The February Hit List: Geppetto, Mikkusu, Coppa, and Café Polonia

Following fast on the heels of Café Beatrice and The Lexington, Geppetto is the third and final of the three Will Gilson concepts to open at Cambridge Crossing. The Italian restaurant is operating exclusively through takeout and delivery for the time being, and opens with a menu of easily transported winter-warmers including fried artichoke hearts with Meyer lemon aioli, braised pork sugo with cavatelli and chili breadcrumbs, and “kitchen sink” lasagna made with ricotta, mozzarella, and porcini bechamel. And in case you were wondering, there will be pizza: here it’s made in the Sicilian style and topped by either pepperoni and ricotta or white sauce and sautéed rapini, and available by the half or quarter pan.

Dining Status: open for takeout and delivery only. Order here.

A specter is haunting Toro’s kitchen: more specifically, a new takeout-only concept dubbed Ghost King Thai. Its signature offering is crispy, Thai-style fried chicken slathered in a sweet-but-spicy chile jam and served in a meal box with green papaya salad, sticky rice and shrimp chips on the side. You can also nab the chicken alone by 4-piece, 8-piece, and 12-piece buckets, and cut the heat with a Thai iced tea.

Dining status: open for takeout and delivery only. Order here.

Through the end of Lunar New Year, Sumiao will be serving a traditional laba porridge — aka “Buddha porridge” made with rice, red dates, lotus seeds, beans, peanuts, barley and raisins. While this ceremonial dish is a fine way to usher in the Year of the Ox, you can also partake in other winter specials including red-braised oxtail with chile sauce, double-cooked pork with long horn pepper, and lamb stew pots with cinnamon and chile.

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

This newly minted Central Square pop-up specializes in sandwiches made on shokupan, the pillowy soft milk bread that’s a staple of grab-and-go eating in Japan. The freshly baked, crust-free bread is used to make sandwiches including a pork katsu with panko-breaded Berkshire pork loin and cabbage; kewpie tuna salad with house-brined pickles and furikake; and a sweet entry that utilizes satsuma mandarins and whipped cream with orange-miso caramel on the side.

Dining status: open for takeout and delivery only. Order here.

It might be the dead of winter, but patio season lives on at Talulla, thanks to heated greenhouses. Claim one as your temporary kingdom, and feast on squid ink fettucine with braised squid and chorizo or braised beef short ribs accompanied by smoked carrots and ginger. Alternatively, you can stay home and enjoy the fruits of Talulla’s streamlined takeout and delivery menu, which also offers classic cocktails for two, including martinis and sazeracs.

Dining status: open for indoor and outdoor dining by reservation. Order here for takeout and delivery.

After close to 20 years in business, the Polish Triangle institution closed its doors in March of 2020, seemingly for good. But it’s miraculously returned to the scene for 2021, with potato pancakes and pierogies to spare. If you’ve missed it, the best way to get re-acquainted is the classic “Polish Plate,” which comes laden with hunter’s stew, stuffed cabbages, kielbasa and pierogies.

Dining status: open for indoor dining by reservation. Call the restaurant at 617-269-0110 for takeout; order here for delivery.

As Somerville’s resident purveyor of Detroit-style pizzas, Avenue has built its reputation on comfort food-bliss. And as we push into the calendar’s coldest stretch, the restaurant is brushing up on its credentials with new dishes like steak and cheese dumplings, skillet queso dip with chorizo, and a pasta that tosses chicken, andouille sausage, shrimp, and fresh rigatoni in a creamy Cajun sauce.

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

February is a time for hibernating indoors and under blankets: Pastoral caters to the instinct with wood-fired veal meatball and chicken parmesan pizzas, plus warming pastas like bucatini cacio e pepe or mezzi rigatoni with Bolognese and fior di latte. Keep an eye out for Pastoral’s rotating selection of bottled negronis, which has included such entries as the The Bitter Star with anise-infused Campari and peppered gin.

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

Romance lives on at Chickadee, as evidenced by the Mediterranean restaurant’s Valentine’s Day dinner for two, available for takeout and delivery. You’ll choose between either a fried half-chicken with spiced cheddar biscuits; pomegranate-glazed duck; or a 24-ounce, bone-in aged prime ribeye. Whatever your choice, you’ll receive more than a half-dozen accompaniments including smoked sea trout dip, black truffle lumache, and chocolate semifreddo. You also have the option for additional sweets, including pomegranate and blood orange macaroons, chocolate truffles, and heart-shaped sugar cookies with a custom message. 

Dining status: open for indoor and outdoor dining by reservation. Order here for takeout and delivery.

Coppa has revived its Scorsese-inspired “Goodfellas” menu, which is available through dine-in or takeout and delivery each Sunday. The four-course, family-style menu changes weekly, but you can expect the likes of fontal-stuffed arancini, rigatoni alla vodka, red wine-braised beef braciole, and zeppole with blood orange and rosemary marmalade.

Dining status: open for indoor and outdoor dining by reservation. Order here for takeout and here for delivery.