Cellar Door Café
Once in a while I have a perfect meal. Perfect company, perfect food, perfect wine, perfect experience. Last night was one of those nights, the stars were aligned. After a long hot day working, I met a dear friend at Bonny Doon’s new Cellar Door Café. We met at 5, for what my friend calls “Sinner,” Sunday dinner, and sat at the bar and ordered a bottle of Cigare Blanc. With the open doors, a gentle breeze, and view of the train tracks, the cool glass of the Cigare Blanc really hit the spot! This was my friend’s first time visiting the new Tasting Room and Café so we took a stroll. The interior whispers Randall Grahm –quirky, cool, humorous, elegant, comfortable … always comfortable. The spirit of Randall Grahm is, wonderfully, present in every detail.
Beam me up, Charlie!
The hour arrived when we could start ordering and so we did. The Café offers a three course Prix Fixe menu for $32 or a choice to order from the small plate menu. We chose the Prix Fixe with a starter, a Fennel confit and Bellweather Farm ricotta pizza. The rest of our dishes began to emerge, perfectly timed. The chickpea bruschetta topped with smoked chevre and a chickpea pesto… This was followed by roasted local roots and greens topped with a farm fresh egg. Well, the smokiness of the potatoes and the sweetness of the radishes were both a surprise and delight and utterly sublime with the creamy rich flavorful fried egg. We finished with roasted nectarines and brown butter shortbread topped with honey lavender cream. I am a very frugal user of the “OMG” but, I must say, this dinner earned 4 OMGs!
Chickpea bruschetta
Beautiful roots
a perfect end to a perfect meal, dessert delivery by Chef Parker
The food is served family style and the servings are extremely generous, worth every penny and then some. Executive Chef Charlie Parker is not only a master in the kitchen but a very gracious and attentive host, a winning combination. Chef Parker’s tasty skills, easy manner, and generous and friendly nature make his relationship with Bonny Doon a natural. I hope this rising young chef continues his fine craft of aligning the stars in the Dooniverse, for I am surely to become a regular.
I recommend this experience highly. If in Santa Cruz, make a point of setting aside a few hours to drink and dine with Bonny Doon.
let’s go here together…soon!
Just let me know if you need an eating partner