Neighborhood Spotlight: Cambridge’s Kendall Square

In a part of town where restaurants tend to be focused on high concept cuisine, Abigail’s stands out as a casual neighborhood spot with a menu that satisfies all comers. Looking for cheese fries and a fried fish sandwich? Abigail’s. How about salmon ceviche and a grilled hangar steak? Abigail’s again.. Friday brings karaoke night, when you can belt out a tune and take advantage of the bar’s beer-and-a-shot specials.

Think of the best dive bar you’ve ever been to and then imagine it 50% weirder. That’s how we’d describe The Automatic, where buffalo fried sweet plantains are served alongside yakitori skewers, and underpriced shot-and-a-can combos mingle with classic cocktails like The Aviation. A late night menu—featuring a Korean fried chicken sandwich and a seriously hot “Frito Pie From Hell”—is served until 1:30am, making The Automatic one of the few stops in the neighborhood for a post-midnight bite.

French-Canadian cuisine shines at Café Du Pays, where rich delights like foie mousse, crab toast, and poutine, are served in a rustic-cozy dining room. Don’t miss the four-seat wooden bar, where you can score the old-school (and hard to find) Canadian cocktail Le Habitant (whiskey, maple syrup, lemon and bitters) along with a range of stiff drinks that highlight French spirits.

Café Luna has earned its designation as a brunch mecca for good reason. Here, the Belgian waffles are double-thick; the corned beef hash is simmered for more than 20 hours; and the wide array of Benedicts are prepared with a hollandaise sauce rich in lemon and tarragon. That’s not to say Café Luna is all a.m. fare—in the afternoon, a lunch menu offers pulled chipotle chicken sandwiches and Thai rice noodle salad.

To those that bemoan Boston’s dirth of traditional Jewish delis: please report directly to Mamaleh’s. Here you’ll find an all-day breakfast menu that promises bagel sandwiches with house-cured lox,  raspberry-stuffed blintzes, and hearty lunch fare like hand-sliced pastrami sandwiches on seeded rye. For an extra shot of nostalgia, order a chocolate egg cream, a black-and-white milkshake, or a boozy milkshake like the Rum Greenpoint Shake (made with chocolate ice cream, aged rum, Punt e Mes and Green Chartreuse).

If you’re looking for ribs from a prize-winning chef, a whiskey list with over 200 selections, and a wide-open patio to consume both, the Kendall Square location of the Smoke Shop BBQ will serve you well. While the ribs have earned local notoriety, under-the-radar dishes like a burnt ends sandwich and a wedge salad garnished with house-cured bacon lardons and everything-bagel spice are equally worthy.

Think of State Park as a top-notch cocktail bar that dressed down for its day off. The tacky bar signs, beat-up booths, and shuffleboard tables may suggest a dive, but Pimm’s Cups by the pitcher and killer mezcal drinks say otherwise. A small food menu provides low-key, satisfying fare like spicy trout sandwiches and a fried chicken basket with Tabasco honey drizzle.

Bring a crowd, and take in some of the family-style dishes at Sumiao, which capture the smoky, spicy flavors typical of its namesake Chinese province. Once the waiter has cleared the five-spiced braised beef and scallion-flavored noodles, continue to expand your horizons by ordering a cocktail made with baijiu, the potent grain liquor that serves as China’s national spirit.