Hojoko

Hojoko occupies the ground floor of the Verb Hotel at 1271 Boylston Street, a mid-century motor inn reborn as a rock-and-roll hotel a short walk from Fenway Park. It comes from Tim and Nancy Cushman, whose o ya is one of the most decorated restaurants in the city, and it was designed as the opposite of that room: loud, late, covered in music memorabilia, with a vinyl lounge and a menu that runs creative maki alongside ramen, robata skewers and a bacon-wrapped, jalapeno-stuffed hot dog. It is open until midnight six nights a week, which in the Fenway makes it a genuine late option rather than a dinner-only one.

The drinks list is famous for its large-format tiki bowls, but the bar also prints a DRY/DAMP section for guests who want the same care with no alcohol. Each of the four costs $13 and is built as a shadow of a specific classic rather than as sweetened juice. Blush and Bashful is the grapefruit spritz, made with grapefruit juice, lime juice, simple syrup and fresh mint. Coco Crush Colada stands in for the pina colada, using coconut cream, pineapple juice and a pineapple shrub syrup the bar makes in house. Citrus and Salt is the classic margarita rebuilt from lime, lemon and orange juice with simple syrup, and the kitchen will do a spicy version with a Tajin rim and muddled jalapeno on request. The Golden Nojito is the pineapple mojito, layering mint simple syrup, the house pineapple shrub, fresh mint, pineapple juice and lime juice. Time Out has given the restaurant a five-star review, and the house shrubs on the zero-proof side are the same ones used behind the full-proof list. Time Out's five-star review describes a drink list that runs to twenty sakes, frozen tiki classics and large-format pours served from the tank; the DRY/DAMP block sits on the same menu as those rather than on a card you have to ask for.