copyright the Bettina Network, inc. 2010
44 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA. 02138
617 868 2255
Hours: Mon-Th 12pm-10pm
Fri-Sat 12pm-11pm, Sun 11:30am-10pm
We were roaming around Concord, MA., went into a beautiful modern art gallery and heard about the Harvest Restaurant’s history. The person in the store lived in Cambridge, once upon a time, and her husband worked at the Harvest so we got an earful. We were on our way to reviewing another restaurant, but after that conversation, which was fantastic with lots of history we didn’t know, we decided to stop in for lunch and maybe dinner to take another look at the Harvest Restaurant in Cambridge.
The history was intriguing. Many of the ‘greats’ in the restaurant world in Cambridge/Boston started out at the Harvest Restaurant or worked there at some point in their career. The Harvest and Design Resource – a great place to shop, once upon a time – were connected by the same ownership and we had just enjoyed the retrospective display in the window of the old Design Resource while it waited for a new store to open. The Marimekko fabrics and other items once considered consumer items, now in the area called art were beautifully presented.
Lydia Shire, Chris Shlesinger, and we heard, but couldn’t verify that even Jasper White worked at the Harvest. We couldn’t verify any of the stories we heard because we called the Harvest’s PR person, who was in a hurry and didn’t have time to talk with us. We asked our questions, she promised she would send info on the Harvest’s history – weeks ago. We are still waiting for either a return phone call or marketing information.
That is symbolic of our entire experience.
Our first trip to the Harvest was for lunch on a week day. The restaurant was only about 1/3 full. We were happy about that. Service would be great, no crowds with which to contend, no running out of dishes on the menu, etc.
When we walked in we were confronted with large flower arrangements, which were exquisite, but looked as though the florist had just arrived and put them wherever there was space – pushing some things out of the way to make room for the flowers. That was disappointing. The Harvest would have looked better without the flowers. Someone’s aesthetic sense is missing.
We looked at the menu and looked and looked and looked. It was hard deciding what to order, because nothing really struck us as great for lunch. I came from a place which cooks great rabbit, but somehow Bacon Wrapped Rabbit Leg with grilled nectarine foie gras stuffing just didn’t do it. My food memories growing-up include foie gras and great bread for breakfast and an even greater foie gras for dinner or a late evening snack. The thought of eating a grilled nectarine foie gras – stuffed into a rabbits leg which was wrapped with bacon, just spoiled all those memories so I bypassed that item.
After taking a long time to decide we settled on hamburgers. Going to an upscale restaurant for fast food was just debilitating. There were three of us and we all settled on the hamburgers for lack of being enticed by anything else. The hamburgers were a forced selection, – since we were there we had to choose something. It was not a choice we jumped for joy about.
When the food arrived, it was disappointing! The burger was alright; the aioli good; there were huge proportions; the fries were good; the bread not so great; way to much raw onion – a huge thick slice of raw red onion on the sandwich overpowered everything else. Since we had a meeting to go to after lunch and didn’t want to run everybody out of the room with our after lunch bodily smells, we took the onion off the sandwich. A smaller, thinner slice might have held its own, but this was way over the wrong top.
For an upscale restaurant, it was a decidedly downscale meal. The service was more than adequate, but the wait people were totally lacking in energy. I wondered if they would make it through the meal.
We were bothered by flies throughout our meal and we chose to sit inside so we wouldn’t have to worry about the insects. A fly settled in the rim of the glass at the empty table next to us and stayed there for over an hour. Could that be why many restaurants turn their glasses upside down once a table has been set? – to keep tiny, unwanted intruders out of the crystal and off the porcelain? It was more than a little upsetting to have to battle flies, but we weren’t excited about the food anyway so we skipped dessert, ignored the coffee and left most of the food uneaten.
Because the room was not full the table arrangements didn’t bother us. If it had been filled we would have left before ordering. Somehow, we didn’t expect to see tables lined up along the wall – one table after another, where you would probably elbow your neighbor at the next table before the end of the meal because there wasn’t room to eat with any sense of privacy and distance from others trying to do the same thing. Stuff another table along the wall and push them all closer together to accommodate the extra service for another party – seemed to be the ethos!
All in all – too much money – for a forced upscale-wanna-be menu. One choice we skipped over was a Burgundy Escargot Tart with Chorizo Butter. We wondered what Chorizo butter would do to the Escargot – a delicate taste mixed with – what – butter whipped with chorizo sausage? It sounded greasy, unappetizing and we just couldn’t imagine ordering it.
Would we return? Uh-Uh! We did, however, for dinner – to make sure we weren’t judging on just one visit where things could have been a bit off that day. Dinner wasn’t any better. Especially since NOTHING was organic. The only item close was the “natural” Boyden Farm Vermont Burger. For the same money they could have made that burger an Organic one.
TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email comments to info@bettina-network.com
TO LEARN MORE about the Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com
IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATIONS WHEN YOU
TRAVEL!!! 1-800-347-9166 inside U.S. or 617-497-9166 outside or inside the U.S.
Dali Restaurant and Tapas Bar (A Review)
Monday, September 28th, 2009copyright Bettina Network, inc. and (Eska) 2009
415, Washington Street
Somerville, MA 02143.
(Corner of Beacon & Washington Sts)
Ph.: 617-661-3254 Fax 617-661-2813
Web: www.dalirestaurant.com
House: dinner, 5:30-11pm, Sunday noon
Phone: 617 661 3254 Fax 617 661 2813
A visit to the Dali Restaurant is appropriate both for a romantic evening for two or a lovely night for a group. Small private tables within their own compartments and larger tables in open areas make this possible. The detailed decor is a feast for the eyes (picture yourself inside one of Salvador Dali’s paintings).
Either way, prepare yourself for a festival of flavors. You can find traditional Spanish dishes such as paella, a rich rice stew seasoned with saffron into which might be mixed a wide range of vegetables, sausage, chicken, meat, and seafood (the possibilities are endless; I have three cookbooks on my shelf containing nothing but paella recipes).
The real specialty of the restaurant is the numerous tapas, small plates, that enable the diner to sample many different dishes to make a meal. Each member of your party should start with three or so, but it’s not likely that you’ll stop there. Perhaps some thinly sliced serrano ham, the finest in the world, and some marinated olives to whet your appetite. If you’re more adventurous, perhaps some octopus vinagrette. The wonderful thing about tapas is that you can stick mostly with your favorites, or be just a little adventurous, or maybe a lot. Never had stuffed squid in its own ink or pheasant or quail or rabbit or venison? Try them all in a single dining experience, each in a regional Spanish preparation. My personal favorites are braised rabbit in a red wine, juniper, and garlic sauce, and venison sausage in pomegranate sauce, but the tapas menu changes monthly, so
there’s almost always something new to try, even after repeated visits.
The Dali Restaurant features a delicious, all Spanish wine list, many at surprisingly affordable prices, to accompany your meal, but perhaps you’ll want to try their home-made sangria, which has little in common with the prepackaged products that you can find in your local wine store.
The staff are very attentive and efficient; they’ve always been anxious to make my visit an evening to remember. The Dali Restaurant is to be recommended both for an intimate evening for two or a party for multitudes.
(ed.note) a restaurant review by a Bettina guest who frequents the Dali Restaurant and Tapas Bar.
Posted in Guest comments, Restaurant Review | Comments Off