Restaurant Review: Oleana

Oleana
134 Hampshire Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts

http://www.oleanarestaurant.com

appetizers: $9-12
entrees: $24-26
desserts: $11-14

vegetarian tasting menu (5 meze plus dessert): $40

wines by the glass: $8-12

Oleana has been around since 2001, but the first I heard of this restaurant and its chef/owner, Ana Sortun, was a series of very interesting articles published last year in The New York Times food section over the course of several weeks - fried mussels with almond-garlic sauce, Persian fried chicken, spoon lamb, spicy carrot puree and olives with za'atar. I can't say I went so far as to make any of her recipes, but I read them all and thought, " How exotic! How exciting!"

Needless to say, when I was recently offered the chance to go to dinner at Oleana I leapt.

Reservations are a must here. This place may be out of the way, but it is well known and well liked and it is very busy. The dining room was crowded on a Wednesday evening at 8:30 and people were still coming it to eat at 9:30. Our table was in the middle of the floor and I found myself bumped and knocked into repeatedly by the wait staff as they passed by. I also found my chair distractingly uncomfortable to sit in for two hours although it was very attractive to look at.

The menu is heavily Turkish influenced, but you will also find Armenian, Greek and north African dishes. It has been a while since I sat down to read a menu and found so many descriptions and words that I didn't understand. Almost every menu item had some component that I was not completely familiar with. Our server was very helpful and happy to answer our questions and I could put together enough of the pieces so that I wasn't asking hundreds of questions. For me, it was fun to have so much before me that was new and unexplored.

My companion started with Heirloom Tomato Kibbeh & Heirloom Tomato Dolma with Labne which overshadowed my more humble appetizer of Grilled Octopus with Spicy Sicilian-Style Bread Salad & Cauliflower. The tomato kibbeh - which was reminiscent of tabouli with tomato instead of parseley - was molded into a flat round disk on top of which rested a gleaming skinned and stuffed garden fresh tomato. The show stopping presentation plus the contrast in flavors - the tomato stuffed with a soft white cheese, the bright grainy texture of the kibbeh and several spices that I could not place - combined to make this a startling delicious start to our meal. My salad was decent, but no competition in taste or appearance: a simple bowl filled with uniformily 1-inch bites of octopus, bread, and cauliflower. There was a dressing, there were herbs and spices, but the overall impression was less than exciting.

My companion chose Lamb Steak with Turkish Spices & Fava Bean Moussaka for an entree - the moussaka having the quintessential Greek tomato sauce. I chose Free Range Veal & Almond Dumpling—Moorish Style with Fennel Escabeche - delicious, intriguing and unlike anything I'd previously experienced. Kudos for presentation - I was presented with three small dishes on a white tray - the veal and almond dumpling came in a little cast iron pot of its own and had a hole in the middle in which to pour the accompanying miniature glass picture of hot gravy. The dumpling was soft and fluffy, the gravy was delicious and the veal was salty and shredded and reminded me of duck confit. The bowl of brightly flavored fennel and orange salad next to it was delightfully refreshing.

We remarked on the portion sizes - nothing seemed skimpy but nothing was too much either which was a boon come dessert time - we had plenty of room left to indulge.

Yes, we were looking at the dessert menu at 9:30 at night, but I can never turn down a chance for turkish coffee - there are simply too few opportunities. My Turkish Style Goat's Mik Ice Cream with Blueberries & Rose Geranium merangue was creamy and intriguing and pleasant enough. My companions Frozen Cocoa Bean Souffle with Hot & Cold Truffles must have been amazing because I didn't even get a nibble.

I can't claim it was a perfect evening - there were delays between courses, the restaurant was crowded, the chairs were uncomfortable, but the food was beautifully presented, delicious, new and exciting and certainly worth a second (and third trip).