We first enjoyed brunch at Olea Mediterranean Taverna before heading to BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) to see Rachel Brosnahan and Oscar Isaac in Lorraine Hansberry’s (A Raisin in the Sun) three-hour drama, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window. It’s the play’s first major New York revival since the original 1964 Broadway run. Although the performances were good, we felt the show was too long and could use another update.

At our meal before the show, we started with sangria, offered as both white and red ($11 a glass). One had the fresh arugula salad in a sherry vinaigrette with warm goat cheese croquettes and spiced walnuts ($17), and another had the Olea Breakfast, which I’d order if I returned. The latter had eggs scrambled with cilantro, tomato & red onion, eggplant salad, sheep’s milk feta, olives, fattoush and whole wheat pita with herbed yogurt & salted tahini-honey ($16). I sampled their hearty lamb hash with chopped lamb shoulder, slowly roasted with spices, potatoes, carrots, and turnips, then topped with a crispy oil-fried egg ($24).

We ended by sharing a Basque cheesecake ($10) sitting in a pudding of raspberry compote. I liked that it wasn’t as sweet as the regular New York variety and will probably notice it on menus around town now that I know it “is all the rage.”

I’d recommend a stop at Olea before seeing something at BAM.

Olea Mediterranean Taverna
Fort Greene
171 Lafayette Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11238
oleabrooklyn.com/