Restaurant openings and food activities to try this fall

The Dish

Details about Moona’s new location, plus recommendations for apple picking, hard cider, and more fall treats.

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Readers, be honest: How many apple cider doughnuts and pumpkin spice lattes have you had since Sept. 1? 

Sure, it’s not the official start of fall, but we autumn fanatics are much too eager to wait for some silly equinox. I’ve already enjoyed a glass of David S. Pumpkins from Lamplighter and dressed as a witch at Ren Faire.

While not as intense as me, Moona chef Scott Ryan agrees that fall is New England’s most wonderful time of year. “I think autumn is just the tops,” Ryan said during a phone call. “It’s comfy — a t-shirt during the day, long sleeves at night, the sun’s not setting too early. It’s just wonderful.”

I wasn’t just on the phone with Ryan to gab about sweater weather and leaf peeping. Fall is also the time of year when restaurants are lively, new menus feature delicious autumnal ingredients, and new eateries are opening all over the city. One such opening Ryan shared with me is a second, bigger Moona. 

Here’s a sneak peek of our conversation, which you can also read in full here.

Fall openings

Obviously, the opening Ryan is most excited about is Moona 2.0, headed for Central Square later this year. There’s more space, an expanded menu, and two concepts in one that focus heavily on the Levantine cuisine and New England seasonality. 

“It’s our way of highlighting the season’s best things that you would find in a [Levantine] pantry,” Ryan said.

Another restaurant he can’t wait to try this season? Third Time Together, now open at Charles River Speedway, is the permanent home of the former ice cream pop-up Third Time. Ryan’s longtime friend, Nick Laden-Sienne, is behind the project, and the restaurant features more than just ice cream. 

You can keep up with more restaurant opening news every Thursday, when I feature five eateries that are either now open or coming soon. 

Fall food activities

Though it’s just as lovely to be in Boston on a crisp fall day, Ryan loves to take the opportunity (as much as his busy chef schedule allows) to get away from the hustle and bustle. 

During a New England autumn, that of course means visiting an apple orchard. Ryan’s top picks are Honey Pot Hill Orchards and Carlson Orchards for apple picking and taking home stone fruit (when in season). Boston.com covers New England apple orchards extensively, updating this giant guide for apple picking every year. 

But if you’re like me and prefer instant gratification over effort, skip the picking and go straight to the food. I like my apples in the form of a fried treat à la apple cider doughnut, and I never turn my nose up at something as delicious as apple cider turned boozy. 

What I love about New England apple orchards is that there is more to do than picking fruit. My preference is to drive up to Red Apple Farm to stroll the garden with a glass of dry hard cider, listening to the clucks and bleats of nearby farm animals, but we have guides specifically for apple cider doughnuts and hard cider if you’re looking to make a closer trip than Phillipston. 

Food festivals

Don’t worry, other fall food groups (pumpkins, beer, oysters, etc.) are also well represented around Greater Boston with too many food festivals to fit in one’s schedule.

But whatever you end up doing this autumn, I’ll end on a PSA from me, Ryan, and other chefs who spoke to me last year for this pumpkin spice piece that still resonates today: Your pumpkin spice lattes are cinnamon and nutmeg-flavored, not pumpkin-flavored.

Happy fall, y’all!

— Katelyn Umholtz

For your reading list

👨‍🍳 South Shore couple win MasterChef (Boston Magazine)

🇺🇸 What’s it like to dine in DC? (Boston Globe)

🍣 Sushi is bigger than ever in the U.S. (New York Times)

🥢 Life and death of the “Foodie” (Eater)

For your calendar

🥨 Eat Magoun’s Oktoberfest menu

🧀 Win a year of grilled cheese

Katelyn Umholtz

Food and Restaurant Reporter

Katelyn Umholtz covers food and restaurants for Boston.com. Katelyn is also the author of The Dish, a weekly food newsletter.