with a small order of plain mac going for around five bucks (prices increase with additional toppings, maxing out at eleven dollars).  Diners who opt out of the bread bowl may be put off by the wimpy, plastic takeaway containers, but when realizing that there is absolutely no place to sit and eat in the oft bustling Quincy Market, it’s convenient to fasten the lid and head for a bench or cozy apartment.

MMMac & Cheese also offers a variety of salads, all of which contain certified USDA Organic ingredients but really, with melty, cheesy, ooey-gooey goodness sitting three feet away, who wants a salad?