The December Hit List: Maccabee Bar, Tanám, The Lexington, O Ya, and More

Hanukkah cocktail pop-up Maccabee Bar is back for its third Festival of Lights, and this year it’s taking over the Variety Bar space at Bow Market from December 2 to January 3. Reserve a spot for for an indoor table, or one of Bow Market’s toasty outdoor fire pits, and avail yourself to such delights as the Negroni-inspired Kosher Nostra; or a Hebrew Hammer, made with vodka, leavened sugar, lemon and raspberry. On the food side, you’ll find latkes from chef Louis DiBiccari’s Humaari Provisions and jelly donuts from Lionheart Confections. Those preferring to stay in can take advantage of takeout boxes that include two cocktails, hummus and pita, mini jelly donuts, and even a dreidel. 

Dining status: open for indoor and outdoor dining by reservation; order here for takeout.

Boston’s top name in omakase has emerged from its 8-month slumber. The 20-course experience hasn’t missed a beat, and if you take the plunge you can expect to find yourself picking up your chopsticks to tuck into hamachi nigiri with banana pepper mousse, foie gras nigiri with chocolate balsamic kabayaki, and seared wagyu beef. One thing has changed: O Ya will continue to host the Gogo Ya takeout pop-up, providing crispy sushi nori tacos, classic sushi rolls and highball kits to go.

Dining status: open for indoor dining by reservation; call the restaurant at 617-654-9900. Order here for takeout and delivery.

Andy Husbands has opened a fourth location of his Smoke Shop BBQ in Harvard Square, marking the first time the local barbecue chain has touched down in Cambridge. We have a feeling that his sticky fried ribs in Szechuan sauce, burnt end sandwiches and buttermilk fried chicken with fermented pepper-honey hot sauce will meet a warm reception. Failing that, there’s always the encyclopedic selection of brown spirits, almost all of which are available as an old fashioned. 

Dining status: open for indoor dining by reservation; order here for takeout and delivery. 

It’s been an interesting few months for this new restaurant from O Ya’s Tim and Nancy Cushman. It debuted at the end of summer with a limited menu and pizza from its restaurant-within-a-restaurant Mr. Roni Cups. Now it’s 100% operational and ready to serve miso-cured smoked cod toast, housemade pastas, and split whole Maine lobsters with dashi beurre fondue and tarragon oil. 

Dining status: open for indoor and outdoor dining by reservation; call the restaurant at 857-576-8300. Order here for takeout.

Puritan & Company’s Will Gilson continues to expand his culinary footprint with the opening of the Lexington, a new restaurant and cocktail bar with a greenhouse-inspired design, within the Cambridge Crossing development. The initial menu presents comforting dishes with a seasonal flourish: Think glazed Swedish meatballs with cranberry and mustard, roasted pumpkin bisque with vadouvan cream, and wild mushroom cavatelli with honey nut squash and parmesan. The cocktail-side of the menu leans into spirit-focused, warming drinks like the Monteleone (brandy, rye, manzanilla sherry, banana, cardamom) or a Turndown Service (bourbon, Branca Menta, cacao nibs). Look out for its rooftop terrace to open in spring.

Dining status: open for indoor dining by reservation.

We could all use a drink right now — and we wouldn’t mind having it in a swanky, 20-seat cocktail lounge located under Troquet on South. The newly opened bar, which must be entered through Utica street, serves a selection of boozy, “no frills, no fuss” originals like the Lounge Act (apple brandy, chamomile, falernum, dry curaçao) plus spirit-forward classics, including a barrel-aged 1794. You can tamp down the intoxicating effects of either with a Chicago-style bone-in pork sandwich on brioche, or crispy pig ears with hot honey glaze.

Dining status: walk-ins only.

The buzzy Filipino-inspired spot tucked within Bow Market continues to serve on its patio; reserve a table before winter hits to see what all the fuss is about. Specifically: lumpia fried spring rolls filled with house-made sausage, braised oxtail with Japanese eggplant and peanut sauce, and pancit, an egg noodle dish with lobster, pork belly and grilled chicken. The restaurant’s signature dish, the Kamayan feast for two served on banana leaves, is also available to go. 

Dining status: open for outdoor dining by reservation; order here for take-out.

Located directly next to Ducali Pizzeria, Caffé Ducali is a new venture serving coffee drinks, flatbread-style piadine sandwiches and cut-to-order, Roman-style pizzas at the gates of the North End. A typical afternoon visit could result in a cortado; a piadina with prosciutto di Parma, tomatoes and mozzarella; and margherita pizza. Drop by earlier to catch breakfast sandwiches, like an egg, pancetta and pecorino piadina.

Dining status: walk-in only.

One tradition that hasn’t changed this year is No. 9 Park’s holiday lunch. The fine-dining restaurant is again opening its door for afternoon service from Thursday to Saturday for the first three weeks of December, and Monday through Wednesday the week of the 25th. Expect decadent, call-the-rest-off-the-day off dishes and warming cocktails.

Dining status: open for indoor and outdoor dining by reservation; call the restaurant at 617-742-9991.

Creole and Cajun fare, appetizing at any time of the year, becomes particularly enticing as temperatures drop. Fortunately for Boston, we’ve got a French Quarter of our own in Downtown Crossing. Start with a Sazerac or a Hurricane to take the edge off, before defrosting with wood-fired okra with scallion aioli, jambalaya with chicken, shrimp and andouille sausage, and crawfish etouffée.

Dining status: open for indoor dining by reservation.