Okay, so I am by no means a sushi expert.  I am, in fact, more of sushi embryo as far as sophistication goes, with no hope of mastering the art any time soon.  I avoid inspecting my sushi rolls too carefully, not because I am afraid of what might lie inside, but because if I don’t transfer each piece immediately from plate to mouth, it will explode into rice and fish shrapnel.

Fortunately, my friends are wiser and savvier than I.  Some time ago, after I admitted I didn’t know sushi from sashimi, my pal Jenny offered to show me the ropes at Kotobukiya, and I was sold.  Once you’ve had raw, you’ll never withdraw.

Nestled in the Porter Exchange food court among a variety of quick Asian cuisine at Lesley University, Kotobukiya is something between a classic American diner (without, you know, the snazzy booths and neon signage) and your kitchen breakfast nook.  With the faint tones of vaguely Asian Muzak on the speakers.  Oh, and fish parts.

Basically, you belly up to the counter—assuming the dozen or so seats aren’t already taken up—and grab the paper menu and a pencil to mark your selections.  I let Jenny take the lead, offering only my preference for inside-out rolls.  For an appetizer, she picked Seaweed Salad ($2.99), a briny mass of bright green noodlies.  The salad was light on the tongue, refreshing, and crisp.  (Important safety side note:  Do not attempt to talk whilst eating seaweed salad, unless you regularly dine with medical professionals.)

Our entrée soon arrived:  four separate rolls delightfully arranged.  For a seemingly glorified mall kiosk, they certainly didn’t shirk on presentation.  We soy-sauced ourselves in readiness for the feast.  First up was the Dragon Roll ($6.50), essentially a California roll overlaid with cooked eel, the slight slimy pliability of the eel offering a nice contrast to the classic Cali crunch.  Then onto the Crispy Spicy Yellowtail ($4.50), which fulfilled its advertised expectations, with a lovely taste-bud prodding kick.

Just for kicks, we opted for a roll based purely on the name:  the Cooked Gourd Strap Roll ($2.50).  Who could resist?  Not I, said the pig.  Turns out, gourd is a universal term for squash.  The faintly orange-brown gourd contents were lightly sweet, though were easily overpowered by the palate-and-sinus-clearing wasabi.  But that was probably my fault.

The only real cons about this place?  Seating is limited, and it’s not much for décor, unless you count the visible tentacle groping from the preparation deck.

We finished up with a Shrimp Tempura roll ($6.50), laid out with an awesomely decorative tail, as if a shrimp just dove into the final piece.  The cooked shrimp surprised me with its unexpected warmth—yes, it is cooked, who knew?  Other than its overwhelming size—each piece about one and a half times that of the other rolls—the tempura closed out a lovely dining experience for not too many bones.  So even my wallet was happy.  (I tried feeding it sushi, but it just made a mess and left my bag smelling fishy.)

Kotobukiya
1815 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02140
(617) 492-4655

Park Street is the perpetual crossroads of Downtown Boston, that intersection at which you always seem to find yourself, but only on your way to somewhere else. It’s the transfer point for work, school, the ballgame, your friend’s awesome party across town. Anyone looking to avoid tourists will also keep some distance from Park, unless they want to get caught up in a crowd of Freedom Trailers or a Revolution-era tour group. As a result, Tremont Street alongside the Common is a culinary wasteland of fast food chains and ritzy high rises.

Fortunately, the Black Seed Café offers a welcome respite from the mass-produced burgers.

Formerly known as Bagels Plus, this Middle Eastern-leaning eatery offers much more than bagels. Black Seed essentially operates as a full sandwich and smoothie shop, favoring fillings like kabobs and falafel (in the sandwiches, not the smoothies). The Chicken Kabob Wrap, for example, consists of a handful of spiced meat, vegetables, and a tangy sauce, for under $7. Most of the wraps are available in multiple ways—either as a sandwich or a dinner platter, so be sure to ask for details depending on your hunger level.

Another notable sandwich option is the Chicken Salad, offered as an occasional special ($6.50). The cranberries and walnuts in the mix hold this one together, providing the much-needed tart/sweet balance of a good lunch.

What happens when your daily commute brings you through Park Street early in the morning?Breakfast doesn’t disappoint, either. Among the economical platters is the French Toast, pairing a pile of delicately airy cinnamon toast with eggs and a side of fruit ($6.50). While the fruit—assorted cubes of honeydew and cantaloupe with grapes—could have been riper, the heaping serving of French toast more than made up for it.

Lest you think Black Seed has forgotten its roots, the bagels have not been swept under the rug. Rather, they are here and softer than any other bagel I’ve found in town. The Everything is full of seeds that I’m not sure exist on other bagels (not all of them black, even).

As far as beverages, I’m pleased that they’ve recently started carrying Sweet Leaf Tea Mint & Honey, which is a refreshing fallback if their fresh-squeezed orange juice isn’t available.

The clientele is fairly diverse; Black Seed draws the downtown work crowd, college kids from nearby Emerson and Suffolk, and the occasional street character since this is, after all, Park Street. During busy afternoons, tables are hard to come by, but that’s okay—Black Seed is really more of an eat-and-get-on-with-your-busy-life kind of place, anyway. It fits in well with Boston’s great intersection.

Black Seed Café

131 Tremont Street

Boston, MA 02111

There’s pretty much nothing nicer than Harvard Square on a fall day. And yes, we are entering fall. The air is drier, the wind a bit more biting, and I’ve even seen some premature trees tinted orange and gold. Any true New Englander would be rejoicing, because Autumn is clearly the best season of all. So, if you’re walking about Harvard and would like to have a bite to eat al fresco while the weather permits, it may be time to try something other than Grendel’s Den or Upstairs on the Square. Enter: The Red House Restaurant.

Situated diagonally across the street from Upstairs, the Red House is just that: a quaint, vibrantly red cottage-like establishment with a wide deck, black shutters, and a deliciously old-fashioned feel. Inside, the restaurant exudes colonial charm. But it’s the outside deck, perched atop a stone embankment and peering down onto the street below, that sets this eatery apart. The menu is simple enough, with fresh New England ingredients. The lunch menu includes salads featuring beets, sea scallops, eggplant and fresh mozarella. There’s also a healthy selection of sandwiches, including a smoked salmon BLT ($12.95) and a lobster pot pie ($14.95). See? I said New England and old-fashioned.

For me, it was the half sandwich and half soup combo. The soup of the day was a roasted red pepper and almond concoction, which I paired with half of a baked rosemary ham sandwich (the sandwich alone: $9.50). Served on sturdy white china, the soup came in a steaming mug, thin and smooth with a hint of spiciness. It resembled a more fiery tomato soup, and although it was good, it was upstaged by the sandwich. Served open-faced on crusty, rustic bread, the slab of ham was topped with melted gouda and a heap of carmelized onions. This was comfort food at its finest.

The dinner menu overlaps with many of the lunch offerings, but sandwiches are replaced by a myriad of seafood options. These include shrimp linguini and grilled center-cut swordfish (both $14.95/22.50, presumably for a half or full portion). Although I’m not the biggest seafood enthusiast, after that ham sandwich I’d be willing to try anything here. The cute indie wait staff didn’t hurt either.