Best of the Day: Tuesday Night Takeover at La Brasa – July 28, 2015

Shōjō and OISA Ramen join the La Brasa team for tonight's ‘East Meets East (Somerville!)’ pop-up.

Welcome to Best of the Day, our daily recommendation for what to check out around town. If you do one thing in Boston today, consider this.


La Brasa

La Brasa / Courtesy photo

We already know that Somerville’s eclectic restaurant-slash-market La Brasa goes the extra mile for service. And tonight, their Tuesday Night Takeover goes the extra mile for flavor, too—a few thousand extra miles, in fact, as La Brasa’s normally Mexican-leaning menu treks to Asia.

For “East Meets East (Somerville!)” La Brasa’s Daniel Bojorquez and Daniel Amighi team up with Mark O’Leary (Shōjō), Moe Kuroki (OISA Ramen), and Jitti Chaithiraphant (Heritage Vinegar) for an evening of “noodles, grilled meats, and pickled treats.”

Like a culinary Voltron, these five kitchen stars will be coming together to combine their specialties into one formidable a la carte feast. From O’Leary comes “Mark’s Big ‘N Tasty Mantou,” a Chinese bun loaded with beef, cheese, pickles, “and smoked tomato ‘n sauce ‘n shit.” And of course, there’s Kuroki’s OISA Ramen, which first debuted in select pop-ups late last year. Chaithiraphant—whose superpower is making exotic vinegars out of anything from Douglas fir needles to grape soda—will tickle your sour taste buds with tsukemono (a.k.a., Japanese-style pickled vegetables). But your sweet tooth won’t be left out, either, with Mei Mei Street Kitchen pastry chef Jacqueline Dole stepping in for the dessert menu. Meanwhile, La Brasa’s bar team will be whipping up special cocktails.

No need to RSVP ahead of time. “Just show up hungry and thirsty,” they assure us.

Tuesday Night Takeover a la carte menu served 8 p.m.-12 a.m. (bar hours 7 p.m.-1 a.m.), La Brasa, 124 Broadway, Somerville, 617-764-1412, labrasasomerville.com.