Fuchun Ju

The mesob — that woven basket that gives this South End newcomer its name — is the whole point: food meant to be pulled apart by hand, over injera, with everyone leaning in.

The Zebra Room announces itself as a secret and mostly keeps the promise: ten tables, a small bar, and a concealed entrance through Yvonne's lower level at 4 Winter Place.

Let me be honest about what this is: a walk-the-line bowl shop on Boylston, not a room you linger in.

Burg & Shaw is the kind of concept that shouldn't need explaining but always does — because the mashup sounds like a novelty until you realize it isn't.

Tabla Express landed inside Novo Marketplace — Allston's 20,000-square-foot, sixteen-vendor food hall on Brighton Avenue — and the fit makes sense on multiple levels.