A Little Cafe (Third Time!)

Yesterday, we arrived at A Little Cafe (the menu has changed) for our 6 PM reservation and was the third table to be seated. Our friends, Karin and George, met us there. By 7 PM, all tables were full. Our server, Mary, was very attentive to our needs. Lou, Ken’s friend, was a treat as always.

Fried tomatoes and nice warm bread with butter were immediately brought out. Oil, vinegar and roasted garlic to go with the bread was already on the table.

Appetizers shared:
Crab cigarettes with a red chili sauce and a yummy cheese sauce.
Duck spring rolls served with soba noodles, julienned cucumbers and mango with red onion.
Shrimp wrapped with bacon and wasabi.

Most of us had the salad greens, which we didn’t finish as we tried to make room for our entrees.

Ken had a special - the fried poblano chili pepper stuffed with shrimp and Mexican cheese. Rice was included with his meal. The shrimp was extremely fresh and delicious. A lot has obviously changed since the Artful Diner's 1999 article, since Ken had no problem cleaning his plate.

George had the veal meatloaf, which was light and flavorful.

Karin had the lobster ravioli with shrimp. She couldn’t finish.

Jay had the chicken with crab, which was a huge piece of boneless chicken breast with crab and cheese atop. Mashed potatoes, which she loves, came with the meal.

The vegetable of the day was julienned zucchini, which went well with every dish.

While digesting our food, the men went outside to smoke, and we were approached by the owner (we didn’t know it at the time), Marianne, who asked if we could take coffee and dessert outside as she had a large group waiting. Since we’d been there for two hours, we had no problem with it, especially since she offered to treat us to the coffee and dessert.

We grabbed our wine glasses and our “doggie bags” and hung outside for another hour, chatting with those who had to wait for a table. We had a nice time, especially since it was cooler out and the projected showers had not yet shown up.

Desserts that we enjoyed were a warm brownie covered in vanilla ice cream, a Reese’s peanut butter cheesecake and an apple pie cheesecake. Most of the desert went home too.

Wines we enjoyed with dinner: 2005 Chateau La Dame Blanche Bordeaux (white), 2003 Trancy Vielles Vignes Red Burgundy Wine, 2003 Foxen Old Vines Chenin Blanc, 2000 Tablas Creek Vineyards Esprit de Beaustel

Even though we had to cut short our dining experience, we had a great time and will return.

Emerald Fish Again

After a long hiatus, during which Ken was punishing Jay for arguing that we only go out to eat, we visited Emerald Fish again. New owners, but the food is still delicious.

We enjoyed an appetizer of bruschetta, which was nicely toasted with a hint of the grill and was topped with tomatoes and feta cheese. We both had salad - Ken had "the best Ceasar Salad" that he's had in a while. Jay had the greens with a blue cheese dressing that was perfect.

Ken's entree was the deluxe seafood combination, which included a lobster tail, shrimp and scallops. Jay had the soft shell crabs, which were lightly breaded and included a black bean sauce. Both entrees included grilled skewered vegetables - mushrooms, squash and red onion - and rice. Jay wanted the wasabi mashed potatoes so she requested them on the side.

The meal was lovely even with the full house - every table was filled to capacity. Everything came on time and we did not feel rushed. Even with new owners, we WILL return!

Wine enjoyed was a 2004 Groner Veltliner (Gru-Vee) Schaneacker dry white table wine (Markowitsch)