Real-Life Opera Between Chinese Restaurant & Harvard Professor

All Mixed Up: Bar manager Ran Duan might feel like he is in the middle of an opera plot gone bad.

"Ben Edelman is an associate professor at Harvard Business School, where he teaches in the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets unit. Ran Duan manages The Baldwin Bar, located inside the Woburn location of Sichuan Garden, a Chinese restaurant founded by his parents. Last week, Edelman ordered what he thought was $53.35 worth of Chinese food from Sichuan Garden’s Brookline Village location. Edelman soon came to the horrifying realization that he had been overcharged. By a total of $4. If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a Harvard Business School professor thinks a family-run Chinese restaurant screwed him out of $4, you’re about to find out. Read the complete email exchange by clicking here. Ran Duan moved to the U.S. from

Plaintiff: Ben Edelman

China when he was 3-years-old. His father had hoped to support the family with a career as an opera singer, but when that didn’t pan out, Duan says 'like all Chinese families we decided to open up a restaurant.' Sichuan Garden opened its doors in Brookline in the early 1990s. A second location followed in Woburn." [Source] You can learn more about Benjamin G. Edelman by clicking here and if you're in Woburn area, check out The Baldwin Bar. The "Read Between the Lines" cocktail looks particularly delicious. Read a Boston Magazine feature on Ran Duan ran in June 2014 and a 2011 story by the Boston Globe reveals his mother was also a promising opera singer.

One (Namesake) Table That Manon Would Not Be Wishing Adieu

"From the people that brought you Brasserie Pushkin comes Manon, a bi-level Meatpacking fun house opening on May Day. This place has everything: crystal chandeliers, overstuffed leather couches, Corinthian columns, cocktails by Aaron Polsky, a bar made of glowing blue glass, a food menu by Public veteran Tae Strain, clay cherubs, pastries by a former EMP staffer, Amish chicken, Chatham cod, Denver lamb loin, Long Island duck breast, Jerusalem artichoke soup, Berkshire pork chops, and we're just getting started here." [Source]

Third Time May Be a Charm for Palais Garnier Restaurant

"After three attempts since 1875, a restaurant opened its doors on the eastern facade of the building in 2011. It was designed by French architect Odile Decq. The chef is Christophe Aribert." [Source]

"Recessed within the historical building, visitors pass the facade's original pillars to enter the undulating interior. The mezzanine space is carefully integrated to resist touching the existing structure's walls, columns and roof. The contemporary addition compliments the classical details of the vaulted stone ceiling without altering history. Accommodating and seating 90 guests at one time, the large floor plate is suspended with concealed steel plates. A glass wall encompasses the interior isolating the space from the existing shell. The billowing white structure touches down to the lower level producing integrated organic supports." Lots of really great photos here. One more image after the jump. [Source]