Boston, MA
Birds of Paradise takes its final flight; Comfort Kitchen will open Ama, an Allston sibling – The Boston Globe
Downtown Crossing’s Estella (49 Temple Place) expands to a 250-seat Foxborough space in December (226 Patriot Place), new from owners Lillian and Helder Brandão.
Expect Latin-African fusion: kreyol pasta, branzino, rasta pasta (pappardelle in spicy oxtail cream), and plenty of veggie choices like roasted vegetable vegan ravioli, bang bang cauliflower, and candied-apple Brussels sprouts.
Pair it all with a lychee martini — and a bigger beer selection than at the Boston original, befitting the Gillette-adjacent location.
Chef Sarah Wade (Sloane’s, Stillwater) opens SJ’s in early November (745 Atlantic Ave.). She’s known for comfort food, including outrageous versions of mac and cheese. Her newest spot keeps with that theme. Try shrimp toast on white bread filled with sesame and scallion; a trio of pork rillette macarons; caviar and blinis; and steak frites.
Closings: Birds of Paradise at the Charles River Speedway (525 Western Ave.) pours its final drink on Friday, Oct. 31, confirms Will Isaza, a longtime familiar face behind their bar.
An Instagram post, soundtracked to John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane”— an homage to the golden age of air travel theme — thanked staff, past and present, for “taking part in our journey around the world.”
It opened in 2022, helmed by Ran Duan, then at the top of his career with hot spots such as Baldwin Bar and Blossom Bar.
“The whole concept behind Birds of Paradise is traveling and escapism. The menu is going to be based on plane tickets. Think of Pan Am,” he said at the time. “We thought, especially with the timing of the pandemic, the space, and everything that’s been going on, it was the perfect concept with the perfect timing to get people to travel somewhere they miss.”
Lately, Duan has been in the news after the closure of another Brookline bar, Ivory Pearl, and the departure of several long-term bartenders and a beverage manager amid the personal upheaval chronicled in a September 2025 Globe story.
Isaza continues to run Salsa Shack at the Speedway, serving corn tortilla tacos and corn chowder.
Relocations: James Beard Award finalist Erin Miller will move her Urban Hearth from North Cambridge to a flagship location in Inman Square (1281 Cambridge St.), opening in early 2026. This space will be larger, with a six-seat chef’s counter, a salon area, and a full-service bar. The smaller, original branch (2263 Massachusetts Ave.) will stay open, serving Miller’s local, seasonal menu.
Kara Baskin can be reached at kara.baskin@globe.com. Follow her @kcbaskin.
Boston, MA
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Boston, MA
Red Sox at Reds preview: Sonny Gray makes his first start for Boston – The Boston Globe
Gray, acquired in a November trade from the St. Louis Cardinals, was one of Boston’s key rotation additions, along with Ranger Suarez, in the offseason. He was 14-8 with a 4.28 ERA in 2025.
“He’s very specific about his work. Every day has a purpose,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Gray. “Two hundred strikeouts, that’s something that we were looking for. The competitor. Every five days, this guy is going to give you everything.”
In his five career appearances against the Reds, Gray is 1-3 with a 4.18 ERA.
“It’s pretty much one of the only things that is continuing to push me, is to get to a World Series, to win a World Series, to pitch in big games,” said Gray. “I love the moment, and I am chasing that moment.”
Here’s the preview:
RED SOX (1-0): TBA
Pitching: RHP Sonny Gray
REDS (0-1): TBA
Pitching: RHP Brady Singer
Time: 4:10 p.m.
TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7
Red Sox vs. Singer: Wilyer Abreu 2-5, Roman Anthony 1-2, Willson Contreras 2-7, Jarren Duran 3-10, Caleb Durbin 0-1, Isiah Kiner-Falefa 6-16, Marcelo Mayer 0-1, Andruw Monasterio 1-4, Carlos Narváez 1-1, Ceddanne Rafaela 1-5, Trevor Story 0-4, Connor Wong 2-8, Masataka Yoshida 2-7
Reds vs. Gray: Will Benson 0-5, Elly De La Cruz 5-11, TJ Friedl 1-8, Ke’Bryan Hayes 4-17, Nathaniel Lowe 2-10, Noelvi Marte 0-5, Matt McLain 2-2, Spencer Steer 4-9, Tyler Stephenson 0-8, Eugenio Suárez 7-13, Jose Trevino 0-2
Stat of the day: Sal Stewart become the first Cincinnati rookie since 1958 to record three hits on Opening Day.
Notes: Cincinnati sends righthander Brady Singer (14-12, 4.03 in 2025) to the mound … With Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo already on the injured list to start the season, Singer is considered one of Cincinnati’s most durable pitchers, leading the Reds with 32 starts last season … Singer has made five career starts against Boston, posting a 2-2 record with a 4.88 ERA over 24 innings … His last appearance against the Red Sox, on July 1 in Boston, ended after just three innings when he allowed two earned runs on three hits.
Cam Kerry can be reached at cam.kerry@globe.com.
Boston, MA
Mayor Robert Van Campen talks about priorities in Everett
Nearly three months since assuming office as mayor of Everett, Massachusetts, Mayor Robert Van Campen isn’t wasting any time.
The former city councilor ousted 18-year incumbent Carlo DeMaria in decisive fashion last November, but even so, issues surrounding his predecessor still linger at City Hall.
A state-led salary audit of DeMaria found $180,000 in overpayment, a finding the former mayor disputes. Van Campen says the city is monitoring ongoing investigations.
“What I’ve conveyed to my partners in government here, locally, is to allow that state process to play itself out, and then we, as a community, will make a decision,” the mayor said. “In addition to that, I recently met with Inspector General Jeff Shapiro, who visited me at City Hall. We had a great conversation about transparency in government, best practices, putting in the right systems to ensure that that type of financial oversight doesn’t happen in the future.”
Beyond the audit, Van Campen is placing emphasis on school overcrowding.
“My objective is to try to implement solutions as quickly as I can,” he said. “Our high school today, which was built for I think 1,650 students, now houses around 2,200.”
The World Cup is creating buzz across Massachusetts, including in Everett, where the Kraft Group is looking to build a soccer stadium.
To alleviate that problem, the mayor is using federal ARPA funds to repair the old Everett High School and seeking out other spaces that could be used in the future.
“Would I like to build out new classroom space for the students of Everett in the next one to two years? Yes, that’s my ideal,” Van Campen said. “But I want to make sure that if we do it on a quick timeline, it’s done in a correct and proper fashion.”
Also in focus for the mayor is a new soccer stadium for the New England Revolution on the shores of the Mystic River.
The Kraft Group, Boston, Everett and the state Legislature have all taken steps to make the project a reality, but Van Campen says there’s still more work to do.
“It’s a transformative project, it’s a breathtaking project,” said Van Campen. “But I’ve been clear with all the stakeholders around that project, and the other larger developments going on down there, that we have to make sure that transit issues are comprehensively addressed, that pedestrian access issues are comprehensively addressed, that all those issues have to be addressed to perfection in order for these projects to succeed.”
Tune in on Sunday, March 29 at 9:30 a.m. for our extended @Issue Sit Down with Van Campen.
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