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Dr.Jimbob
May 3, 2008 06:29 AM
I have been back there a few times. The biggest meal was written up in a previous Chowhound thread at http://www.chowhound.com/topics/48552...
There has been nothing vaguely like danger or personal peril the times that I've been there. A few times, they were on weekday evenings, when the place is somewhat disconcertingly empty, and remains so for the entire evening. Even on the Saturday night when I was there after a concert, the place was hardly hopping, though there were a few examples of Slavotrash (is that a word?) out on display. But no knives, guns or personal threats.
Someone has had the tava each time (Albanian root vegetable gratin/casserole) and every time it's been wonderful. The grilled octopus is lovely, if that's your thing, and I think Vlora may have some of the consistently best French fries that I've eaten in the Boston area (reliably crispy on the outside, lovely soft on the inside, and not costing an arm and a leg the way they do at some of the other consistently good restos). I would put the fears aside and dig in!
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MC Slim JB
May 2, 2008 01:33 PM
If anything, it's safer now. They're on a very short leash from the ABCC: one more incident and they'll lose their liquor license, in which case they would be rather screwed.
I've been back since, and it's still a pretty interesting scene on weekend nights. And I quite like the food, though it's useful to be reminded how simple it mostly is (which is what they're aiming for). I think the Albanian and Greek dishes are very good, the Italian stuff is kind of middling. It sure stands out as unique amidst the mostly dull and not very high-value Back Bay restaurant scene.
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We had dinner at Vlora last Friday night around 8:30. There didn’t seem to be any left over affects from the New Years Eve incident. The crowd was well behavior (no knife fights) and the service was excellent. We each order a glass of wine (one white, one red), they brought out the bottles and had us taste it before filling the glasses to check if we approved. The even gave us a free desert for my DG’s Bday. We had the salmon and tuna entries, both very good including the sides. As an app we had the watermelon and feta salad. Though skeptical at first, it was excellent. Who would of thought feta and watermelon go together.
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