Oleana recos?
I am going to Oleana for the first time tonight, and was wondering if people on the list have recommendations for dishes not to be missed and things to avoid. I know you 'hounds have mixed views on the place, and I am interested to hear from both sides. Thanks in advance.
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I'm just returning from a celebration dinner at Oleana (the Mass Board results just arrived), and it was superb. Only my second time there, but I've yet to see a course that wasn't at least "very good". We shared the special antipasto plate with a selection of four salads, each of which was GREAT: an orzo with baked mozzarella, an egg and green olive, a beets and currants (and capers?), and a mussels vinaigrette. The two entrees were the flattened chicken and the veal with yogurt and mint sauce. Both delicious. Desserts were the honey-muscat pear umm-ali and the cocoa bean souffle with bittersweet chocolate tart. Excellent. A bottle of a tasty malbec, and we came out around $140 before tip.
I'm certainly planning on going back.
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elbev
Nov 3, 2006 03:14 PM
Oleana was truly superlative last night - having eaten there, I am now very puzzled by the sometimes lukewarm reviews that appear on this board.
The wait staff goes out of their way to make your dinner a special experience, and food was glorious in every respect. I had the veg tasting menu, an excellent suggestion from y'all, which consisted of warm olives with carrot puree and egyptian spices, pumpkin felafels, grape leaves, a veg medley featuring a mushroom whose name I forgot, and ricotta bread dumplings, followed by the nougat glace with various quince products. Each of those items was memorable in one way or another, but I think I might have liked the felafel and dumplings best. My dining partner had the seared scallops, which were perfectly prepared (crispy but not burned on the outside, and tender on the inside - exceptionally fresh seafood too) and served with a mushy pumpkin kibbeh interlaced with a bit of soured cream or yogurt. We also could not resist going for the sultan's delight (the tamarind beef), which was so tender and delicious it was literally falling apart at the touch of the fork, slathered in a tangy-sweet tamarind sauce and served alongside a mild olive oily pine nut pate. All of this, plus 2 glasses of wine and 2 of port along with a fat tip for less than $150, which to me seems well worth it.
I think it would be hard to go wrong at Oleana, and everything I saw or heard described seemed similarly innovative, fresh and delicious. I am particularly interested to try the flattened (with a brick) chicken, which I head the waitress say is one of the few things that will always be on the menu. Looking forward to another evening when we can splurge and sample more of Oleana's delights.
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litchick
Nov 2, 2006 10:31 PM
I firmly believe Oleana to be the best damn restaurant in the Boston area, especially since it's not outrageously priced, the servers are stellar, and the wine list... well, the wine list is just awesome. Lots of organic options, and reasonable. (And hey, it's a James Beard Award winner. Right here in our own backyard.)
I like everything I've ever had, but particular mentions from the current menu must go to:
the veg tasting menu, the pumpkin falafel, the deviled eggs, the fried mussles, I generally enjoy any of the fish dishes (esp. if cooked in a clay tile), and the lamb. I didn't try it when I was in last week, but the veal is apparently excellent too. On the dessert end of things, the current pumpkin pot de creme dish is great, their baked alaska is a specialty (but very sweet, and definitely for more than one person), and I love the cremolata for when I want something cold and creamy but not overpowering.Also, the aperitifs are inventive - particularly the paopao (a seasonally changing drink, currently made of prosecco plus spiced blood orange).
Have a great dinner!
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lissy
Nov 2, 2006 07:05 PM
I really like their pret a manger. I most recently had the warm buttered hummus and red pepper whipped feta, both of which I really liked. I also really liked the Greek tuna roll which I had over the summer (I think they have a more fall oriented version on the current menu). I had the free ranged veal in yogurt sauce on my last visit. I don't recall loving it. It was OK, but I definitely wouldn't order it again.
