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| - 3 Stars for the Food but 5 for the Service makes this 4 stars solid in my book.
My mom and boyfriend and I came here last night for dinner. No reservation required as it was pretty quiet. My mom and dad ate here all the time back in the day when we lived over near this neighborhood. They typically went for lunch and not dinner but the dinner menu sounded good too so we had to try it! Interestingly, my BF and I had had breakfast at Ritter's across the street earlier in the day, and I remember seeing Cafe Sam on our drive to and from Ritter's and wondered if it was any good! So I was pleasantly surprised when my mom suggested we eat there.
Our server was truly wonderful and I wish I had remembered her name.
The manager(?) and other waitstaff came by with little samples for us to try like warmed apple cider (yum!) and some type of chili chicken which I unfortunately had to forego because it was spicy. Nice way to let customers sample other items on the menu without committing to an entire order, since the menu is massive and there are tons of options... (I really had a difficult time deciding myself!)
I had mussels as an appetizer, and fettuccine with pink sauce as a side, since the other sides did not sound appealing to me that particular night. For an entree, I ordered veal Oscar, and it was cooked exceptionally well. It came with Bearnaise sauce which was tasty and did not taste 'powdered.' FYI - "Oscar" style here means the Bearnaise sauce plus TONS of seafood on top (shrimp, mini scallops, huge mussels...but no crab meat!) The entree also came with coleslaw and spiced apple slices, both of which I tried a tiny taste of but did not eat since I didn't like either and I knew I was gonna be full really fast, lol. Ended up taking them home in a to-go box for my dad.
The negatives for me? Initially, I wanted to order a Caesar salad but they ran out of it. I also wanted to order shrimp bisque but she said it was a bit spicy, and there was no mention of that on the menu (thankfully I asked before ordering it...I would have felt guilty sending it back), and so instead of ordering soup or a salad, I ended up getting the mussels as an appetizer, but turns out my veal Oscar came with mussels (and shrimp, and scallops...!) so I would not have ordered the mussels as an app if I had known this...I would have tried something else instead since the menu is huuuge and there were tons of delicious sounding options. I heard other waitstaff apologizing to other guests when they had tried to order other items that they were out of, so while the menu is pretty vast, they might not have certain items in stock...just bear that in mind, and have a few back-up options just in case! ;)
Also - while the seafood was verrry plentiful on top of my veal, it was also fairly overcooked and thus had a nasty, bitter, fishy taste to it. Ick. I scraped it off and tried to enjoy just the Bearnaise sauce and veal instead. :( Very disappointing, but the veal was cooked perfectly so I did not mind as much!
It is worth mentioning that nearly all of our meals had some type of 'green sprouts' on top...I am not sure if this was a seasonal ingredient and hence they had a surplus of it and wanted to use it up or what....? It just seemed like it was thrown on top as an afterthought and not so much intended to be/designed as a part of the dish.... and on the pasta, it tasted really bitter and I opted to remove it which was a little bit of a pain since it was all mixed in. But did not detract from the pasta sauce which was tomato-y and verrry tasty. (Though definitely ask for some Parmesan cheese on top!)
Also the mussel app does not come with bread or garlic toast of any kind and the bread basket did not come out until later so I was a little bummed about that. I probably could have asked though and she would have brought me some.
House Cabernet was delicious btw.
Didn't have room for dessert (after eating so much food, oy!) but they do bring you these really tasty, flat, crispy chocolate chip cookies with your bill which was a nice touch.
Decor is somewhat whimsical and this mixed with a semi-formal dining environment makes it seem reminiscent of a place like Max & Ermas (esp with the goofy mannequin at the bar, which I loved) and yet it's definitely not a chain restaurant, being the only one of its kind, around for many years... I guess what I am trying to say is I like the casual aspect of it yet there were formal aspects as well. A seamless blend, IMHO.
Worth a trip, though you might want to ask that they slightly undercook your seafood, and ask LOTS of questions about what comes with each item on the menu as this was not explicit and I probably ordered too much food because of it. (Or anticipate numerous doggy bags for a hungry family member at home!)
;)
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