"Chef and owner Daniel Bojorquez grew up in Hermosillo, Mexico, and while his cuisine at the greenery-covered La Brasa isn’t strictly Mexican, the carnitas tacos bring a quintessential taste of Mexico to Boston. Tender pork brightened with brined cabbage, cherry tomatoes, and poblano peppers is tucked into made-to-order corn tortillas." - Erika Adams
"Chef and owner Daniel Bojorquez, a native of Hermosillo, the capital of Sonora, founded La Brasa, a wood-fired, Mexican-rooted restaurant that pivots in tune with the New England seasons. The tortillas are made to order with fresh masa; no table is complete without at least one stack." - Erika Adams
"Founded by owner and chef Daniel Bojorquez, Mexican-rooted restaurant La Brasa has been stoking the flames in East Somerville for a decade, consistently turning out excellent wood-fired meat, seafood, and vegetable dishes. However, the restaurant has leveled up recently with the addition of executive chef Jay Murray, an industry veteran who spent nearly 20 years at downtown Boston institution Grill 23 & Bar (another essential restaurant on this list). If you haven’t made a reservation yet, now’s the time. Must-try dish: The pork carnitas tacos, with tart, vinegary cabbage, cherry tomatoes, and poblano peppers, are a non-negotiable order." - Erika Adams
"Plan dinner around La Brasa’s essential carnitas tacos, but get there early for $1 oysters served with horseradish, mignonette, and cocktail sauce every day from 5 to 6 p.m." - Erika Adams
"Open space is practically non-existent in Somerville. But La Brasa on Broadway is big enough that you can get a little game of badminton going, play for two minutes until the birdie gets caught in something in the ceiling, and then spend the next 10 minutes throwing your racket up there to dislodge it (which is how literally every game of badminton goes). To be clear, you’d probably get kicked out if you actually tried to play badminton here, but La Brasa does have a well-done and eclectic menu of everything from carne asada and ceviche, to pork ribs and roasted oysters, so it works great when you have a lot of people who can’t decide what to eat." - dan secatore