MIDA- The Restaurant Boston Needs
One of the hottest things about NYC is their restaurant economy. From the Bubba Gump shrimp burn and turn restaurants to The Red Rooster high end ethnic experience most New Yorkers can find welcoming places to eat.
Unfortunately, Boston does not have an equivalent restaurant economy, seem most obviously by the elected officials not wanting Boston to be included in liquor license reform. It’s also way most Bostonians to Cambridge and Somerville to eat. Boston’s restaurant scene is built for a narrow cross section of Boston’s shifting demographics. The biggest critique for Boston restaurants is they are chains or corporate and lack an authentic vibe. Epicenter Community’s biggest critique for Boston restaurants is the lack of cultural diversity, with only 3 black restaurant owners in the whole city.
However, there is a new restaurant in town to prove Boston can open restaurants welcoming to the young and majority minority city Boston is. MIDA, owned by chef Douglass Williams, opened last week at the corner of Tremont and Mass Ave. MIDA is an Italian influenced neighborhood restaurant located in Boston’s South End by Chef/Owner Douglass Williams.
MIDA is our first exploration into our restaurant accelerator and we are pleased to see Chef Williams receive a coveted unrestricted license (the first black restaurant to get one since 2006) from the city.
While I am not a food critic, I will do my best to explain how amazing the food is. From the bread, which is a buttered focaccia that is so yummy you would take some home, to the fluke the appetizers will blow your mind. The steak was superb and the octopus was the best I have ever had, cooked to perfection with the outside crisp and flavorful and the inside was like butter.
We are so proud of Douglass stepping out to do his own thing, he will be able to show Boston what we mean by an authentic welcoming vibe for all Bostonians. Bravo Douglass!!
