Foodie Finds

This post is not only about a great little stretch of town filled with fantastic foodie finds but also a good guide for foodie tourists who want to get a bit off the beaten path. Not many people who visit Boston head out of the city and into the suburbs but that's what were recommending. We are going to the area known as Mount Auburn, where the cities of Cambridge, Watertown and Belmont all converge.


A few foodie finds at Eastern Lamejun Bakers.

Our first stop is Eastern Lamejun Bakers in our very own childhood hometown of Belmont. A longtime favorite of our many Armenian friends (here for over 60 years) it's the only place to shop to make authentic Armenian dishes. This was the first place we ever bought lamejun pies. So, we always go back when we get that overwhelming craving for them every few months. Lamejun pies are sort of the middle eastern version of pizza. A flat piece of syrian bread is spread with ground lamb and spices - absolute heaven. They come in plain and garlic (we get both) and this time we even noticed a new chicken variety. Our other favorite here is the spinach and cheese turnover. Freshly made and filled with a mixture of cheeses including feta and muenster and chopped spinach. They are best when still warm from the oven.


Lamejun pies.




Spinach turnovers from Eastern Lamejun Bakers

This is also a great place to just roam the aisles and examine all the unusual, exotic ingredients and the vast array of olives, cheeses and sweets. Unless you are an internationally known chef of Armenian origin I guarantee you will be able to find all kinds of new flavors and tastes here.


Imported cheeses.


Some of the finds at Eastern Lamejun Bakers

Eastern Lamejun Bakers
145 Belmont Street
Belmont, MA 02478
617.484.5239


Sofra Bakery and Cafe

After your shopping stop in at Sofra Bakery and Cafe, a middle eastern bakery just down the street, for a cool drink or coffee and a snack. The pastries here are exotic, too, but not so far out there as to be weird. It's a relaxing, unusual, somewhat bohemian spot that was once a liquor store just around the corner from another childhood house of ours in Cambridge.

Sofra Bakery
1 Belmont Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
617.661.3161



From here you can head across the street to Mount Auburn Cemetery. No, I am not kidding. Considered by many to be the most beautiful garden cemeteries in the United States, it is the final resting place of many famous historical figures and others from the worlds of art, politics, literature and academia. In fact, the place is so popular that they offer guided tours during the warm weather seasons! It's a photographer's dream. Don't miss the stained glass mosaic windows in the public restrooms.


Mount Auburn Cemetery