(Editor’s note: The following is a review of restaurants in Arlington Center as part of Arlington resident Frederick Kalil’s “Eatington” feature.)
I was hungry. This should be an opportunity to try one of the places newly opened in Arlington Center, I thought. The new sushi and ramen spot named Sumen has been attracting a line of curious, needful diners, as tends to happen when a new eatery opens.
For my impromptu solo visit, I adopted the tactical route of choosing a bowl of tom yum ramen. It was free of the corn kernels I can live without and might approach some degree of spiciness. Spice level fell into the now anticipated wimpy zone, and noodles were a bit more cooked than ideal, but in my focused intention to chow, such details didn’t matter much. Arrive hungry and leave with the satisfaction of scoring a table.
A subsequent visit entailed a kara’age chicken appetizer (checked off the crispy and fatty boxes), some seaweed salad (safe to order anywhere?), and a maki roll that never made it out of the heavily worked sushi station. Based on information collected from glancing around the room, a katsu curry entrée appeared to be generously proportioned, and a flaming volcano-themed item attracted the requisite attention. The staff is welcoming and the service is earnestly attentive.
New City Comes to Our Humble Town
As an ardent fan of their ice cream, having patronized the original Hudson location and the Central Square offshoot, I was eagerly anticipating the arrival of New City Microcreamery in the neighborhood. This one’s proximity should amount to a test of self-control. Arrive prepared to taste across multiple beckoning selections to find which flavor turns you on the hardest. While personal preference is likely a matter of palate patterning from early years, a current caramel apple pie flavor was favored by two additional palates besides my own.
Much is being made of the award-winning Dubai chocolate, and I found it well deserving of attention: caramel ice cream loaded with inclusions of chocolate-covered pistachio-and-kataif-bar and candied pistachio nuts. “Insane,” I blurted before my language filter could censor me. One of my standard New City orders is the affogato with a scoop of vanilla bourbon, but upon further sampling, I’m now entertaining the notion of substituting the estimable cinnamon. I’m not sure what role New City’s liquid-nitrogen freezing technique contributes to the satisfying outcome, but it’s a mesmerizing sight when I witness the process at the Hudson mothership, providing further anecdotal evidence that ice cream has the power to transport us back to our originally hardwired childhood selves.
What’s Exactly in a Name
A couple doors down, you’ll find the sugar-adjacent Rush Bowl, another recent addition in the town center. While its name suggests quick meals for those in a hurry and accustomed to taking their meal in a bowl, the menu is entirely given over to smoothies and fruity bowl invented dishes. These fall into three named categories: Destination (examples are Beach, Summit, Jungle, Aloha), Wellness (among them Yoga, Greens Guru, Bravocado, Hangover Cure), and Endurance (Power, Chai’s Mystique, Dragon, and so on). Is anyone else with me in suspecting AI’s hand in this somehow? I gravitated to something called Founder’s Favorite, as if I believed it has an actual person’s endorsement attached to it.
Calorie information is thoughtfully listed, and mine was toward the lower end at 356. Acai, banana, raspberry, guava juice, and soy milk were listed as ingredients. I was handed a big-gulp-size plastic cup that appeared as though it could exceed my stomach capacity. Since I don’t habitually indulge in smoothies and the like I attacked it greedily but not without a measure of guilt. A list of boosts to add health- or performance-enhancing benefits to your order may be helpful in alleviating any concerns about indulgence. Simply add a scoop of Energy, Brainwave, Antioxidant, Immune Support, or Trim & Fit. Bottom line, if it can trick me into keeping away from the ice cream, I just might download the app.
Sumen: 444 Mass. Ave., (978) 797-3878; Open seven days 11:30 a.m. to 9:45 p.m.; order.toasttab.com/online/sumen-444-massachusetts-avenue
New City Microcreamery: 311 Broadway, Sunday through Thursday: noon to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday: noon to 11 p.m.; newcitymicrocreamery.com
Rush Bowls: 307 Broadway, (781) 776-3966, Open seven days 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; rushbowls.com/arlington-ma
This piece, published on Nov. 11, 2025, is part of Arlington resident Frederick Kalil’s “Eatington” series.
