Dining Out: PAGU

It used to be that you only went to Central Square in Cambridge for two reasons: (1) to dance to Whitney Houston at the Phoenix Landing and (2) to eat Hi-Fi pizza, drunk at 2:00am. However, in the past two years, Central Square has been morphing into a food mecca. That once seedy stretch of Massachusetts Avenue is now home to Veggie Galaxy, Naco Taco, Flour Bakery, Clover, Little Donkey, Saloniki, Roxy's A4cade and the newly opened PAGU. 

PAGU is the Japanese word for pug (that adorable dog with the squishy face). The restaurant is run by chef / owner Tracy Chang, formerly of O Ya. Chang also co-piloted Guchi’s Midnight Ramen, a pop-up experience, with two peers from the O Ya kitchen. Read more about her impressive career in this Boston Magazine profile. 

Last week, during the one snowy night in January, I headed to PAGU with two friends. 

The staff at the hostess stand was warm, friendly and welcoming. They offered to take our coats right away. 

All three of us were stunned by the size of the space. There is a beautiful bar area right when you walk in, a large dining room set in front of floor-to-ceiling windows and counter seating facing the open kitchen (the best seats in the house). 

We were seated at a high top table just behind the counter, so we still had a great view of all the action. 

The very first page of the PAGU menu features rows and rows of cartoon pugs! 

The menu is Japanese and Spanish fusion, two cuisines I absolutely love. 

We began with a round of cocktails. 

One friend ordered the Bog, which is gin, st. germain, sage, cranberry, lavender, peppercorn and fever tree tonic. After a few sips she commented, "This drink is so light and refreshing. For me, it tastes strongly of gin. I love the peppercorn garnish. Overall, super delicious." 

To my right, a friend order the pear ginger daiquiri, a mix of house infused spiced rum, citrus and lejay cassis. She explained, "This has such a nice balance of sweet and tangy. I don't really taste the pear, but I don't mind."

I had a generous sip of the daiquiri and I thought it was fantastic. This is definitely the drink I am ordering next time. 

I decided to be adventurous and order a drink called the Mount Tamalpais. It was st. george chili vodka, coconut milk, hibiscus and citrus. I thought that mixture would deliver a tropical taste (like something you would order on a Caribbean vacation) but sadly, it didn't.

Though the flavor combination wound up being a bit odd, the presentation of the drink was gorgeous. It had a blush pink hue and a whimsical froth on top. 

While we were sipping on our cocktails, a member of the PAGU team popped over with a giant vase full of twisty, crunchy bread sticks. We each pulled out our singular stick very carefully, like a game of Pick Up Sticks. 

The bread stick didn't have any noticeable flavor, but the tableside presentation sure was fun! 

We spent a good ten minutes reviewing the dinner menu and strategizing. We knew we wanted to taste multiple dishes, so we decided to concentrate our order on the small plates. Of the seven dishes we requested, the first to arrive was the curry crab croquetas with aji amarillo, a dipping sauce with a garlic base, made from Peruvian chili sauce. Look at the pug design on the serving board! 

As soon as our waitress put down the croquetas are table filled with the most amazing smell. The croquetas had a satisfying crunch on the outside and a strong curry flavor on the inside. Beneath the curry were subtle hints of crab and coconut. 

When I asked the girls for their thoughts, one declared, "I will tell you one thing, these are boiling lava hot! Definitely cut them in half and give it a minute before you dig in." Another chimed in, "I really love the dipping sauce. I wish we had more croquetas to soak up the remaining drops." 

Our second dish was the cheesy wafflato, cooked with smoky mozzarella and caramelized shallots. I had seen a few pictures of this inventive creation on Instagram, so this was the dish I was most looking forward to trying. 

The plate comes with two waffles, about the size of the palm of your hand. Each waffle had been browned perfectly and had a delicious crunch to it. 

The combination of the smoked mozzarella cheese and the shallots gave these little waffles a ton of zesty flavor. I thought it tasted a bit like taco seasoning, one friend thought it tasted like bacon. HA! 

My only complaint is that we didn't get to have more waffles! I think these would make a fantastic base for a grilled cheese appetizer. Tracy, if you can hear me, can we give that a shot? 

Next up, the girls tried the braised pork belly bao with pickled cucumbers, fried shallots and crumbled peanuts. 

After she made her bun disappear, one friend said, "The pork belly was nice and tender. I loved the crunch from the peanuts."

I wanted to get in on the bun action too, so we also ordered the shiitake bao with aburaage and usukuchi soy. Though this order usually comes with two pieces, our waitress was kind enough to bring us three so we each could have one. 

I was so excited there was a vegetarian bao option, but these were a let down. The pork belly bao was layered with pickled veggies and cilantro and this mushroom bao had none of those traditional garnishes. As a result, the flavors were tasty, but just not as vibrant and bright. 

Speaking of bright, when the pickles and dip arrived to our table, we were blown away by the colorful presentation.

Carrots, cucumbers and peppers were resting against a sea of harissa, garbanzo beans and rice wine vinegar. 

All of the veggies had a great snap when you bit into them, especially the red and green peppers. 

After we had scooped up all of the hummus, our waitress brought over the shiitake a la plantxa with sherry, egg yolk and three slices of PAGU baguette. Each piece of toast was drizzled with olive oil. 

This was so beautifully plated. The egg yolk looked like the lava dripping over the sides of the mushroom volcano. We broke the yolk and mixed it into all of the mushrooms, before spooning a a few pieces onto each slice of bread. 

I wish there had been one or two additional pieces of bread, because we wound up with a ton of extra mushrooms and no vehicle to eat them with! 

Our final dish was actually my favorite of the entire night, pan (Spanish for bread) with avocado and cubanelle peppers. When I lived in Spain, pan con tomate (bread with tomatoes) was one of my favorite tapas dishes. It was usually a white bread toast, drizzled with olive oil and topped with mashed tomatoes. PAGU's pan with avocado is like a mash up of pan con tomate, remixed with American avocado toast (a current obsession). 

PAGU tops each piece of bread with avocado, pickled cubanelle peppers and shichimi, a Japanese spice mix. 

I could have eaten all three of these toasts by myself. The creaminess of the avocado paired with the crunch of the peppers and the heat from the shichimi was spectacular. I was craving more immediately. 

Though we ate our way through a significant portion of the PAGU menu, there are still more dishes I am eager to try - the tortilla española, the shishito peppers and the roasted mushroom mazemen. If you are curious about some of the meat and seafood dishes, check out the beautiful posts from Tiny Urban Kitchen, The Boston Day Book and Boston Foodies. 

In addition to the unique food, PAGU also spins a killer playlist. While we were there, Michael Jackson, the Jackson 5, Jamiroquai and Lenny Kravitz all came dancing through the speakers. 

As we put on our coats and prepared to head back out into the snow, the hostess said, "Can I offer anyone an orange? Tracy likes to give parting gifts." Though we didn't taker her up on the citrus, we did snag a few PAGU pug stickers for our laptops. 

Tell me, have you been to PAGU? Which dish was your favorite?