The Critics Ate Beef Sirloin and Beef Shawarma This Week

This week for The Boston Globe, Sacha Pfeiffer visits Oak + Rowan in Fort Point. Nancy Batista-Caswell’s new Boston-area restaurant “is every bit as ambitious as her first two” in Newburyport, Pfeiffer writes, and it’s “classy without being pretentious.” The beef sirloin is “deeply flavorful, gorgeously seared,” and cooked to order, and while there’s no meat in the tarragon fettuccine, it doesn’t need it, Pfeiffer writes: It’s vibrantly flavored, sweet, and nutty. The flaky Arctic char is “perfect — clean, simple, unfussy,” and Pfeiffer writes that the rich pheasant is the star in the squid ink farfalle. Overall, she notes that “the menu stands out for its creative touches,” including the artistic desserts from pastry chef Brian Mercury.

Sheryl Julian visits Fairouz in West Roxbury for her latest Globe piece. The restaurant specializes in Lebanese cuisine, including dishes like arnabit (lightly fried cauliflower) and hummus b’lahem (served with sauteed ground lamb). Julian recommends the sumboosik jebneh, or cheese turnovers, along with the za’atar manakich flatbread. She writes that the ground lamb sandwich has a “juicy, creamy, and crunchy” filling, and the beef shawarma features spicy strips of meat with pita rounds, pickles, salad vegetables, and tahini. The restaurant offers generous portions for its dinner plates, and the options include lamb and chicken kebab or cauliflower steak, which she writes is “a nice surprise in the meaty lineup, perfectly cooked.”

• Oak + Rowan Brings Cocktail Carts and Caviar to Fort Point [BG]
• At Fairouz in West Roxbury, Sharing the Tastes of the Lebanese Table [BG]