"The city has widened the sidewalk for Abercrombie and Fitch," Williamson said. "But the city couldn't come to bat for The Tasty."
Councillor Kathleen L. Born defended the Council's efforts, however.
"I, for one, am very sorry and miss The Tasty enormously," Born said.
Born said the decision to tear down The Tasty was largely a private-sector matter, not the council's decision.
"If the person who owns the restaurant doesn't wish to own the restaurant [anymore], there's not much you can do about it," she said.
Near the end of the meeting, Councillor Michael L. Sullivan said Harvard was doing "a disservice to the community" by publicizing its new community relations deal with Boston while saying its treatment of Cambridge was the same.
"I hope at some point...the President and Fellows look retroactively to what they have done here in Cambridge since 1636," Sullivan said.