Inaugural 'Taste of Downtown Crossing' Spotlights the Neighborhood

BOSTON, MA — By its name alone, you'd think Taste of Downtown Crossing is all about the restaurants. But the real star of the inaugural event is meant to be the neighborhood itself.

On the streets above Boston's busiest transit hub, a transformation is underway, and community members behind the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District are determined to showcase it.

BID President and CEO Rosemarie Sansone told Patch she hopes returning visitors will be "pleasantly surprised."

"It's a different streetscape completely," she said. "It's becoming the destination that they wanted it to be, and that they want it to be."

Taste of Downtown Crossing is a chance for the neighborhood's new residential population to get to know their local businesses and their new community. Millennium Tower alone introduces 442 new residential units to the neighborhood.

The event will showcase the streetscape, as well as the neighborhood's many restaurants, several of them newly opened.

It will be staged along the Avenue de Lafayette, strategically positioning guests near a corner from which they can see the flashing, retro marquee of the Paramount Theater, the sweeping, 58-story glass facade of the newly opened Millennium Tower, and two relative newcomers to the neighborhood — Legal Crossing and Caffè Nero.

That second has already proven so popular, Sansone said, that it will be opening a second location near Roche Bros.

Taste of Downtown Crossing will turn the avenue into what Sansone described as a "Parisian cafe," complete with strolling street musicians, cooking demonstrations, a piano bar, and more.

Sansone has a long history with the neighborhood, and a passion for its revitalization. She recalls buying her first pair of ballet slippers from a West Street shop at age 5.

"I love this space," she told Patch. "I love it because of what it represents in terms of its history, because it's always been such a beloved space for so many people for so many reasons."

Taste of Downtown Crossing is Sunday, from noon until 4 p.m. (rain or shine), and featuring food samplings from more than 20 restaurants. Tickets are limited, and cost $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Children under 11 get in free. Beer and wine is available for purchase, but is not included in the entrance fee.

All that, plus by live music, cooking demonstrations, entertainment and children’s activities.Tickets and other info available here.

The list of participating restaurants is as follows:

• Artisan Bistro
• Avenue One
• Back Deck
• Boston Chops
• Central Bistro
• David's Tea
• Fajitas & 'Ritas
• Gordon's Fine Wines & Liquors
• JM Curley
• Legal Crossing
• Marliave
• The Merchant
• Oceanaire Seafood Room
• Papagayo
• Roche Bros.
• Ruth's Chris Steak House
• SA PA
• Serafina
• Sip Wine Bar and Kitchen
• Yvonne's
• Zermatt Gelatria and Cafe

Photo by Alison Bauter, Patch staff