Hey, there! Log in / Register
The Fierization of Boston continues apace
By adamg on Mon, 03/02/2020 - 9:38am
No loitering allowed in Flavortown, on account of all the hollow sidewalks.
Boston Restaurant Talk reports that Explorateur on Tremont Street, in the Masonic Temple building with the giant beaver logo and the hollow-sidewalk warning, is closing today to make room for two Guy Fieri outlets, one a restaurant with "New England influences," the other a place that specializes in chicken tenders. Fieri already has a Mexicanish place at North Station.
The spot is kitty corner from where the local residents association recently fended off late-night tacos.
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Bummer
Was a nice little place
OMG WHY?!
OMG WHY?!
I give the Guy Fieri places 6 months before they go out of business.
Will neighborhood residents will push for 2 am close?
Cuz he's a celebrity y'all
Probably not
When you're a celebrity they just let you do it.
I wonder if this is another Zuma / Zuma situation
brewing. There's already a place called Boston Kitchen Pizza around the corner at the edge of Chinatown.
(When I reviewed Explorateur for The Improper, I thought it was ehhh, alright, a not-so-great attempt to replicate the "be lots of different things to lots of different people and be pretty good at all of them" thing that Eastern Standard does so well.)
The chicken place is to be called "Chicken Guy!",
according to the Globe story.
And Chicken Guy! sounds a lot like The Chicken & Rice Guys...
Big Night owns Explorateur,
Big Night owns Explorateur, Big Night owns the Guy Fieri joint in the Garden and Foxwoods I believe. Looks like this is just them cashing in on his name a little more.
why are the sidewalks hollow?
why are the sidewalks hollow?
Basements
The building's basement extends to the street. That is pretty common in the older American cities.
Sometimes you can see the thick glass covers which let some light into these spaces.
basements extended under the
basements extended under the sidewalks often because the coal was delivered via those metal & glass portals.
Article about sidewalk vaults
http://www.cbiconsultingllc.com/sidewalk-vaults/
Also the lighting was pretty interesting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavement_light
Movie
Movie about Masonic sidewalk vaults
National Treasure
Sidewalk Prisms
Thanks. I've often wondered what those "sidewalk prism" glass squares were that I occasionally see around. Little did I know they were, in effect, a form of skylight.
They used to be all over the South End and Back Bay
Most have had the prisms removed or covered over, but:
Oh, chute!
Because of the tunnels
That's where processions of cloaked Masons travel to the land of Morlocks and Mole People under the cover of darkness.
To match ...
Guy's vapid head?
Giveaway
They are also 'easy' to spot if the entire sidewalk is a solid slab of slate or granite (Not all of them had window glass)
A good amount of hollowness
A good amount of hollowness is due to MBTA subway shafts and ect.The sign is a warning so that trucks dont jump the curb to make a corner or to deliver by parking on sidewalk partially.
Why can't Boston support nice places?
Explorateur Is my favorite cafe in Boston. I enjoy having a meeting there, breakfast with my child, or just sitting alone reading.
The staff was very friendly. The food and coffee nice. Best scones and tasty croissants in town. Egg sandwiches pleasingly enjoyable.
Given the square footage and early closing hours, I can see why it wasn't making money. Quality in Beantown does not rule.
Sad.
My experience was different
I wanted to love it -- great location, great interior, etc.
I went there probably 4 times. I thought the food and cocktails were OK -- nothing to complain bitterly about, but completely uninspired.
I disagree
Explorateur was my least favorite place in the area.
In my opinion the food was good but nothing special, and the drinks and bar staff were always disappointing. On multiple visits the bartender (never more than one even happy hour) spent more time talking to friends at the bar than serving customers, and the drinks themselves were overpriced for not being very good regardless of the miniscule amount of alcohol included.
Will it live up to the legend?
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/dining/reviews/restaurant-review-guys...
I keep forgetting what the 3
I keep forgetting what the 3 'D's are in the name of that guy's show: Diners, Dives, Dumpsters... No, that's not it. Oh, yeah--Drive-Ins.
Ugh
Gross.
Good riddance to Guy Fieri’s Times Square tourist trap
I predict Guy's local operations will meet the same fate as his Times Square outpost, we can only hope. Boston is a very competitive market.
https://nypost.com/2018/01/04/good-riddance-to-guy-fieris-times-square-t...
Who's Guy Fieri?
Wikipedia says he's some sort of TV cooking star, but I had never heard of him ...
You
Are better for not knowing.