| rev:text
| - Having already mentioned my next stop as the primary impetus to visit Tempe in the first place I'll start off by saying I'd originally identified Caffe Boa when browsing SlowFood.com and having subsequently read the profiles of both Jay Wisniewski and his wife on the website I was sold that it was a place to put on my list; a fact that a 50% off coupon from localdines.com certainly did not hurt.
Located on Mill Avenue, a space much maligned by local epicures and gourmands due to the proliferation of ASU "College food" stops such as pizza and burgers Caffe Boa seemed to be a sort of panacea to the area's dining trend with its focus that which is local/fresh/organic and with offerings of brunch, lunch, and dinner I decided to make my fist visit a morning one; an audition, if you will, to see if a dinnertime drive to Tempe would be well advised in the future and recruiting my friend Aileen to join we scheduled for 10am since she had to be at work by 11:30.
Arriving just minutes late largely due to parking issues ($1.50/hr, FYI, though there is rumor of a free lot) after spending some time wandering around Mill and the ASU campus I entered Caffe Boa to find the restaurant much larger than I'd anticipated from the website and with only one other table occupied and my friend already arrived it would not be long before our server stopped by, told us of the mimosa table ($15,) and explained the new menu before filling Aileen's coffee and a glass of water with cucumber for each of us.
Having each browsed the menu prior to arrival and with $40 to spend it would not be long before our decisions were made and with three plates to be shared amongst us ordered it would also not be long until we were left to wait...and wait...and wait...nearly twenty minutes before someone returned to prepare my friend water without cucumber and nearly fifty minutes before our food arrived; Aileen now likely to be late for work and myself simply hoping the food would be worth the wait.
Beginning first with the savory as my morning visit to Essence had been quite sweet the Croissant Croque Monsieur (sans Dijon) along with an egg requested to be soft poached would prove to be the first disappointment of the day as the overall composition of the dish was simply poorly conceived - the croissant lacking any crunch and weighted down by the cheese, the béchamel largely blurred by the brine of the ham, and the $2 most certainly not soft poached (especially since a quality kitchen can sous vide a perfect 63-degree egg in less time than Boa prepared this one.) The salad was fresh and the dish was edible, but at $16...even with the localdines certificate I felt ripped off.
Moving next to a pair of sweets, Aileen opted for the Parisian Crepes with Apricot preserves, Crème Chantilly, and Berries and requesting the dish without powdered sugar I think we both kind of chuckled at the lackluster presentation but unlike the croque this dish was at least tasty; the crepes dainty with a goodly amount of sweet filling and the crème light yet flavorful but at $12 probably not enough to satiate all but the slightest appetite.
For our final (and certainly most decadent) taste of Boa an order of Stuffed Pain Perdu arrived featuring two pieces of brioche wrapped around a light layer of mascarpone and Nutella that was subsequently battered and dipped in hazelnuts prior before a trip to the pan. Nicely caramelized with an exterior still featuring a bit of crunch and an interior just short of custard plus a topping of caramelized bananas, raisins, and maple the overall flavor profile was certainly sweet but at the same time nicely balanced and certainly a step up from the rest of the morning...even if nearly twice the price and half as good as the French Toast at Essence just hours before. A 60 minute wait and $40 (plus tax and tip) for 3 items - only one of which was even remotely memorable - let's just say Caffe Boa won't see a starring role in my dinner plans any time soon.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)