Symphony Hall spot makes the most of its mostly vegetarian menu
Type: Vegetarian, eclectic
Good choices: Chickpea and parsnip cake; slow-roasted tomato pizza; celery root and apple soup; Indian-spiced stew; grilled salmon with spaghetti squash; slow-roasted chicken with farro salad; grilled and roasted vegetables with couscous, raisins.
Hours: Nightly 5:30-11 p.m.; bar menu until midnight.
Reservations accepted for parties of 5 or more. Smoking in bar area.
Credit cards: All major cards.
Access: Street-level entrance; restrooms down flight of stairs.
CENA
14 Westland Ave., The Fenway. Boston
(617) 262-1485
Restaurant reviewed 12/15/97 by Alison Arnett
There's very little new under the sun, in restaurants as well as the rest of cultural life. So when Tom Tenuta said several months ago that his new restaurant, Cena, would concentrate on natural, mostly vegetarian foods, my reaction was muted. Wait and see, I thought.
Vegetarian or almost vegetarian is a concept often talked about and rarely accomplished in restaurants. Members of the eating public may talk enthusiastically about eating very little meat at home, but they still seem to crave and order steaks and veal chops and all sorts of game at restaurants. So it takes a brave restaurateur to buck the continuing tide.
Cena, which opened about a month ago near Symphony Hall in a spot that formerly housed a Thai restaurant, proves a pleasant surprise. Chef-owner Tenuta fashions a menu that dips into poultry and seafood but eschews red meat. Instead of the usual one or possibly two vegetarian appetizers and/or entrees on most menus, Cena boasts about nine. And yet, there's no hint of deprivation or ``health'' food earnestness - most of Tenuta's cuisine is intensely flavorful and beautiful to see.
Although Cena is quite new, the word's out, at least judging from the crowd on a recent weeknight. The dilemma of where to eat before symphony or theater in the area is a tricky and ongoing one; obviously the well-dressed diners who cleared their checks just before 8 p.m. were happy to have found the place. However, the restaurant, named for the old Latin word for meal, has a do-it-yourself-look in decor, with peach-sponged walls and rather clunky Roman column designs at the top of the high walls. When added to the physical dimensions of the almost windowless dining room, this place wouldn't rate as best-dressed.
However, that aspect does focus one's attention on the plate, and at Cena, that's rewarding. Chick-pea and parsnip cake, not a particularly promising-sounding appetizer, is delicious, tasting like an unusual version of a moist, plump crab cake and just as good, with its notes of tahini and parsley oil. A very crisp-edged thin pizza covered with roasted tomatoes, some asiago cheese, and basil crackles at the first bite; the simple but intense flavors draw a smile from the eater.
Celery root and apple soup bears a deep, earthy tone with only a hint of fruitiness. Squares of very rare tuna, the edges crusted with black pepper, are Asian-inspired in flavors and presentation, drizzled with a soy-against-sweet dressing and garnished with a tangle of watercress and shallot salad. The dish was a perfect tease for the appetite - a luxurious ingredient handled delicately so that the flavor of the fish predominates.
Grilled and roasted vegetables are the meatless entree on tables all over town, so Cena can't claim originality. Still Tenuta manages to pull the maximum flavor out of carrots and beets, multiple squashes, and the common potato. Matching their savory tones with fat Israeli couscous studded with raisins and tart preserved lemon rind is inspired. Little pots of harissa and yogurt round out a plate that's already bountiful.
Another grain, farro, smaller and nuttier in flavor than couscous, buttresses a marinated and slow-roasted half chicken. The skin is crisped dark brown, giving the moistness of the chicken itself a nice foil. Tenuta explained in a phone interview that he brines the chicken for several days, which maximizes its tenderness and flavor. It's a tasty dish with plenty of wax beans and beets to fill out the vegetable quotient.
Seafood dishes also are appealing. Grilled salmon is served in a thin sorrel broth and flanked with small white potatoes and a mound of spaghetti squash to make a filling, yet light entree. And Tenuta has a gentle touch with parsley-flecked risotto with Taylor bay scallops and mussels - it's just right, tender but with enough texture to maintain its shape and integrity.
I'm fond of Indian spices, that heady blend of cumin and curry, coriander, and garam masala. A stew of chickpeas, potatoes, and tomatoes is delightful, giving full, throaty range to all those wonderful spices. The potatoes and chickpeas absorb the flavors and a pot of yogurt adds a little acidity into the mix to tease the taste buds further. Nan, the flatbread used in many parts of Southern Asia, was a good, flaky accompaniment on one evening and too stiff at another visit.
Cena has a concise menu with only a few dishes that fell short. Handmade gnocchi with fried garlic, tomato, and broccoli rape tasted heavy to me, making the flavors of the accompaniments leaden rather than intriguingly sharp. Pan-seared chow foon noodles formed a thick cake under a tangle of lightly stir-fried vegetables. It is a great-looking dish, with bright greens from broccoli and green beans with the contrast of carrots and red pepper. The rice noodles are delicious, done just right to be slightly crunchy outside and very mellow-tender inside. But the vegetables, called sweet and spicy on the menu, are almost achingly sweet with hoisin sauce, without enough heat to counteract the impression of the sugar bowl having accidentally fallen into the wok.
Open just about a month, Cena is just working up to desserts, Tenuta said. Cookies are freshly baked and pleasant, and a dense chocolate torte appealing. However, a more extensive offering is planned, he said.
Cena is definitely, as Tenuta says, still a work in progress. But watching it develop is a heartening prospect: the philosophy of a mostly vegetable and grains diet with just a modicum of poultry or fish is well thought out, the prices are very reasonable, almost all under $15, and the neighborhood was hungry for a place like it. Cena should prosper.
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