The Phoenix Network:
 
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
On The Cheap  |  Restaurant Reviews

Vlora

Covering all the bases with first-class Albanian and more
By ROBERT NADEAU  |  October 17, 2007
2.0 2.0 Stars
inside_CRW_8766
FORK-TENDER GRILLED OCTOPUS: Tentacles almost big enough to carry off Captain Nemo.

Vlora | 545 Boylston Street, Boston | Open daily, 5–11 pm
AE, DC, DI, MC, VI | Beer and wine | No valet parking | Access down 24 steps from sidewalk level; call ahead for sidewalk-level access via elevator | 617.638.9699
Lured by the promise of Albanian/Mediterranean food, I’d been waiting for Vlora to open since it was first announced in the spring. Thankfully, it was worth the wait. Named for the seacoast town where chef Aldo Velaj was born, this is a first-class establishment with lots of tasty food — only some of which is Albanian. That’s to be expected, since Velaj worked in restaurants in Italy and elsewhere in the Mediterranean before reaching the United States.

Some may find the exterior off-putting, since Vlora is located in a potentially difficult, sub-street-level space on a quiet block in Back Bay. But it, too, is first class. After a fine modern makeover, the room is now open and spacious, like a trattoria off a village square. Limestone-like tiles complement the atmosphere, as do a variety of wall treatments: glass, flame-orange paint, a long box of sansevieria (snake plants), a mural of the town of Vlora, and a quarried stone pillar. Chairs are upholstered white; tables are shiny black. And the soundtrack goes from hip-hop to Middle Eastern folk in a hurry.

The food, however, is consistent while covering all the bases. We began with a basket of excellent sourdough rolls with a dip of olive oil, olives, sprigs of rosemary, and a heap of lemon pulp. The “fork-tender grilled octopus” ($11.95) is true to its name and brings three tentacles almost big enough to carry off Captain Nemo of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I’d have this as a late-night supper (served here until 1 am). The trio of pies ($8.50) — a mini spinach pie, mini tomato-onion tart, and mini feta pastry, each with terrific filo — is perfect for sharing. Albanian tava ($7.50), an individual casserole of baked summer vegetables with a creamy tomato sauce and some cheese, might remind Greek-Americans of a chef-improved tourlou. And attractive slices of pan-roasted zucchini served with tangy garlic yogurt and a garnish of fried onion strings ($7.95) were also good, though not great. Saganaki ($8.95), a big square of fried cheese with peppers and cucumbers, sounds as tempting for a bar snack as for an appetizer — which is the management’s intent.

Main dishes can be pedestrian. The best might be the grilled barbounia ($21.95), which our server described as “a whole fish like red snapper, but with a lot more flavor than red snapper.” In fact, barbounia is the Greek term for fabulous Mediterranean red mullet. Here you get three fish the size of grilled sardines; ours came fresh but somewhat overdone. Ask the server to bring this dish as soon as it’s ready, regardless of when the other entrées arrive — if you’re eating red mullet, you don’t care about anyone else’s food. (Plus, you can use the head start to deal with the bones.)

1  |  2  |  3  |   next >
Related: 2007 restaurant awards, Chez Pascal, Backyard barbecue basics, More more >
  Topics: Restaurant Reviews , Culture and Lifestyle, Food and Cooking, Cheese,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
Comments

ARTICLES BY ROBERT NADEAU
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   JADE GARDEN SEAFOOD RESTAURANT  |  November 04, 2009
    Ready for some reasonably priced lobster after years of paying too much? You’re in luck, since a price war seems to be unfolding on the streets of Chinatown, with various window signs advertising twin lobsters in ginger and scallion for as low as $14.95.
  •   SOFIA ITALIAN STEAKHOUSE  |  October 28, 2009
    I have to admit I giggled when I got a press release describing this restaurant as being located in the “white-hot West Roxbury-Dedham dining scene.” After all, the space had already killed a reasonably good steak house, Vintage, after a long closure in which it tried to upscale, then ended up downscaling by adding red-sauce Italian dishes.
  •   BUBOR CHA CHA  |  October 21, 2009
    I’m not an enthusiast of fusion food, but I do like the cuisine of Malaysia, where history has developed a four-way fusion cuisine.
  •   PUNJAB PALACE  |  October 15, 2009
    Punjab Palace — by the same owners of Kenmore Square’s India Quality — “proves to be the kind of kid brother that would make any older sibling proud,” my colleague MC Slim JB wrote last year. That’s true, but this is also another second-tier Indian restaurant. So why do Slim and I like it so much?
  •   CON SOL  |  October 14, 2009
    Three-year-old ethnic bargain spot Con Sol snuck under reviewers' radar with an Iberian menu that draws mostly on Portuguese-American food — a cuisine that feels native to long-time Cantabrigians, but otherwise is little known north of New Bedford and Fall River or west of Provincetown.

 See all articles by: ROBERT NADEAU

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group