Where should I eat instead of T.W. Food?

[Pia]

We are getting a rare night out and I was really excited to go to T.W. Food, but we couldn't get a reservation anywhere near the time we needed (babysitter limitations). Since we don't get out much these days and haven't had a really nice sit-down meal in months, I want to choose wisely. I'd love any advice.

My wish list:
Focus on fresh ingredients, especially veggies -- don't care that much about meat
Would like interesting flavor/ingredient combinations and entree choices that aren't on every other restaurant menu (Sometimes I like roast chicken, steak frites, and salmon with lentils, but want something different for this dinner)
Either T AND car-accessible in Boston, or car or T-accessible in surrounding suburbs (Cambridge, Somerville, Watertown, Arlington, Belmont)
Not TOO expensive (average entree under $30)
Quiet enough to have a conversation; ideally, intimate atmosphere

Other relevant information: I love dessert and won't be drinking.

I thought about Ten Tables Cambridge, but the menu doesn't seem that exciting. (But I might be totally wrong about that. I went to the JP one years ago and liked it, but don't remember it that well.) Maybe Garden at the Cellar or Russell House Tavern? I've been to Bergamot and Rendezvous and loved both, but would like to try somewhere new. I thought about Oleana, but we live near Sofra and the menu is similar.

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T.W. Food
377A Walden St, Cambridge, MA 02138

Sofra
1 Belmont St, Cambridge, MA 02138

Oleana
134 Hampshire St., Cambridge, MA 02139

Ten Tables
5 Craigie Circle, Cambridge, MA 02138

Russell House Tavern
14 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

[Pia]

Update: That night, we went to Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant near Symphony instead and liked it a lot, even though we only had about twenty minutes to order and eat. I posted about it here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/738081

But recently we finally got to have our long-postponed anniversary dinner at T.W. Food, and it was amazing! I've been looking for a special place to replace my former favorite, Craigie Street Bistrot. Back before it became Craigie on Main, CSB had a unique combination of an intimate atmosphere where you felt like you were practically the only people in the place, and food that made everyone at the table fall silent as we tried to figure out exactly what we were tasting and experienced a new combination of flavors. T.W. Food doesn't totally hit both marks -- the room is a little loud, the people next to us were about 8 inches away, and while Craigie Street tends to overdo it with the salt and fat, the flavors at T.W. Food were almost too subtle at times. But those are really minor complaints. The thing I loved about it, and the reason I'm comparing it to Craigie, is that it's the only other restaurant I've been to in Boston that has that quality of "what is this delicious thing I'm eating?" I enjoyed the whole tasting menu -- the beet soup with chives and goat cheese had familiar flavors, but having it hot was a new and pleasant experience; the charcuterie plate was fun even though I'm charcuterie-challenged and the fromage de tete was a little bit of an effort for me -- but the dish that sticks out was the pork entree. Usually I'm not a big pork fan, but I loved all the different textures and flavors in this dish. There were pork medallions and shreds of roast suckling pork, and a farro risotto, and some broccoli and maybe kale? And two sauces. We both just stopped talking and focused on every bite. I still have no idea exactly what was in there and it's not something I could ever pull off at home, partly because it had so many components and partly because I'd just never imagine that combination of ingredients and flavors.

The other great thing about T.W. Food is that even though it's such high quality, most days of the week they have very reasonably priced prix fixe menus. The service was nice too -- when I declined wine (due to pregnancy), the server offered sparkling juice instead, so I got to have something that at least looked like wine. We'll definitely be back... it just may take a while. I'm glad it lived up to my high hopes.

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T.W. Food
377A Walden St, Cambridge, MA 02138

Craigie on Main
853 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02139

[Pia]

Thanks for all the great suggestions! The places that sounded the most appealing were Ten Tables Cambridge, Oleana, and Hungry Mother. I've been to Oleana but not for a long time, and have been to Hungry Mother but wanted to take my husband there. Unfortunately, they were all booked up too. I think we'll postpone the fancy anniversary dinner yet again (it was supposed to be last month, but I came down with food poisoning!) and do something that's not food-focused instead. I'll consult this thread again when we get another night out.

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Hungry Mother
Cambridge, MA, Cambridge, MA

Oleana
134 Hampshire St., Cambridge, MA 02139

Ten Tables
5 Craigie Circle, Cambridge, MA 02138

[LeoLioness]

Maybe not vegetable-focused enough but Gargoyles?

[greenzebra]

I've never been to Sofra, but Oleana was one of the first things I thought of. Definitely a focus on fresh veggies and on interesting flavor/ingredient combinations that aren't on every other restaurant menu. Also incredible desserts. Another possibility would be EVOO in Kendall Square -- the $30something dollar 3-course prix fixe is a great deal.

I think Russell House Tavern is great, but can get noisy and I wouldn't put it quite in the same league as Oleana or Ten Tables or T. W. Food, so if you are aiming for something on that level I might save Russell House for another night. The food is great, don't get me wrong, but I think it is a bit more casual and less creative.

[Madrid]

some of the menu items are similar at Sofra and Oleana (the mezze), but it's so different at Oleana. The farm produce really shines right now and there are always a few interesting specials and really expanded mezze and entrees. If you can get there early, ask for an intimate table .... if the weather is good, the outdoor garden is amazing. (can't reserve for that, just show up). desserts are really unusual and delicious if you appreciate the middle eastern/turkish focus. I was there three months ago with a friend and we split the 5 mezze vegetarian special plus dessert for $40 and added 2 meat dishes from the mezze. It was way enough food for two.

I *really* appreciate the need for this evening to be special.... we adopted a special needs older child from foster care and have no qualified babysitter...but if we did, we be over at Oleana really quick. Have a wonderful time!

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Sofra
1 Belmont St, Cambridge, MA 02138

Oleana
134 Hampshire St., Cambridge, MA 02139

[owen_meany]

We recently had a lovely meal at EVOO. It was my first thought when I read the original poster's query.

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EVOO Restaurant
350 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02143

[jgg13]

Just basing it on the cambridge bias in your own suggestions, some other ideas would be hungry mother and east by northeast.

edit: kinda missed the "focus on veggies" part.

[dfan]

The first thing that came to mind was Ten Tables Cambridge, before I saw you discard it. I think it fits all your criteria well, and when we went we thought that our dishes were much more interesting than we would have thought by the menu description alone.

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Ten Tables
5 Craigie Circle, Cambridge, MA 02138