As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending right this minute?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp and SafeGraph, a dataset of commercial points of interest and their visitor patterns, to discover which eateries have been getting extra attention this month.
To find out who made the list, we first looked at Boston businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance. Then we analyzed foot traffic data from SafeGraph to validate the trends.
Read on to see which spots are getting plenty of attention this autumn.
Italian Pizza And Subs
Open since 2016, this Italian spot, which offers pizza, pasta and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Italian" on Yelp.
Citywide, Italian spots saw a median 1.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Italian Pizza and Subs saw a 19.2% increase, maintaining a sound 4.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, Italian Pizza and Subs' review count increased by more than 250%. According to SafeGraph foot traffic data, visits to Italian Pizza and Subs increased by more than 50% over the past month.
It's not the only trending outlier in the Italian category: Bin 26 Enoteca has seen a 1.1% increase in reviews.
Located at 172 South St. (between Rosemary and St. Rose streets) in Jamaica Plain, Italian Pizza and Subs offers Caprese salads, prosciutto subs, primavera pizza and more.
Italian Pizza and Subs is open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.–10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy on Saturdays and Wednesdays, and it attracts a quarter of its total visitors over those two days, so go on Mondays if you want to avoid the rush.
75 Chestnut
Beacon Hill's 75 Chestnut is also making waves. Open since 2005 at 75 Chestnut St. (between Charles and River streets), the popular diner, steakhouse and New American spot has seen a 1.2% increase in new reviews over the last month — matching that of all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp — but the number of visitors to 75 Chestnut more than doubled over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
75 Chestnut offers chicken and autumn quinoa salad, marinated tenderloin tips and a pumpkin ravioli. The spot also offers a wine list and craft cocktails. Over the past month, it's maintained a strong four-star rating among Yelpers.
75 Chestnut is open from 5 p.m.–11 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 5 p.m.–midnight on Friday, 10:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5 p.m.–midnight on Saturday and 10:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.–11 p.m. on Sunday. According to SafeGraph, people tend to visit 75 Chestnut on Saturdays and Sundays, and it attracts a quarter of its total visitors over those two days. If you’re planning your visit, you may want to try its slower periods on Thursdays.
Eventide
Kenmore's Eventide is the city's buzziest seafood spot by the numbers.
The well-established seafood spot, which opened at 1321 Boylston St. (between Yawkey Way and Kilmarnock Street) in 2017, increased its new review count by 5% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.2% for the Yelp category "Seafood."
Eventide offers Jonah crab toast, spicy tuna tostada and a brown butter lobster roll, as well as a classic fish and chips, a lobster stew and oysters.
Eventide is open from 11 a.m.–9 p.m. on Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
