The Weekender: February 3 to 6

Elias Sime’s Tightrope, Familiar Yet Complex 1, part of Life Altering: Selections from a Kansas City Collection, which is on view at Boston University’s Stone Gallery through March 1. Photo by Cydney Scott

Eat, shop,go

We hope you stayed warm and safe during the weekend blizzard. The weather may have been piercingly cold lately, but we have some suggestions on how to reenergize yourself with hearty food and quirky attractions.

Tawakal Halal Café

This cozy halal restaurant specializes in authentic Somali cuisine with some Italian touches, focusing on exotic spices and locally sourced ingredients. Owned by a Somali family, Tawakal Halal Café, is in East Boston and offers a homey aura and welcoming environment—the walls are decorated with chalkboard signs for customers to draw on and write messages. Dishes include beef spaghetti, sambusas (a stuffed dough pocket), and biryani. To top it all off, Tawakal Halal Café offers shaah—a spiced tea—and Nutella chapati.

Tawakal Halal Café, 389 Maverick St., East Boston, is open Tuesday to Sunday from 11 am to 9 pm.

Café Sauvage

Fusing French and African influences, Café Sauvage has a menu with a wide variety of classic brunch items, coffee drinks, and teas. This Parisian-style restaurant in Back Bay was featured in a popular TikTok as the next trending bistro. The atmosphere is reminiscent of a Paris aesthetic, with forest-green seating booths and desserts encased in glass bowls. Customers rave over the Nutella latte, the chocolate croissants, and the Croque Madame (a toasted sandwich made with ham, a sunny-side up egg, and Gruyère cheese). Café Sauvage also offers exciting cultural favorites like a banh mi sandwich and bissap, a traditional African drink.

Café Sauvage, 25 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, is open Tuesday to Thursday from 8 am to 3 pm, Friday to Saturday from 8 am to 9 pm, and Sunday from 9 am to 4 pm.

Rugg Road Paper Company

Rugg Road Paper Company is a local stationery shop that offers both stocked and custom stationery offerings like greeting cards, calendars, and prints. The quaint Beacon Hill shop’s front is elegantly decorated as the seasons change and is easily recognizable with a striking, gold-lined shop sign. Rugg Road Paper Company has a dedicated birthday card section and holiday cards throughout the year. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are suggested.

Rugg Road Paper Company, 105 Charles St., Boston, is open Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm, and Sunday from noon to 5 pm. 

Life Altering: Selections from a Kansas City Collection

The College of Fine Arts exhibition Life Altering: Selections from a Kansas City Collection, created by Bill and Christy Gautreaux, presents 12 years of works exploring issues such as wealth inequality, social justice, race, LGBTQ+ issues, and the environment. The founders call this exhibition “a journey of learning and awareness that has been life-altering.” Artists who identify as female, Black, or persons of color are at the forefront of this collection. Some of the following artists include Omar Ba, a Senegalese painter who is concerned about the “state of emergency” in Africa, and Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, an Iranian sculptor best known for her Convertible Series about the spiritual significance of numbers in Sufism.

Life Altering: Selections from a Kansas City Collection is on view Tuesday to Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm through March 1 at the College of Fine Arts Stone Gallery, 855 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

Black Light Yoga

Black Light Yoga includes a free mat and an upbeat yoga class. Yoga is a known stress reducer and a wonderful exercise physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Participants can decorate their mats with black light tape for this glow-in-the-dark yoga session. Everyone is encouraged to wear either white for maximum glow or black to highlight the black light tape designs. Entry begins at 4:15 pm, and the yoga class begins at 5 pm.

Black Light Yoga is Sunday, February 6, from 4:30 to 6 pm at the Boston University FitRec Dance Theater, 915 Comm Ave. Preregistration is full, but interested students can join the waitlist. BU attendees must bring their BU ID and green badge. Masks are required and must be worn at all times, including during exercise.

February First Friday: Candy and Collage Making

Students can decorate notebooks using magazine cutouts at February First Friday: Candy and Collage Making, a free event hosted by the BU Arts Initiative and BU Community Service Center. Candy will also be provided for snacking. 

February First Friday: Candy and Collage Making is Friday, February 4, at 4:30 pm at BU Central, in the George Sherman Union basement. 

Tattoos in Japanese Prints

The Tattoos in Japanese Prints exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts highlights the evolution of tattoos from Edo-period Japan to 21st century tattoo shops around the world. It features almost 80 works that investigate the changing meanings of tattoos, from declarations of religious or romantic devotion to marks of punishment. The exhibition features artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi and his defining series One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Water Margin, depicting the Chinese tale of a band of 108 heroic outlaws fighting corrupt officials. The inspiration of tattoos has trickled down to today and what tattoos stand for now.

Tattoos in Japanese Prints is at the Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave., Boston, through February 20. The museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm. The MFA is free for BU students, faculty, and staff with a valid BU ID. Otherwise, general admission is $25 for adults, $10 for youth ages 7-17, and free for children 6 and under. The exhibition is free with admission.