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The Fierization of Boston continues apace

Caution: Hollow sidewalks

No loitering allowed in Flavortown, on account of all the hollow sidewalks.

Boston Restaurant Talk reports that Explorateur on Tremont Street, in the Masonic Temple building with the giant beaver logo and the hollow-sidewalk warning, is closing today to make room for two Guy Fieri outlets, one a restaurant with "New England influences," the other a place that specializes in chicken tenders. Fieri already has a Mexicanish place at North Station.

The spot is kitty corner from where the local residents association recently fended off late-night tacos.

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Comments

Was a nice little place

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OMG WHY?!

I give the Guy Fieri places 6 months before they go out of business.

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Cuz he's a celebrity y'all

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When you're a celebrity they just let you do it.

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brewing. There's already a place called Boston Kitchen Pizza around the corner at the edge of Chinatown.

(When I reviewed Explorateur for The Improper, I thought it was ehhh, alright, a not-so-great attempt to replicate the "be lots of different things to lots of different people and be pretty good at all of them" thing that Eastern Standard does so well.)

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according to the Globe story.

And Chicken Guy! sounds a lot like The Chicken & Rice Guys...

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Big Night owns Explorateur, Big Night owns the Guy Fieri joint in the Garden and Foxwoods I believe. Looks like this is just them cashing in on his name a little more.

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why are the sidewalks hollow?

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The building's basement extends to the street. That is pretty common in the older American cities.

Sometimes you can see the thick glass covers which let some light into these spaces.

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basements extended under the sidewalks often because the coal was delivered via those metal & glass portals.

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Movie about Masonic sidewalk vaults

National Treasure

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Thanks. I've often wondered what those "sidewalk prism" glass squares were that I occasionally see around. Little did I know they were, in effect, a form of skylight.

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Most have had the prisms removed or covered over, but:

Oh, chute!

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That's where processions of cloaked Masons travel to the land of Morlocks and Mole People under the cover of darkness.

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Guy's vapid head?

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They are also 'easy' to spot if the entire sidewalk is a solid slab of slate or granite (Not all of them had window glass)

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A good amount of hollowness is due to MBTA subway shafts and ect.The sign is a warning so that trucks dont jump the curb to make a corner or to deliver by parking on sidewalk partially.

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Explorateur Is my favorite cafe in Boston. I enjoy having a meeting there, breakfast with my child, or just sitting alone reading.

The staff was very friendly. The food and coffee nice. Best scones and tasty croissants in town. Egg sandwiches pleasingly enjoyable.

Given the square footage and early closing hours, I can see why it wasn't making money. Quality in Beantown does not rule.

Sad.

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I wanted to love it -- great location, great interior, etc.

I went there probably 4 times. I thought the food and cocktails were OK -- nothing to complain bitterly about, but completely uninspired.

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Explorateur was my least favorite place in the area.

In my opinion the food was good but nothing special, and the drinks and bar staff were always disappointing. On multiple visits the bartender (never more than one even happy hour) spent more time talking to friends at the bar than serving customers, and the drinks themselves were overpriced for not being very good regardless of the miniscule amount of alcohol included.

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I keep forgetting what the 3 'D's are in the name of that guy's show: Diners, Dives, Dumpsters... No, that's not it. Oh, yeah--Drive-Ins.

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to make room for two Guy Fieri outlets, one a restaurant with "New England influences," the other a place that specializes in chicken tenders.

Gross.

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I predict Guy's local operations will meet the same fate as his Times Square outpost, we can only hope. Boston is a very competitive market.

https://nypost.com/2018/01/04/good-riddance-to-guy-fieris-times-square-t...

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Wikipedia says he's some sort of TV cooking star, but I had never heard of him ...

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Are better for not knowing.

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