Last weekend, my husband Troy and I had the pleasure of joining the first Taste the Acre Food Tour in Lowell’s historic Acre neighborhood. Organized by Taste the Acre, the tour highlights the incredible diversity of food offerings in this culturally rich area. The initiative is supported by TheAcre Partnership, a collaboration of local organizations including Mass Development, Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union, UMass Lowell, the Lowell Housing Authority, and the Coalition for a Better Acre.
Our guide, Nate—a Mass Development urban planner dedicated to supporting Acre businesses—led us through the neighborhood’s past and present. He shared the Acre’s roots as a working-class immigrant neighborhood, home over the years to Irish, Greek, Southeast Asian, and other communities. Nate pointed out landmarks like historic churches, old mill buildings, and even the site of the original Market Basket.
Our first stop was Tasty Dumplings at 351 Market St., where we enjoyed delicious soup dumplings. There's a skill to eating them ~ break the dumpling to release the super-hot broth, let it cool, sip the broth, then eat the dumpling ~ and we were warned that we'd regret skipping the broth step! Later, I learned the restaurant is featured on Yelp’s list of the Top 100 Chinese Restaurants in the U.S. -- well-deserved! Next up was Golden Tea Café at 366 Merrimack St., where we sipped on milk tea and refreshing fruit teas in berry and lychee flavors. The owners are lovely and make their own fruit juices with fresh fruit. My husband was in China for work this past year and he was delighted to see dragonfruit juice on the menu.
We continued to Laos Thai Kitchen at 478 Merrimack St., where Chef Donna introduced us to traditional dishes like Pak Boung (morning glory stems with crispy pork belly), spicy Grapow Gai (ground chicken with vegetables), and classic appetizers like Crab Rangoon and egg rolls.
At Sophia’s Greek Pantry North at 479 Market St., we explored shelves of Greek specialties and sampled their rich, creamy homemade yogurt, made from sheep and goat milk and flavored with honey and fruit extracts. Their original location is in Belmont but they opened a Lowell location several years ago to serve the large Greek community here.
Our tour ended on a sweet note at Mochinut at 183 Dutton St., where we enjoyed a variety of chewy, colorful mochi donuts. It was the perfect end to a day filled with community, history, and incredible flavors. The Taste the Acre tour offered more than just food—it was a celebration of the Acre’s vibrant past and present, served one bite at a time.
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