B’s Anniversary Weekend + Oleana

There were a lot of “B’s” this weekend…  Bridget, Brian, Bromley, Beer, Bruins…

Most important of course are the first two: Bridget and Brian.  It is our anniversary weekend after all :)

Technically, we’ll be married for 2 years tomorrow, September 6, but since it was also the Sunday of Labor Day weekend that year we take the whole weekend to celebrate!

Kind of jealous of Elizabeth right now, since she’s just getting to begin the process!!  Congrats girl!! 

 We left off Friday right before Brian and I headed to the Massachusetts Brewers Fest…Beer time!

This was our first time at this particular festival, and the venue was amazing!  It was at the Seaport World Trade Center, but instead of being inside the convention areas, it was in their Head House Concourse which is a beautiful outdoor/indoor area with spectacular views!

The line waiting for the gates to open at 6pm, luckily we didn’t have to wait too long!

Samples.  Lots of breweries had their Autumn styles ready to taste.

Pumple Drumpkin!

View Full Album

The Wormtown Pumpkin might have been my favorite

View Full Album

Crisp Summer/Fall evening

The band set up outside with the Boston skyline behind…

I’d love to come here for another event!    

It was Sunday night that we had our official Anniversary dinner.

I FINALLY got to try Oleana!  It’s one of those restaurants that I’ve wanted to try for years, then I learned about their patio so I was holding out for a special occasion in the warmer weather :)

Cue anniversary dinner!

Luckily I did my research and knew to get there before they opened at 5:30 in order to secure a spot on the patio!

No really we were both outside, I just had my back to a wall :) 

We were right up near a beautiful garden, much of which was made of herbs and fruits!

  

We started with cocktails (and an iced tea for me as well)

I had the PaoPao which was sparkling wine with peach and lemon verbena.  Lightly sweet and refreshing

Brian had the Isla: Cocchi Americano, Mint & Bitters

I knew I wanted to try a bunch of the Meze’s, and that we did.  Our eyes may have been slightly larger than our stomachs however.

First was delicious bread with kalamata olive oil.  I loved the little chunks of some type of herbed bread like foccacia!

  The first 2 Meze’s:

Warm Buttered Hummus with Basturma & Tomato 

Basturma was the cured meat around the hummus.  Brian loved this, however there was some spice in there that reminded me of curry (which I hate), so even though I liked it, I didn’t love it.

Whipped Feta with Sweet & Hot Peppers

I was most excited to try this feta spread!!  Ever since I heard about it, I thought it sounded very similar to my favorite feta spread that I used to get at my FAVORITE restaurant on Martha’s Vineyard (sadly went out of business).

AWESOME!  I loved it.  Tasted just like I was hoping it was! 

Also confirmed to me, that the dip I MADE tasted dangerously close to this!!

Spinach Falafel with Tahini, Yogurt, Beets & Crinkled Cress

Another winner.  The tahini on top was my favorite part, or maybe the pickle, or the falafel…I don’t know, but the flavors blended so well. 

The next 2 (yes we ordered 5 and 1 entre…) were specials that night.

The first was a take on a panzanella salad.  However, instead of croutons they used pieces of fried green tomato.  Then in addition to tomatoes, they had fresh chunks of melon!  Topped with a cured ham (similar to prosciutto) and goat cheese!

This was freaking incredible.   I’ve never had fried green tomatoes, but now I love them.  All the flavors and textures made for a different experience with each bite we took!  This might have been my favorite of the night.

Next up was the whipped blue fish crostini.  Similar to a pate, but it wasn’t a smoked fish. 

I was incredibly full by this point, but the bites I took were amazing.  The warm, crisp, buttery crostini made for a perfect bite.  

With 5 Meze’s down, we still had 1 entre to go… Vermont Lamb with Turkish Spices, Pide & Everything Green with Garlic & Yogurt

Somehow missed a picture of it but I was actually WAY too full and it ended up being something I wasn’t expecting.  It was more like a ground lamb with spices in somewhat of a sausage form that was sliced.  Brian loved it, and we ended up taking most of it home.

This is where the story gets sad.  In all my talks about coming here, I wanted to be sure to get dessert.  However, I knew it would just put me over the edge and I wouldn’t enjoy it…seriously I was SOOO FULL!!!

So sadly no baked Alaska for me, but now we have an excuse to go back…soon! 

I was extremely happy with our dinner, and so glad I finally dined on the patio at Oleana!   

B:  Bromley

B: Bruins

I was actually part of another Flash Mob today for that guy, Mr Andrew Ference of the Boston Bruins!  It was so fun and so crazy!  I’m waiting to find a good video of it but I’ll be sure to post as soon as I do!

Back to work tomorrow, but I’m actually thrilled the temperature is going to drop a little this week…it was hot and humid this weekend and I think I’m officially ready for summer to be over.  I love seasons :)

Hope you all had a fabulous Labor Day weekend!!