Alma Nove Sunday Lunch

When November hands you a 60 degree day, you get outside. I don’t care what you do, you just need to soak it in. After getting some work done this past Sunday morning, we decided to head out with no real destination in mind. We got on 93 South, and when my husband asked if I wanted to go to Quincy to see our shrink-wrapped boat, I of course said yes. What? A shrink-wrapped boat on bricks doesn’t excite you? I was just curious to see what the bottom looked like, I guess. Any way, we went, we saw for about 30 seconds, scraped some barnacles off while I said “arrrrrrrrr barnacles” a bunch of times, and then we headed to the Hingham Shipyard with Wahlburger’s on the brain.

Wahlburger’s had other ideas. It was absolutely jam-packed with a line jutting out the door. Inside, lots and lots of screaming children. That’s Sunday for ya. I did enjoy listening to some NKOTBBSB blaring from the speakers. I think I will have to bring my sister here to relive our New Kids on the Block Days.

Instead of waiting and eating with the kids, we decided to head across the street to Alma Nove where we actually enjoyed our first outdoor drink of spring on my birthday back in March. How fitting that it was likely also our last time having a drink outside this year. The patio was empty, but we asked if we could sit there anyway. It turned out there was not a server for that area. It didn’t look good. Fast forward three minutes, and the manager was taking us outside to a sunny table, letting us know that they reassigned a server so we could sit outside. When we thanked her, she said it’s what they do. It was a very nice touch something they didn’t have to do. Still, we were incredibly grateful to be able to eat while taking in the sun.

I had a glass of Prosecco to start while my husband had their Bloody Maria, a spicy Bloody Mary made with tequila.

We decided we actually were in the mood for lighter fare which made us glad we weren’t having burgers and fries. We decided to share two salads and a side of mac and cheese.

Fall “Caprese”, fresh burrata cheese, eggplant, tomato confit, black sea salt – This plate was so full of flavor and texture! The burrata was heavenly, a pillow of cheese filled with creamy cheese and topped with a black salt. The eggplant was done so well it melted in our mouths, and the crunchy little parmesan crisps on the side were perfect for making little sandwiches with.

Alma Nove’s version of macaroni and cheese, truffled mafaldi, was earthy, dense, and hearty. This serving was more than enough for us to share as a side.

We also shared this salad: Roasted red and golden beets, aged goat cheese, endive, blood orange vinaigrette.

My husband’s love of beets continues to surprise and delight me. I enjoy them so much, and to see him get a kick out of a food item that isn’t beef smothered in cheese is exciting! The beets were super sweet, and the blood orange in the vinaigrette really accented that sweetness with a kick of citrus.

We swapped salads halfway through the meal so that each of us got a good portion of each salad. What a spectacular meal! The service was so friendly; we felt a little bad making someone come outside just for us, but our lovely server assured us it was nice for her to get to go outside.

Wahlburger’s will have to wait for another time; for delicious, higher end dining in Hingham, Alma Nove is it. Now we need to have dinner there.