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| - I was in for business from out of town, so I've only dined at River Cafe once. I had just gotten out of a slightly stressful meeting and had a long drive, so I was tired and hungry. After a very nice walk through the park, I was about to turn around and settle for some unremarkable food, when I happened upon River Cafe. I didn't know anything about it, so I took a look at the menu. It is very expensive, but I decided to treat myself after a rather rough day. :)
I sat at the bar since I was dining alone. I ordered the cauliflower soup, which was terrific and flavorful on a chilly day. I loved the olive salt and crunchy croutons, which were such a nice contrast to the very smooth and delicate soup. For my entree, I ordered the black cod. Oh my, it was cooked to absolute perfection. Black cod is probably my favorite fish ever. It was accompanied by different colors of roasted cauliflower, which were delicious. My only complaint was that the roasted potatoes were too salty, but that's ok--the fish and cauliflower were more than enough to eat. The bread that they serve is absolutely fantastic and made in-house. Yum. I tried a sparkling wine from BC (Blue Mountain), which isn't exported to the US. It was delightful. Not like true champagne, of course, but very good in its own right. I only regret that I was too stuffed to order dessert. I guess I'm not a huge eater, but some folks have complained about small portions here. I definitely did not find that at all. I've certainly visited other fine dining places with miniscule portions, even for a smaller eater like me. There was a good amount of food here! Just wish the US dollar were stronger so that it wouldn't have been quite so pricey. But still, I loved it.
The atmosphere is cozy and relaxed, which I absolutely loved. The setting in the park is wonderful, of course. The service was very professional and friendly. As an aside, it just so happened that the two businessmen who were sitting next to me were from Illinois--one even lives in the town where I work! Tiny world.
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