Alden & Harl- Oh Yes, Alden & Harlow

Alden & Harlow

Set beneath an old theater, hidden away in Boston's historic Harvard square, the recently opened Alden & Harlow restaurant plays host to a maddening mix of varied flavors that feel fresh and inspired. The recently renovated space is decorated with a rustic theme, that keeps the place incredibly dark. It's a pity, I would have loved to be able to see the artistically crafted dishes better. The lighting also makes seeing the people you are sharing the table with extremely difficult. However, conversation is easy,  as it never gets very loud. The service was also fantastic,  my table had a cheerful server who knew the menu backwards and forwards, and went to great lengths to make our stay pleasurable. 

Now for the food.The chef changes his menu occasionally, so what I had may not be available when you go, but most of the fun here is trying all the vaguely mad scientist-esque combinations put together in the kitchen. The plates are a little pricey, at around 16 a dish (8 for appetizers) but that is far from my main complaint. Just one dish is to small to be a full meal, but they are too large to order more than three. Strange portion sizes aside, the food was as fantastic as one could have expected from the decor and service. 

The opener, which is complementary, is a plate of pickled green beans sprinkled with a light olive oil and some sesame seeds. The strange combination of flavors really gets the idea across. There is everything here. The lovely bitter crunch of the beans was cooled by the oil, and given some depth by the seeds. Great,  but not the best thing available. 

My friends, I have many strange things to visit upon you. We opened with the Heirloom eggs. After being boiled (of course) they were served with some pickled fiddleheads and some fried anchovy heads. A fantastic salty briny dish, it felt almost like a strange variation on the classic surf and turf, with the meaty eggs and the salty fish,  and the pickling bringing it all together. 

The apparent star of the appetizers was the charred broccoli, with a fantastic crunch throughout, and served over the best thing I had had all night; squash hummus. Sweet, but with some bitter/spicy nuances, I could eat that stuff out of a jar. We went in with spoons to get all we could. The mouth waters just thinking of it.

 The main courses then began to arrive,  with the Market Crudo taking the lead. Raw Crudo (though there was a substitute fish that night, but I forget) was served with some cauliflower kimchi that did nothing to balance the overwhelmingly fishy flavor of the dish. It was also extremely chewy, with my fish having the consistency of old Hubba Bubba. I would not recommend ordering it, with so many better options available.

 We then had the Smoked Moosabec Farm Mussels, my favorite entrée. It was almost like a wonderfully textured salmon on top of some fantastic toast. A bit of fennel added some depth to the dish and kept each bite interesting. I then had the Crispy Berkshire Pork Belly. Sweet and flaky, the almost-pasty was served on some nice grits with some lovely greens and some far too sweet kumquats that overpowered the rest of the plate. But the pork itself was fantastic and I savored every single bite of the 'bacon on steroids', as the host called it.

 Lastly, I ordered the Island Creek Oyster Gratin. It arrived steaming hot, with some utterly amazing melt in your mouth uni toast served on top. Sadly, the Gratin itself was little more than a glorified clam chowder, with little texture at all. I was grateful for the little bits of charred pork found in the mushy mess, as the crispy bits of love added much needed texture and flavor to the chowder.

 To finish, I had a little coffee to drink while we discussed the meal. Bad idea. That is not talking coffee. That is 'I am a detective in a noir movie searching for whoever killed my family' coffee. But I loved it, even if it felt a little like a thousand tiny Bruce Willis - es were punching me in my taste buds all at once. Their coffee is an experience. 

Final Verdict? 

All said and done, Alden & Harlow was an excellent night out, if only for the fantastic service and extremely interesting menu. If given the chance,  I would love to spend a day there, eating my way through the menu. Sadly, there is no 'taster course' which would augment the creative, curios food junkie in my soul. While there may be room for improvement,  it sets a high bar for the future of Boston cuisine.

-Liam Mazeika
(P.S. We apologize for the lack of pictures. Bad lighting does not an amateur photographer make.)