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Moody Street – Boston
One of the few bright spots of COVID last summer was all of the new outdoor seating to emerge. Whether it was makeshift driveway patios or city blocks being shut down, outdoor dining basically became the only option. Just outside of city limits, Moody Street in Waltham, MA fully embraced the new norm. This summer, we are happy to say that one of Waltham’s main streets is back for year two. Every weekend Moody Street will be shut down for cars, which means patios upon patios.
Moody Street offers something for everyone. Whether you are the trendy brunch crowd, looking for a quick burrito, or are into upscale tapas. You truly have to explore it for yourself. But with so many options to choose from, we will give you a few of our favorite spots.
Solea Restaurant and Tapas Bar
If you are looking for a new date night spot, look no further. Solea has tapas style plates, so it’s perfect for sharing. With tapas, we always have a hard time choosing. We want it all! If there is a can’t miss dish that has us heading back to Solea time after time, it would be the lomo de buey a las frutas, or in simpler terms: beef tenderloin in a creamy cheese sauce with prunes and figs for a sweet finish. You’ll want to ditch your drinks and replace them with the brandy cream sauce after trying it. That doesn’t mean their drinks are the slouch though. Solea serves up imaginative twists on old classics like the blueberry ginger mojito or the basil cucumber gimlet.
Tara Restaurant Pizza & More
Tara Restaurant Pizza & More needs to put a bigger emphasis on the “more” part. Hispanic-owned they can make a good pizza, but the secret menu item everyone is sleeping on is their chacareros. These South American sandwiches aren’t quite like anything you can think of. They are the Chilean version of a steak sandwich, but leaving it at that would be an injustice. Starting off, it is served on a round roll around the size of a small pizza. It is like ciabatta, but fluffier with a hint of sweetness. The steak itself is tender and bursting with flavor, smothered in layers of creamy guac and mayo. If you are looking to sample all of Moody Street, their empanadas are the perfect grab-and-go.
Brewer’s Tap & Table
Brewer’s Tap & Table (just like Moody St.) has something for everyone. There are the great mixed drinks for those who aren’t beer fans, and the extensive draft list with taps featuring brews from all of your favorite small breweries from across New England. Can’t decide on which of their many beers to order? Then you’re in luck. Brewer’s is one of few places during the COVID era still offering flights. Many of the spots on Moody have pop-up patios that feel makeshift. However, the Brewer’s Tap & Table patio was clearly crafted as outdoor seating from the start. With plenty of umbrellas for shade from the summer sun, it’s the ideal spot to enjoy some cold beer on a hot summer day.
In A Pickle
We might be burying the lead with this one, In A Pickle is a famous Waltham mainstay. If you are looking to get seats on a weekend, we wish you luck. Yes, their sandwiches are killer and their waffles will keep you coming back, but the real star of the show is the pancake. A better way to describe them would be “diabetes in a plate” and we mean that in the most flattering way possible. These pancakes are stuffed and covered with whatever sweets you can think of. Their Oreo pancakes are enough to feed a small village. The towering stack is bursting with housemade Oreo sweet cream cheese (and we wouldn’t be surprised if they used a whole pack in every batch). If you are looking for your own Man v. Food challenge, you can get the ringer and add on one of their specialty pancakes for half price. What does that entail? It is two eggs, home fries, your choice of meat, and two full-sized pancakes. That might sound doable to you now, but when you see the portion size at In A Pickle, you better hope you wore your sweatpants.
In this guide, we only covered a fraction of what Waltham’s Moody Street has to offer. You know what to do next, go see it for yourself! We mean it when we say there is something for everyone.
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