Wednesday, January 1, 2014

A Destination Downtown Dining District in 2014?

Is downtown Framingham poised to become a destination dining district of its own in 2014? Some might debate that it already is. To add to the existing diversity of eateries, the owners of Pho Dakao, a Vietnamese restaurant in Worcester, will be opening a Framingham location at the location of the former Limey's pub and Sampan restaurant at 101 Concord Street this month. And the splendid, historical train station on Waverly Street also has a new future as a restaurant. The Deluxe Station Diner, with existing locations in Newton and Watertown, plans to renovate and open the building as its third location this year.
 
While some may say that the downtown Framingham dining scene is a sea of Brazilian establishments, on closer inspection it is much more. Pupusas Y Tacos Dona Sophia at 40 Concord Street offers authentic Central American/Salvadoran cuisine and has over forty reviews on Yelp, one of the premier restaurant review sites, from diners not only from Framingham and Metrowest but from Boston and beyond, including one visitor from Chicago. And a few minutes walk away at 66 Hollis Street, Pueblito Paisa Colombia gets high marks as well for its take on traditional Colombian cuisine.
 
And while the profusion of Brazilian food may seem like no big deal to those of us who live locally, it's an interesting and exotic alternative to people from outside of eastern Massachusetts. My wife and I took her parents, who live in Pennsylvania, to The Tropical Café at 85 Hollis Street for dinner and they loved both the food and the atmosphere, which really makes you feel like you're in a faraway locale, with Brazilian music playing in the background and the chatter of people speaking in Portuguese.  And unlike some of the other more spartan Brazilian storefront eateries, The Tropical Café has a full liquor license.
 
For more traditional American food, downtown stalwarts like The Chicken Bone at 358 Waverly Street and Eagles All-American Grill at 55 Park Street have a loyal and steady clientele, and newcomer Frescafe at 82 Concord Street is earning fans for its eclectic take on typical breakfast and lunch offerings.  
 
Framingham has, arguably, with the exception of Waltham's fabulous Moody and Main Street restaurant district - another area that has made ethnic variety its selling point, which we should also aspire to do - the most diverse downtown dining scene between Worcester and Boston. Here's hoping with the new additions to downtown's restaurant offerings we'll move a bit closer to that goal in 2014.
 

15 comments:

Marlene Aron said...

Nice article on Downtown. A lot is happening. We are all waiting to see where Mass Bay Community College relocates to. Subway is opening up soon. I know that Subway is not fine dining, but this is a national franchise coming to downtown. There is another parcel under agreement for apartments & retail. www.downtownframingham.org for more info and to donate to the BICA Mutual - deadline for grant is Feb. 2014.
Marlene Aron
Board member of Framingham Downtown Renaissance

Iris Gardener said...

Good to know, Brett. I did not know about those restaurants!

Anonymous said...

Cheryl Tully Stoll said...
Great article and I especially love the headline. Our downtown area has so much potential that is just beginning to be tapped. I think the next few years have the potential of being very exciting.

The Hamster said...

Marlene - national chains are not my favorite but it's a positive step for downtown that will hopefully encourage more businesses to locate there. Good reminder about Mass. Bay - all those hungry students will be a boon for the downtown restaurants!

Janet - we should plan an outing together soon to either Pupusa or Pueblito!

Bill Clapper said...

Thanks for the update on Downtown. For those who have vision of what Framing am could be this is very welcome news. I would like to echo Brett's comments about FreshCafe an Pupustas. They are two unique and well run dining options in DTF that should not be dismissed.

Joel Winett said...

Thanks for publicizing what is available in downtown Framingham. It would be nice to have a directory of the restaurants in Framingham. Framingham is a vibrant community and will be even better.

Judith Rosenbaum said...

We can't wait for the opening of the Deluxe Depot Diner. We've enjoyed the food, decor and atmosphere of the Deluxe Station Diner in Newton Corner tremendously and expect that this location will bring many folks to downtown. An extensive breakfast menu (breakfast served all day!), terrific sandwiches and lots of homestyle dinners. Hoping that the decor style is Steampunk like the Newton location, which makes for many smiles and great conversation.

mj said...

Thanks for the suggestions Brett. We usually leave town to grab a meal out unless it's with the kids so the tip on Fresh Café and Pupustas is much appreciated

Holli Andrews said...

Every time people come Downtown to dine they get excited about their authentic experience -- and especially the sheer pride that goes into every dish. Brett, your blog captures that in an inviting way, and the entire Downtown community will benefit from your enthusiasm and effort!

The Hamster said...

I created a custom Google Map with the location of as many of the downtown Framingham restaurants that I could find.

Happy dining!

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zjGrjPuKFgs4.kB347wKsa0OQ

Marcy said...

Thank you for the map. I have always said that you have to try really hard to go hungry in Framingham because of all the restaurants. I once read that we have the highest number of restaurant seats per capita in Massachusetts.

The Hamster said...

I'm not too surprised to hear that, actually. Yelp lists over 180 restaurants in Framingham as a whole. There's a lot of well-known chain restaurants in that number; I hope this post brings to light some of the unique and locally-owned little gems downtown. There are definitely cuisines downtown that you won't find on the strip-sprawl of Route 9!

The Hamster said...

Great article about the restaurant to open in the train station downtown in March!

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/article/20140113/NEWS/140119773/0/FRONTPAGE

Brett said...

Here's my review of a recent visit to Pueblito Paisa, a Colombian restaurant on Hollis Street.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g41574-d4160851-r192845258-Pueblito_Paisa-Framingham_Massachusetts.html

Brett said...

Here's my recent review of Dona Sofia Pupusas y Tacos on Concord Street:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g41574-d4044452-r194405002-Dona_Sofia_Papusas_y_Tacos-Framingham_Massachusetts.html