Curio Coffee

Tucked in a corner of East Cambridge near the Boston line, Curio Coffee looks out on a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood that was, until recently, mainly Portuguese. The cafe offers Counter Culture coffee prepared by an expert staff. The tin-ceilinged space is styled with a studiedly casual antiquarianism: cascading plant tendrils, foxed mirror, crackly anatomical print, faux steer’s head over the bar. The staff are so friendly, capable, and apt in their musical selections that you wouldn’t dream of rolling your eyes. The food program consists, like a song that's good enough to leave on repeat, exclusively of waffles. Order a basic Liège, crackling with sugar and fat, or a variant like lemon-ricotta, served in a waxed-paper bag suitable for one-handed eating and strolling. 

—Alexander Henry