Yes, we were just at the Valley Café in Wadsworth. But just this month, they started serving dinner three nights a week. As promised, we were quickly back. A few small changes do a fair job turning the bustling diner into a more soft and suave spot for dinner. The service is also more refined and relaxed than during the day. The young man who served us was efficient and nice. |
The owner/chef made the rounds and chatted happily with tables. It seems they have a fair bit riding on this added venture, it’s probably more expensive than most options in Wadsworth, certainly a little fancier, and you can feel some of the apprehension inherent in risk. We settled in with a glass of wine and ordered a couple of appetizers, entrees and both desserts.
The French onion soup is as herbaceous as it is loaded with sweet
caramelized onion. The bread used for the croutons seems to be very
close to a rye and is capped with a serious layer of cheese. An
interesting take on the classic. Four wild mushroom ravioli were set
in a rich bath and covered with enough grated cheese to nearly
obscure them from view. Mmmmmm, cheese good, salty and good. The
shrooms stood up to both the cheese and sauce, a nice start @ nite. |
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Nice Take On French Onion |
Cheese Only Helps The Shrooms |
Steph stuck with the pasta and shroom route and ordered the wild
mushroom pappardelle. Thick ribbons of fresh pasta, plenty of
mushroom, just with a richer/creamier sauce featuring
greater depth of flavor. I ordered the French classic, Cassoulet, it
was a bit thinner than expected but was loaded with rich warm
spices, white beans and local sausage. A duck leg was perched on the
rim of the bowl. I found it chewier than I would have hoped for,
particularly if it had been braised, I would have expected something
more tender. The whole idea of the leg in a bowl made for a bit of a
challenge. How do you get the knife and fork into…maybe I should
just barbarian it…certainly bobbing for duck is inappropriate in
public…? I scraped off what was easy and emptied the rest of the
bowl but the duck wasn’t worth the pursuit.
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Just A Little Richer Than The Ravioli |
Was Hoping For Better Duck In Strong Stew |
Then there was the sirens’ song, which had ensured our rapid
return. Dessert. Before the desired objective we ordered the
other option, a blood orange crème brule which was excellent.
Tart, sweet, smooth and glassy bitter crunch, I was pleased we
hadn’t just stuck to the beignets. Oh, yeah, the beignets with
Café Du Monde chicory coffee. Wonderfully bitter cup and while
the original will still be what I picture in my head every time
I hear that word, you certainly aren’t going to find anything
closer around here fresh from the fryer and a little puffier
than what we had in NOLA, the powdered sugar pillows were tasty.
Happy wife, happy life. |
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Blood Orange Crème Brule Was Excellent |
Familiar? |
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Not Exactly Cafe Du Monde But It Does Result In... |
...This |
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Ratings | |||||||
Food |
Service |
Ambiance |
What's Best |
What's Worst |
Overall |
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B+ | B+ | B+ | A | D | B+ | ||
Much | Tough Duck |