Occasionally we go over “the line” a little – town lines, that is. Given it’s back-to-school time and Allston is student central, we’re peeking in on Sloane’s, nestled next to Trader Joe’s at Western Avenue and North Harvard by the Harvard Stadium athletic complex. The spacious yet cozy bar and dining facility opened last year in the space that was formerly Our Fathers, a Jewish-style delicatessen. It has a “swim up” bar where patrons can get drinks alfresco from a window while watching athletes round the track or toss the javelin.
Chef-owner Sarah Wade was a winner of Food Network’s “Chopped Gold Medal Games” and operates Stillwater down by South Station, so named for her Oklahoma roots. The food at both places is hearty and dials up some innovative spins on comfort food, Sloane’s – named after Wade’s daughter – perhaps more so.
There’s one menu for lunch and dinner and a brunch menu on weekends. Most of the foodie fun things I’ve discovered here are shrimp-based, starting with a burger that is a neat, near guilt-free eat. Think of it as a salmon burger, but tastier. The housemade patty (dense with shellfish, not bloated with filler) comes on a wonderfully light, grilled potato roll that’s topped with a tomato and caper relish as well as some Cajun aioli for zing. I had my prawn patty with a side of the house veggie fried rice, a solid changeup from the usual fries. During a later visit I decided to give the Parmesan and chive mash a whirl, and for my option I got creamy, rib-sticking comfort with nice hints of chive and cheese welling up in each dense forkful.
Playing off Mexican street food are shrimp “birria” tacos – a reason to come to Sloane’s. The tortillas are dipped in a chili shrimp consommé, and the rock shrimp are marinated in lager and lime before being assembled and hitting the griddle. The shrimp are tender and sweet, almost to the point of popping, and play well with that chili kick.
The signature dish at Sloane’s is its pretzel-crusted chicken, which is a dry-brined breast with a crumble of everyone’s salty snack bowl favorite and served with that chive mashed and braised red cabbage. Other fun eats are the homemade pigs in a blanket (these and the wings scream football watching finger food), dill yogurt potatoes (not your mom’s potato salad); cheese and onion poppers done in chicken fat and hot honey; and “Mom’s” sausage corn chowder.
Not all at Sloane’s is hearty, nap-inducing comfort (which is a good thing, in my book). On the vegetarian side there’s a farm stand stew, a vegan sancocho of peppers, corn, plantains, yucca and more served over rice, a mushroom risotto, sautéed mushrooms and plenty of salads. For sandwiches there’s an Oklahoma onion burger, a pulled pot roast au jus called “The Bear” and a turkey club, that – if anything like The Rachel at Stillwater, is a perfect working-lunch choice. Brunch has your basics covered with a few intriguing spins: The egg white omelet, eggs in the hole (banana bread with runny eggs and bacon marmalade – wowza) and pretzel-crusted French toast with a strawberry cheese cake stuffing. Get that in you with a mimosa or two and I envision an afternoon of game day channel surfing from the couch. If you’re so filled that you can’t move, Sloane’s has you covered: It’s a good sports bar (with great viewing seats and plenty of well-positioned screens) as well as a spot for study-hour review with glass of wine or an early meal to feed the family after a Joe’s shopping run.
Lower Allston is in transition. Not too long ago Harvard opened in its Innovation Center by the business school, the American Repertory Theatre is moving over there in a year or so and every day a new multistory structure seems to pop up along Western Avenue – it’s not too far off from the Seaport’s feel a few years back. Nearby is a well-done repurposing of the Speedway (an old horse- and bike-racing facility), where Notch Brewery and other food and entertainment establishments have created an inviting destination. The landscape around Sloane’s and Trader Joe’s still has a bit of that sense of no-man’s land, but we all know how the Seaport went. Sloane’s, with its warm, homey slate, is in the right spot as the universe and university rises up around it. Just swim on over to get a tasty beverage and perhaps a bowl of mum’s chowdah.
Sloane’s, 197 N. Harvard St., Allston
Tom Meek is a writer living in Cambridge. His reviews, essays, short stories and articles have appeared in the WBUR ARTery, The Boston Phoenix, The Boston Globe, The Rumpus, The Charleston City Paper and SLAB literary journal. Tom is also a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and rides his bike everywhere.
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