It’s not every day that a brand-new subway stop opens in Boston, but that’s what happened this past September with the Assembly stop on the MBTA Orange Line. The reason behind this? The rapid and ongoing development of the previously underutilized Assembly Square area in Somerville. With the plethora of new housing, shopping and dining options that have recently become available, including entertainment destinations like the Legoland Discovery Center and a new AMC movie theater, this area is red-hot. The multi-building complex, known as Assembly Row (617-440-5565, assemblyrow.com), also features Legal Sea Foods’ latest venture—Legal on the Mystic—as well as new outposts for local favorites Papagayo Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar and J.P. Licks ice cream shop, and the first location for “upscale casual” dining chain Earls Kitchen + Bar (pictured) in the northeast. The most recent addition, set to open soon, is River Bar, a spacious restaurant boasting an “elevated street food” concept and an enormous, covered outdoor patio overlooking the Mystic River, complete with fire pits for cooler weather. Shoppers will love outlet shopping at the likes of Saks Fifth Avenue, Brooks Brothers, J. Crew, Converse and Clarks. With further growth in the works, Assembly Row is poised to be a shopping and dining paradise for years to come