One of our New Years’ resolutions is to stop spending money on frivolous things, like caviar staircases and budget-busting burgers. So it’s a good thing the Phoenix has offered up a tantalizing list of cheap eateries debuting in 2011. But what we’re really excited about is the possibility of eating cheap BBQ in a bathroom.
Yes, we relished the list from spot-on critic MC Slim JB, which includes a diverse range of neighborhoods, ethnic persuasions, and quirky locations. The new year will bring healthy sandwiches in a former mobster’s den (the South End’s Wholy Grain), Korean barbecue in the basement of Harvard Square’s Galeria (Bull), and a new effort from the Rattlesnake’s Brian Poe housed in a shuttered South End video store (Poe’s Chester Square Pub).
Licking our lips after digesting Slim’s list, we moved on to the ever-reliable Boston Restaurant Talk blog. It was there that we discovered a new restaurant slated to open in a truly improbable … and rather unappetizing … location. A bathroom! Per the blog via the Salem News, the owner of Honky’s BBQ—a fortuitously named John Hopping—wants to grill in a former restroom at the Salem Willows arcade and casino. (Perhaps he’s “flush” with Honky’s success? Their motto: “Big, tall, fat, small … we cook it all!”) The News quotes Hopping as saying he hopes to preserve the historic bathroom’s integrity while adding a little “pizazz.” As we reported previously, the bathroom was formerly eyed by Swampscott’s Endless Summer Grilling.
In fairness, John Hopping’s chosen john is actually a quaint bathhouse in a very cute cottage. But still. The guy wants to ‘cue in the loo. On the plus side, we can save even more money and cancel our trip to Taiwan’s Modern Toilet.
Hotly Anticipated Budget-Dining Openings for 2011 [Phoenix]
Update: Barbecue Stand May Still Be in the Works for Former Restroom [Boston Restaurant Talk]
Bathroom for Lease … Again [Salem News]
See also: Salem Park Hopes to Serve Barbecue from a Bathroom
