Dali doesn’t serve lunch. They used to do a same menu brunch on weekends, but I believe that stopped well before the pandemic.
And it’s one of my favorites as well, having gone there for about 25 years. I know it’s considered old hat and tired by many after so many years. But the people who work there, food, and atmosphere are like a really comfy pair of pants or blanket.
I’ve made plans to do so with a friend on the last Friday of March. I seriously cannot wait. I think the last time I was there was April 2021 with 2 other vaxxed friends. I used to go at least once a month (although that was about 5-8 years ago).
Stephanie’s on Newbury is a solid option. Not too loud. Saltie Girl is no linger the small seafood boutique- the name is now used for the former Met Cafe.
@neil.henry - thanks - I did not know that about Saltie Girl!
We went to Catalyst - her choice - and it was excellent. We were the first customers @ 1130 and when we left it was packed, so good for them - lunch is back, apparently! Food was good - we got focaccia, kale salad, fish tacos, and the baked alaska for dessert. Baked alaska was VERY boozy which isn’t our thing, so we really didn’t eat much, but my fish tacos were excellent and the fries were wonderful. Our server couldn’t have been nicer.
Sounds delicious, thanks for circling back! I am sad I wasn’t there to help with the baked alaska, it is one of very few desserts I like!
Have you had the Oleana version, and what do you think of it?
Particularly if it was boozy - I’m anti-dessert but if it’s boozy, I’m on board.
I had many awesome special occasion lunches there when I worked in Central Sq. Not stuffy but fancy enough to make our special lunches feel fancy. So glad you had a good meal there.
I had always wanted to try the Baked Alaska at Oleana and never could persuade my husband. But we got it take out in 2020 for my birthday in August. It survived the take out very well, surprisingly (we are only a few miles away). I found the caramel really, really too sweet (like many Middle Eastern desserts) although I love passion fruit. The rest of it was superbly delicious and I’m glad we did it! Boozy is fine with me, lots of sugar isn’t. The rest of it was wonderful. Humm, I think I want to try it again! Oleana is still doing take out.
Sally, so glad you and your friend had a good celebration!
Yes. You have to cut it with the mountain of meringue.
It’s been about a decade since I had the one at Eana but I loved it.
And I did love the meringue, and it was amazing how well it transported a few miles from Oleana to our house in East Somerville, in August.
My husband claims to hate desserts and especially really sweet ones, but he lapped up what I couldn’t finish of the Oleana baked alaska in record time (meaning he seemed to just inhale it).
I’m really glad the baked alaska is still on the menu at Oleana after all these years. As well as a couple of other dishes that we’ve enjoyed since Oleana opened over years.
No I have not and this reminds me it has been FAR too long since I have been to Oleana.
I’d like to hear your opinion. It’s a mixed bag – a mix of the very sweet and the not-so, so you have to be judicious in your spoonfuls. On balance we love it, and we get it almost every time – but since we’re frequent eaters there, there’s nothing we get every time. [Oh, OK, except for the deviled eggs and the Sultan’s Delight (which has traveled, in differing forms, with Ana Sortun since her Casablanca days).]
I need to just make an Oleana reservation NOW for three months out or whenever it’s possible. We recently watched a Great British Baking Show episode with Baked Alaska, although they called it something else like Alaska Tart, and my kids would go nuts to actually try a version. Thanks for the prompt.
I think I first had Ana Sortun’s food at a place in Concord, and then a place on Holyoke St. in Cambridge called 8 Holyoke, before it became Sandrine. Not sure what it is now. Before CasaB, well before Oleana, which we first visited soon after it finally opened… I eat beef only a few times a year. I’ve always loved the Sultan’s delight and the deviled eggs, and we always get both. Only got the Baked Alaska once! We also love the spinach falafel and fried mussels. And the breads. I think I’m going to ask for Oleana for my birthday in August.
This link and the photograph in it has been posted before on food groups – certainly on CH, and possibly on HO – but it never grows old:
Wow, I remember seeing that years ago. Thanks for re posting! What a fantastic photo, and yes, it is one for the ages.
What a great photo. We miss Paul O’Connell, and Mary-Catherine and Deborah. And Jasper. Summer Shack bears no relation to Jasper’s.
I tried both Summer Shacks several times. Last time was more than 10 years ago. I never got to try Jasper’s, and I wanted to like Summer Shack, but except for the snow cone and one order of calamari, just didn’t work for me.
