We dnesdayFood
THEBOSTONGLOBEWEDNESDAY, AUGUST7, 2019 | BOSTONGLOBE.COM/FOOD
G
onewithattributes webelievewouldbedeal-
breakers. Wedon’t eat one of those terrible vaca-
tionmealsthat leaveonefilledwithregret and
longing forwhat mighthavebeen.Oh,butit’s
predictable. It’s same-same.It’s “youwentto Paris
andI wentto Parisandwebothate theright dish-
es at theright restaurant becausewebothfollow
therightInstagramaccounts.” Weget bragging
rights. Wefeel we’ve been.Butweloseoutonser-
endipity, onromance.
(Are youin a fulfilling relationship? Would
yousay yourpartner— that truechumand
staunchsupporter— hasnoattributes youmight
have believedwould bedeal-breakers?)
The uncertainty that youwill get a table on
Oleana’s patioheightensthespecialnessof eating
in what is already anenchantedplace.It’s a secret
gardenoff HampshireStreet, a fenced-inspaceof
WHAT SHE'S HAVING, PageG7
T
here areperfect nightsthat you
canjusttellaregoingto beperfect
nights. Everythinglines upauspi-
ciously. The plan: dinnerat Olea-
na.The forecast: thunderstorms
... later. The feelinginyour
bones:there will bea spotonthe
patiowaiting foryou.You can’t
make reservationsfortheseout-
door tables.You haveto showup
andhopethat yourtimingis right.
Therearen’t somanythingsthat workthis
way anymore.Webuytickets in advance, vet the
profilesof potential loveinterests,andbookta-
bles for dinnersin far-flunglocalesbefore we
headoff onvacation.This is allvery useful.We
seethemovie wewant to see. Wedon’t date any-
BYDEVRAFIRST| GLOBE STAFF
AT OLEANA,
LEAVING A
PERFECT NIGHT
TO CHANCE
May fortunegrant youa coveted patio table
WHAT SHE’SHAVING
PHOTOSBYMATTHEWJ. LEE/GLOBESTAFF
Turkish-style profiteroleswith
sesamecaramel,cashew, halva
Charredcarrotswithlemonlabne
andhazelnutsauce
Stuffedeggplantwithcorn,
peppers,andblacktahini
Topik:a chickpea-potato mashup
withsweet date molasses
Spinachfalafelwithtahiniand
beet yogurt
Outdoor
tablesdot
thepatio
atOleana.
Tiffani Faison on nerd camp,
money, and #MeToo
ByKara Baskin
GLOBECORRESPONDENT
Tiffani Faisonhasalmost
singlehandedlytransformed
theFenway’s food-scape. Ital-
ian-AmericanrestaurantOrfa-
nois thenewest inherBig
Heart Hospitalityempire,
whichincludes Sweet Cheeks
(barbecue), TigerMama
(Southeast Asian), and Fool’s
Errand (aneccentric cocktail
barwithchandeliersandfinger
sandwiches), all along a once
quiet stretchof BoylstonStreet.
It’s slatedto openinlate Au-
gust. Faisonowns therestau-
rant with wife Kelly Walsh; Mi-
cheleCarter, formerexecutive
chef of Barbara Lynch’s Grup-
po, is the creativeculinary di-
rector.
Faisoncontinuesto expand
andaddemployees(200to
date) in a climate whenrestau-
rants— big-nameones,with
well-knownchefs — seem to be
closingregularly.
How?
“A ll of ournumbers areopen
withourmanagementteam.
Wehide nothing. Wehave a lot
of conversationsabouthowto
spendmoney in a restaurant:
Spendit like it’s yourmoney,
GETTINGSALT Y, PageG6
GETTINGSALT Y
BARRYCHIN/GLOBE STAFF
Tiffani
Faison’s
newest
restaurant
is Orfano,
anItalian-
American
spot slated
toopenlater
thismonth.