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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014 Mar 21 - Newspaper ArticleCape casual; Oliver's winning formula keeps people coming back BY LAURIE HIGGINS CONTRIBUTING WRITER ` he combination of Oliver's Restaurant and Planck's Tavern offers diners two distinct options in one large building. Oliver's is casually elegant and quieter for those who want to have an intimate conversation over dinner. Plank's Tavern is lively, with upbeat music and plenty of action at the wraparound bar. We chose a corner booth in the festive tavern, which had plenty of warm wood to create a cozy feeling and a cool wooden boat hanging over the bar. Our table and the art surround- ing us was all Titanic -related. It was interesting to read newspa- per accounts of the sinking of the Titanic and to compare the three different meals offered to the dif- ferent classes of passengers on the doomed luxury liner. We began our meal by sharing an appetizer of brick oven roll - ups ($8.99). They consisted of four egg roll -style roll -ups made with stretched pizza dough. There were three flavors, but we chase the ones filled with grilled chicken, Monterey Jack cheese and jalapenos. They were cooked in a wood -fired brick oven and served with homemade ranch dressing. They were incredibly good and, if you added a salad, they were big enough to be a whole meal for two. To save room for our entrees, we each only ate one, but the leftovers didn't last long. When we got home, our daughter and her fiance enjoyed them just as much as we did. Entrees come with one side dish and a cup of soup or chow- der. My husband opted for a cup of chowder while I asked if I could substitute the soup for a vegetable with my meal, in this case cauliflower with hollandaise on the side. He made the better choice. The chowder was a cup of creamy perfection. It had more clams than potatoes and the clams were sweet and tender. The broth shone with clammy brininess. In short, it was chow- der perfection. For dinner, 1 ordered the K r ! LAURIE HIGGINS Brick oven roll -ups were a hearty and delicious appetizer. Oliver's Restaurant and Planck's Tavern 960 Main St., Yarmouthport 508-362-6062, oliverscapecod.com charbroiled rump steak ($19.99). The portion was generous and the very thick steak was cooked beautifully. It was nicely charred on all sides, which added much to the flavor of the rump steak, one of my favorite cuts just for its in- credibly meaty flavor. It's difficult to cook a steak that thick per- fectly to order, but they did. Next time I would order it without the portabella mushroom demi-glace because the sauce had a slightly off-putting flavor and texture that made me suspect it was a packaged mix. The same was true of the hollandaise, which I sampled, but didn't add to the cauliflower. The cauliflower by itself was not seasoned and it was overcooked, but the accompanying baked potato did not suffer the same problem. It had a crisp exterior and a lovely fluffy interior. My husband ordered the pan - blackened tuna from the specials page ($19.99). It was served sashimi -style with wasabi, pick- led ginger and soy sauce. The spices on the tuna were a nice blend that added to the overall satisfaction and the tuna was cooked rare as he had requested. His side of french fries were both hot and crisp. He was happy with his choices. One of the nice things about Oliver's is you can order wine in either a six -ounce glass or the larger 10-ounce "house pour." This is a wonderful, economic choice for those who want a lei- surely meal with several courses, but would rather not order two glasses of wine. The special wine of the evening was Murphy - Goode Homefront Red ($7 a glass or $10.50 for the house pour). The blend of Syrah, Merlot, Petit Sirah and Zinfandel grapes made for a delightfully fruity wine with berry undertones. Oliver's has been in business since 1983 and it is easy to see why the parking lot was full on Saturday night. The menu is creative and evolving, which works well for returning guests. They have a winter specials page in their regular menu, which leads me to believe that will be replaced with warmer weather offerings when the time comes. There are still a lot of interesting menu items I would love to trv, and it's worth going back just for those brick oven roll -ups. We'd also like to sample their brick oven pizza. Despite being in business for as long as they have, the one thing that stood out was how clean and well maintained the building was. It was truly note- worthy.