"A great restaurant can do multiple things — serve excellent food, sure, but also provide a window into different cultures and traditions for far less money than a plane ticket. At Lehrhaus, Somerville’s self-proclaimed Jewish tavern and house of learning, the team aims to dismantle stereotypes about Jewish food by tracing the Jewish diaspora through many corners of the world, from fish and chips with Old Bay-seasoned fries (invented by a German Jewish immigrant in Baltimore) to Southern-inflected mac-and-cheese kugel and Eastern European kasha with miso-tahini eggplant. Don’t pass up a cocktail while you’re here; the person who dreamt up the bar program, Naomi Levy, is one of the best in the business. Know before you go: Lehrhaus isn’t just a restaurant; it’s also a functioning classroom that hosts a ton of guest speakers grappling with hot topics through a Jewish lens. Go ahead and drop in on a class while you’re around." - Erika Adams