oleana

[cambridgedoctpr]

After hearing from Food Dabbler, one of my favorite posters, i thought that i should go back to Oleana. I am a fan of Turkish/Middle Eastern food and grew up eating at the Casbah in Chicago - which a Turkish friend said was the equal of the best in Istanbul and still really enjoy getting some flafel and schawarma on my trips to NYC,

Sitting at the bar was nice though the light was too dim for my attempts to read Q.E.D.. The service was good though I was dressed up with a coat and tie. I never seem to get bad service or I am very tolerant.

But i was not that impressed by the food. The bread was ok, possibly a bit stale though the olive oil was good. The flafel wrap was very good but I did not really like Sultan's delight. I am willing to go back; it is not far from where I live, but what should I order?

I do not automatically prefer NYC to Boston; i am happy with our Chinese restaurants and Indian choices. But this restaurant, which many people love, seems a puzzle to me. Good but not outstanding.

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Oleana
134 Hampshire St., Cambridge, MA 02139

[Dave MP]

I ate at Oleana for the first time a few weeks ago.

I thought the bread basket was BY FAR the worst part of the meal. I also thought it was a bit stale (we were eating on the late side, so maybe it was?), but it was just not very special.

I also had the Sultan's delight....the beef part was good, but I thought the eggplant part was GREAT. Like eggplant mousse, amazing texture, amazing taste.

My other favorite was the Trout Spanikopeta, which used the fried trout instead of the pastry. Really creative and delicious.

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Oleana
134 Hampshire St., Cambridge, MA 02139

[cambridgedoctpr]

the bread did taste stale, the beef was good; and yes, i agree that the eggplan was excellent. The flafel was good if expensive. Still, i will try it again when i return to Boston.

the meal was good just not something that was at the top level of food in Boston. I think that it more highty rated on Zagat's Guide than Clio or Neptune or Craigie or Toro or Coppa or a number of other of my favorites.

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Toro
1704 Washington St, Boston, MA 02118

Coppa
253 Shawmut Ave, Boston, MA 02118

[Kinopio]

I would never order entrees at Oleana because the vegetarian tasting menu is so good. Especially this time of year when local produce is at its peak and the chef and her husband source theirs from a farm they own nearby.

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Oleana
134 Hampshire St., Cambridge, MA 02139

[FoodDabbler]

Since you've named names -- mine -- I should respond. I can't speak about your experiences at Oleana (recent or past), only about mine. I reespect your judgement of food, and your tastes usually overlap mine. If you say you had less than stellar food at Oleana, I believe you. For myself, I've rarely left the restaurant disappointed overall. I agree with others that you're better off with the small plates (the mezze) than with the entrees, although I've had superb big plates there as well. Like others, I didn't know they offered a wrap.

As a curiosity: have you had the savory food at Sofra and what did you think of it? There's some degree of similarity between the food Sortun-Kilpatrick offer there and the offerings at Oleana.

The NYC question is interesting. I'd say that Oleana is slightly lacking if you compare food across cities. You can get fantastic value at Mamoun's, or Azuri cafe, or the Halal cart at 53rd and 6th, and really robust flavors at all of them that eclipse Oleana (I picked them because of the similarity in cuisine). But Oleana offers more complex tastes than they do, and has greater range. If you look at restaurants at a comparable price point, ignoring cuisine, then I think that places such as Bar Modern, Ssam, or Ma Peche clearly outshine Oleana.

I think very highly of Oleana, but I'd put it a solid tier below a place like Formaggio Kitchen (not a restaurant, I know) that's not only world class (in my experience) but at the top end of that class. I'd also put it below (half a tier or so) several of the Taiwanese restaurants we have in the area that match the best of comparable restaurants in Manhattan. I speak, of course, based only on my limited experience. Others may have other rankings.

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Formaggio Kitchen
244 Huron Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138

Sofra
1 Belmont St, Cambridge, MA 02138

Oleana
134 Hampshire St., Cambridge, MA 02139

[cambridgedoctpr]

thank you for your reply

my experience though some posters are bored by the comparison is that there are places such as New Deal, Formagion which exceed any thing that I have tried in NYC and that certain restaurants such as Tamarind Bay, Golden Garden and East Ocean equal the best in NYC as odious as this comparison is to some Boston CHers.

I will try Oleana again in a couple of weeks as I really want to like this place.

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Tamarind Bay
75 Winthrop St, Cambridge, MA 02138

Oleana
134 Hampshire St., Cambridge, MA 02139

East Ocean Restaurant
3704 Washington St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Golden Garden
63 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA 02478

[Madrid]

I think I remember from your previous posts that you graduated from Stanford. I am sure I am much older than you are...I'm 56...and I lived in Palo Alto for over 10 years. I never lived in San Francisco...i'm an art history graduate student person and I lived in Spain for some of those years...well, I came to Stanford from Boston in 1978 and I was so wowed by all the options in food...Boston in 1977 was not fun foodwise....Casa Mexico was the best then, in Harvard Square, where Tamarind Bay is now. But Palo Alto? just down the street at the market, blue corn posole and blue cornmeal...mesclun salad mix before it was available nation wide...grilled crab sandwiches...and that was Palo Alto, not SF! my SO graduated from Stanford med and we could not afford to go to SF very often, but it was all so amazing. The produce! the restaurants..... Boston was so backwater then. Berkeley Bowl! the food served at grad student pot lucks...amazing! the cheeses! Dry Jack!!! Broccoli raab! 15 kinds of fresh chile peppers! the mushrooms! Actual pimentos, not just plain red peppers...white pumpkins....OK I'll stop. I'm just trying to say that Ana Sortun's food has wowed me from the first bite when she was at 8 Holyoke, then Casablanca. sometimes it's just a question of personal taste. I won't waste your time trying to convince you that Oleana is wonderful.......your opinion of what works for you is the only one that matters. I hope you will like Oleana but if you don't, no need to keep trying. That leaves more seats for the rest of us.

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Tamarind Bay
75 Winthrop St, Cambridge, MA 02138

Oleana
134 Hampshire St., Cambridge, MA 02139

[cpingenot]

No comment really on Oleanna, but Madrid, your comments on food culture in the SF area resonate with me. When my husband was being recruited for a job at Berkeley, one of the nights we were there, instead of taking us to a fancy restaurant our host just took us to the Berkeley Bowl, where I wandered around in a daze, the Cheese Board, a fishmonger, and a bakery, and assembled the ingredients for a fantastic meal cooked in our host's kitchen in the hills with a view over the bay.
It was an awfully persuasive pitch, and if the UC system was not so cash strapped, it probably would have convinced us to come on the strength of the food culture alone!

I do think that Boston has a lot to offer, but the growing season will never compare to northern California.

[Madrid]

nope, it won't but I have learned to plunge in head first to the growing season we do have, cherish it, and freeze the tomatoes once roasted! Which reminds me, I need to head off soon to the farmers market to get more tomatoes, peaches, and beautiful greens. And corn. The winter market in Somerville was such a huge success, although it was disconcerting to see a lot from Florida there.

[Bob Dobalina]

Would it be helpful to stop calling Oleana's food "Turkish"? That country's cuisine obviously is a strong influence, but the chef takes it well beyond into its own territory. I've always considered her food more Mediterranean anyway.

[FoodDabbler]

Yes, I've never thought of the food as Turkish, or indeed as confined to any particular regional cuisine. I agree that Sortun takes the food of the general area, then adds enough of her own touches to make it her own. Her creativity and range are among the strengths of the restaurant (ditto for Kilpatrick's desserts).

[Bob Dobalina]

RE: Desserts: I know people tend to talk the baked Alaska, but my DW ALWAYS gets the almond gremolata with the chocolate panini - her favorite dessert, anywhere.

Last time, it was a special for me - two or three different interesting things on the plate - the highlight being a pistachio pot du creme with a violet/lavender sorbet. Outstanding.

[Madrid]

The desserts are expensive, but with so many interesting things on the plate, exotic, inventive ingredients and combinations, the extra cost is worth it to me. And I never order dessert anywhere else.

I want this

Blueberry Croustillant with Milk Pudding, Pistachio Gelée & Blueberry Sorbet 13

this
Sweet Corn Soufflé, Peach Roll-Up & Peach Compote 12

and this

Summer Melon ‘Pop’ with Minted Labne, Rose Petal Jam & Raspberries 13

and don't forget this

Nougat Glacé with Verjus Apricots, Bohsalino & Apricot Sorbet 13

Chocolate is great but fruit trumps chocolate for me every time.

[opinionatedchef]

just curious, cd, did you read any of the below? those are the things that wowed me. just saying.
i would suggest, of course, trying some of them other than the sultan's delight(which we adore). if you read anything about ana , you will see that she has an unusually sophisticated knowledge of her craft and region. i hope that will come through in your future visits there, as you seem to have a sophisticated palate as well.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/790043

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/782289

[cambridgedoctpr]

will go back and try again. Turkish is a cuisine which i like and this should wow me. did you like the bread?

[opinionatedchef]

not a fan of the table bread, but the trad. bread which they make for their roll ups at Sofra- griddled on an inverted wok- is phenomenal. sometimes the fillings are really good, sometimes not.but that bread can be an epiphany.

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Sofra
1 Belmont St, Cambridge, MA 02138

[viperlush]

Dishes that we have enjoyed:
Spiced Carrot Purée & Dukkah- I love how smooth and cream it is.
Spinach Falafel with Tahini, Yogurt, Beets & Crinkled Cress- Not heavy or dry.
Fried Mussels- Don't remember if it was the same dish, but the mussels had a good flavor and were clean, plumb, and not overcooked.
Trout Spanakopita- Don't know if it was the same dish that is currently on the menu because BF ordered it a couple years ago. My dad loves their lamb dishes. Perfect medium rare.
The Baked Alaska is good but needs to be shared. Very rich

My main problem with Oleana is that the the descriptions aren't always clear/accurate. So I end up ordering wrong when it comes to the main dish. A pork dish that I expected to be a chop or loin ended up being a rich braise. Another pork dish was covered in blue cheese (?) and was inedible. So my suggestion is to stick with the Meze.

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Oleana
134 Hampshire St., Cambridge, MA 02139

[Alcachofa]

It could be simply a matter of preference in this case. I think the Sultan's Delight is outstanding, so unless they messed it up for you, maybe it's just not your bag. I generally think the appetizers/meze are better and stand out more than the entrees. I've never had the falafel wrap and did not even know they offered one! Don't recall having strong feelings about the bread one way or another.

[cambridgedoctpr]

i thought that the food was good just not one of the best places in Boston. i know that Food Dabbler spends a lot of time in NYC; do those of you who do feel that Oleana is a special place even by NYC standards?

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Oleana
134 Hampshire St., Cambridge, MA 02139

[Madrid]

I tend to agree with Alcachofa....I love the Sultan's delight and I don't even like beef that much. I also agree that the mezze are outstanding; I've never had one I didn't like or I didn't think was special in some way. The high quality of the produce and the seasonings shine, in my opinion! By falafel wrap do you mean the spinach falafel? It's presented on a flatbread but not wrapped per se. Again, that's one my favorite dishes. I also love the crackers that come with the bread. So I guess Oleana is just not for you. I think it is very special by any standards.

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Oleana
134 Hampshire St., Cambridge, MA 02139