Sunday, August 22, 2010

Sofra Bakery & Cafe

A wonderfully unique establishment serving modern Eastern Mediterranean food inspired by traditional Turkish, Lebanese and Greek cuisine; Sofra Bakery & Cafe is the younger sister of Ana Sortun's more widely known and highly acclaimed restaurant Oleana.The first stop in a venture around this quaint neighborhood on Cambridge's western boundary, (a short ride from Harvard Square on the 71 or 73 bus line), my sister and I arrived around 1 pm to a line of customers wrapped around a counter displaying goods for sale. The line moved at a swift pace but still allowed us ample time to decide on what to eat. I was enamored with all the specialty spices for sale as well as the hip and cozy middle eastern meets bohemian vibe.
Sofra and Oleana's produce is organic and locally grown at Siena Farms. Siena Farms supports a 300 member CSA as well as provides produce to numerous other Boston restaurant kitchens.
Leah and I decided to share a Mezze Bar Platter ($9) which proved a substantial lunch. I highly recommend you try it out if you visit Sofra!
The platter style option allowed us our choice of 5 mezze.
The outdoor patio provides a lovely setting, however, the awning added an awkward yellowish tint to my photos. To drink they offer fancy lemonades and iced teas, but my sister recommended we get the Sharbat ($2.75).
We chose the flavor of the day which was a white peach nectar.
Sharbat is a popular drink of the region (very common in Indian, Iranian and Afghan homes) prepared from fruits or flower petals. Served chilled over ice, this was unlike any juice I had ever tasted. It was sweet, syrupy and creamy all at the same time. I loved it!
Back to the Mezze Platter - I'll work my way across the plate, left-to-right.
1) Smokey eggplant with pine nuts. 2) Whipped feta with sweet & hot peppers.
3) Beet Tzatziki 4) Lentils with caramelized onion, greens & cilantro
5) Muhammarah - red pepper & walnut puree.
Everything we tasted was full of fresh clean flavors blended with oils and spices to create innovative and tasty spreads. Most lent a creamy whipped consistency - similar in texture to hummus, with the exception of the shredded beets in the tzatziki and the small round lentils. This entire platter was quite a feast for the two of us.
We also ordered a dish from the kitchen served in an adorable mini cast iron STAUB skillet. The Syrian Style Bread Hummus ($5) proved to be a worthy choice.
Warm chunks of Syrian bread are both soft and crispy, surrounded by chickpeas and green garlic topped with a cold tart yogurt, a smooth tahini sauce and finished off with a sprinkle of sumac.
Ana Sortun's one-of-a kind concept launched in 2008 brought Sofra to the Boston food scene, and trust me city dwellers / anyone else in the vicinity, Sofra is well worth a trip!!
One Belmont Street
Cambridge, MA

24 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, I am in love with that restaurant from the pics alone! Delicious!

    And yay for reasonably priced dresses!

    Cute toes, too!

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  2. Yum, I just love Mediterranean food!

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  3. I've been wanting to try Mediterranean food for a long time, but a lot of the places downtown are very pretentious. Sofra looks great. Do you know if they do dinner?

    Mad Closet is awesome!

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  4. From start to finish, looks like you had an AWESOME time with your Sis. I'm glad to see (and read) you enjoyed such a great weekend.

    New England is the jewel to the North too many people never make it past New York to find out and your pictures prove it! =)

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  5. What a fun Friday!!! Sofra looks amazing. I love Mediterranean food! Makes me want to go back on my cruise. looking forward to your Cape recap!

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  6. I have really been wanting to try Sofra. Oleana is literally around the corner from my apartment but not exactly an everyday place to grab food. I'm glad to hear Sofra lives up the the hype!

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  7. I can't wait to try Sofra and Oleanna! I love Mediterranean food.

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  8. This sounds like a perfect weekend! I haven't been to Sofra myself but it looks so pretty and the food looks so tasty! I have been to Oleana and I know that they sell the whipped feta at both. The whipped feta is SO good!

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  9. @MelissaNibbles - perhaps an early dinner. The hours are M-F: 8-8 and Sat & Sun: 8-6. :)

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  10. What a great write up to re-cap a great day! Looking forward to reading the post about the weekend!!!!

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  11. Sofra looks like such a great place. The menu offerings sounded excellent and the atmosphere was really cool too...I probably would have hit the salads for my first time, but the kitchen selections sounded amazing!!

    mmmmmmmmm
    Sounds like a great weekend!
    Carrie

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  12. Looks like some great Med food. Awesome photo, as per usual.

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  13. What a fun afternoon! I love whipped feta. And shopping. And pedicures :) You gotta go back for those coconut macaroons!

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  14. Daisy, I love Mediterranean food...love the spices :-) Great pictures!

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  15. Rock on! Sofra looks so chic (and delish!). Love the yellow polish!

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  16. Love Sofra's decor- the food look really yummy! LOVE your yellow toes :)

    My weddings to be in are kinda spread out- July 9, Labor Day, then Sept 24. Should be a packed year!

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  17. Looks like a terrific place. That mezze platter looks delicious!

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  18. I have been DYING to go to Sofra!

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  19. I'm impressed with the vintage store, it looks like there are quite a few treasures in there.

    Sofra looks like a great restaurant, I also like that they served your food in a Staub cast iron casserole.

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  20. Hihi cool nailpolish :D

    The restaurant looked so good, it's really great you kept it traditional, it's (in my opinion) the best way to explore :)

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  21. Without flash (the first one, right?)! I want to try that juice! I love tzatziki... I haven't had middle eastern food in ages. Hmmm now you've got me thinking...

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  22. How you passed up chocolate hazelnut baklava, I'll never understand! Even their chocolate chip cookies are amazing. I need to try that drink next time I go.

    If you ever want to go to Oleana, I'll be your date!

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  23. i need to go to Sofra!! im so jealous ;)

    p.s at first glance i thought those were both your feet and that you just had different colors on each one!

    <3 gina

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  24. Great photos Kristen! I'm obsessed with Sofra's egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. Thanks for stopping by Lady Luxe :)

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