By Michaela O’Donnell ’13

When deciding where to go for a classy dinner, a rundown shopping center in Olney isn’t what comes to mind. Near an old beer and wine store, a Popeye’s fried chicken restaurant and a Rite Aid, however, is Taste: Mezze Tapas Lounge. Walking into Taste is like taking a breath of fresh air. Candles flicker on every table in a room with dimmed lights and warm caramel colored walls. It is quite the welcome change from the vast grey concrete shopping center just outside.

Although the dining area is small, none of the tables are so close that chairs back into each other. The quaint restaurant has a bar to the side, where a few men retreat to a haven of beer and sports just ten feet away from a family enjoying their meal. Neither distract each other and Taste can successfully appeal to both those who want a sit-down meal and those who want a place to relax.

When seated, the friendly server and hostess pleasantly make small talk, asking guests if they are from the area and commenting on the weather. It is a delightful change from the brisk conversations that accompany ordering fast food. At a nearby table, a 3-year-old boy peeps at me through his chair. The parents of the boy begin to talk with us about the charming restaurant and even offer my mother the rest of their wine bottle. It is refreshing to feel so comfortable in such a new and unfamiliar place as Taste, and is not unlike going to a family dinner.

As a tapas restaurant, a variety of different foods on small plates are whisked around the room to each table. The one that is most fantastic in its presentation is the flaming cheese! The server presents the plate of cheese to the table and then uses a lighter to set it on fire. The Taste steak is any meat lover’s dream (especially the ones who order rare). It is a tender steak cooked to perfection with Greek lemon potatoes and pesto sauce to top it off. The cod, delicious even to the non-seafood lover, has a kalamata gazpacho olive sauce that melts on the tongue. For dessert, the sabayon is the best choice. This dish is a variety of fresh fruits in a pool of grand marnier.

Although Taste is a risk for the average teenager’s taste buds more used to burgers and burritos, the cuisine at Taste will make anyone, at any age, re-think the quality of their regular Olney restaurant choices. Not to mention, Taste is an ideal place to impress your prom date.