Café Felix

Ann Arbor Restaurant Week was last month, and I had really wanted to go to Café Felix as their restaurant week menu sounded quite appealing. Needless to say, that didn't happen, but I did get the opportunity to go the week after.

For whatever reason, Felix is one of the Main St restaurants that always slips my mind. Big mistake. This was my first time at Café Felix (definitely not my last!). The interior is classy (I mean, "Café" is spelled with an accent. It's gotta be classy, right?), cozy, warm and romantic if that's the context, cute and hip if that's the context. I'm sure it's a totally different vibe in the evening versus the afternoon.

JH and I got there around 9.45pm, just in time to beat kitchen close. We were seated at a small round table at the front window, which was nice when it started snowing by the end of our evening. Our server brought over multiple menus (dinner, tapas, and martini), reminding us of 1/2 off specialty martinis as it was Monday night (my inside info for the readers, Wednesdays are 1/2 off bottles of wine). JH started by requesting a custom martini for me and rattled off select ingredients, to which our lovely server very happily obliged. Something girly, but still boozy. We got something off the menu for him, with the assistance of the server's recommendations. I think it was the Lazy Limbo? I seem to recall there being coconut involved, and a second look at the martini list tells me that that is the only drink with anything coconut. In any case, it was not spectacular, and we both much preferred my custom concoction, which was actually pretty delish. As it was so late, neither of us were particularly starving, so we ordered off the tapas menu. Surprise, Nari isn't starving for once. I probably could have had an entrée off the dinner menu, but I suppose I should be a lady and restrain from gorging alone when my dinner companion wants to take it light. I think I made the correct decision because our selection was absolutely divine. We got the Giant Portobello Mushroom Caps, two large portabella caps with gorgonzola and a sage cream sauce. I don't think you understand. It was to die for. I love portabello mushrooms, I love gorgonzola, I love sage, I love cream sauce, put them together and it's a delectably polygamous marriage.

If length is a sign of endorsement, I wish I could make this review longer! But I didn't sample a whole lot that night. I was definitely more than pleased with my experience, and there are many other items I'd like to try off the tapas, dinner, and martini menus. I also think it would be fun to get outdoor seating in the summer and do brunch. Crêpes, yum. Hm, now I'm craving Café Zola. I sense another review coming up...! Café Felix, yummers!!!

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www.cafefelix.com

Cork

It was a rainy, chilly Saturday night in September, and CC decided that the lucky restaurant to host her birthday dinner would be Cork, on 14th St NW between R and S St. I had never been, so this was pretty exciting. I was sick with a cold so I was a bit nervous about how long I would last - I was like a video game character and my energy bars were disappearing at triple speed.

We got there at about 7:50pm, and of course, the restaurant was PACKED. I mean, every table was full , the bar stools were all taken and there were many many people squeezing themselves into every nook and cranny of the restaurant while waiting for a table. Since they don't take reservations, we had to wait for a table to open up and for a table for eight, it was going to be a while. As we stood by the bar to order drinks, I noticed 2 gigantic glass jars, one full of a colorful medley of olives, and one of mixed nuts. I made up my mind then that we were going to have olives, and fortunately most of our friends agreed. There were delicious scents rising to meet our hungry noses as we stood around sipping on wine and scotch. Their wine selection is vast, as expected in a wine bar, which made CC, a wine enthusiast, quite happy. They list their wines by color and then by region, and I think we had all tried something different and all were satisfactory.

After about an hour of waiting, we were taken to a table toward the back of the restaurant, which was lovely because it was much quieter than the front. Honestly, my expectation for the food was low since Cork is a wine bar, but looking at the menu, I found myself saying, ooh, this looks good, this looks good, this looks good...ooooh, THIS looks good...um, everything looks really good. So then a crazy thought crossed my mind and apparently CC's also - there were eight of us, so we could possibly get one of everything on the menu - mind you, we were starving. And it would have been perfectly affordable - I did the math and it would have been under $30 per person!! Then reality bonked us on the head and we began to eliminate a few items.

The olives were delicious, especially the big black ones, yum. One of the best things I've ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth (ooh that sounds kinda dirty) is the avocado on grilled bread with chopped pistachios and toasted pistachio oil. It is so simple yet sooooo good. The calamari was also quite good, the batter wasn't overwhelming and the remoulade complements the lemony, crispy calamari wonderfully. Oh and the french fries, oh my gosh, it's all garlicky and the house-made ketchup is amazing with a hint of cumin. My absolute favorite of the night was the duck confit - it was crispy and melt-in-the-mouth tender, wow, suddenly I'm hungry. We also tried the sauteed wild mushrooms, which was way better than expected, with a nice meaty texture and a delicious sauce. Grilled pork tenderloin topped with fried lemon and mustard greens was definitely a hit - the fried lemon was a surprise, it provided a nice contrast to the pork and the bitterness of the mustard greens. The only glitch in the evening was not getting the right cheese on the cheese platter and having to wait 30 minutes after we were done eating for the brussel sprouts (not my fave, btw, too much butter - I know, that's impossible, but in this case its true), but in the end, with lots of good wine and wonderful company, it was a fabulous evening, even though I was exhausted from coughing. We ended the feast with a cookie platter, port for the fancy C sisters, hot chocolate for MJ and me, and scotch for AM.

I think Cork is wonderful. I'd definitely go back for the duck confit and the avocado on grilled bread. You know, I should try making the avocado on grilled bread, I don't have pistachio oil, but I think a good olive oil will do just fine. Oh, so I totally forgot to take pictures of the food...I was sick!! I'm sorry, my mind wasn't working right!! I'll do it next time, so if you wanna go, call me! Tasty tasty!!!

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www.corkdc.com

Bistrot Lafayette

Bistrot Lafayette in Alexandria, Virginia is an adorable little restaurant specializing in French food. It was a Thursday night and it was raining cats and dogs -which maybe explains why there were only 2 tables of customers when we walked in. The atmosphere is very cozy with relaxing French music, and both of the servers spoke with a French accent which made us giggle a little with delight. Our server was attentive and funny - then we discovered that the owners were entertaining their friends at the table next to us. I'm glad, because we got fantastic service! We started with a bottle of sauvignon blanc and onion soup, which was delicious, it was piled on with gruyere cheese and a nice big piece of bread at the bottom. Then I got mussels in white wine and herbs and fries and my boyfriend got roasted chicken with fries. My mussels were ok, but his chicken was out of this world! It was juicy and tender and it was served with a sauce made from the juices from the chicken. When he asked for ketchup for the fries, the server refused gently and suggested that he try the "French ketchup" pointing to the sauce from the chicken - WOW!! It was awesome! We ended the dinner with chocolate mousse, which was yummy, but a bit too sweet. Would I go back? If I was in the area, sure, but I wouldn't seek it out. If I do go back, I know what I'm getting, the roast chicken! Tasty tasty!!

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www.bistrotlafayette.com