The wait was a fast 30 minutes. Not bad for a Saturday night at 6:30, especially on a "prom night" for several schools. In lieu of waiting amongst the dozens of prom dates we ran into, we all decided to have a drink and an appetizer at the bar. I had a draught of Shiner Boch (already a thumbs up in my book), the wife had an Amarreto Sour, dad had a merlot and mom had Coke. We couldn't decide on one appetizer for the four of us, so we ended up with two. We ordered a family favorite (and one we're all fairly critical of), Calamari, and a safe bet: Tex-mex Eggrolls.
The Calamari was delightful. Lightly breaded and not too chewy, this probably-not-too-fresh squid was well made, especially for being far from the water. The only critique I would make is that it was served with your choice of tartar sauce or cocktail sauce. I would have prefered the traditional marinara sauce, but I'll not be too picky. The calamari alone was great.
The Tex-Mex eggrolls were, as expected, well received. They were a very good combination of slightly spicy with a good fresh vegetable taste and a delicious avocado-cilantro dip. It also came with a fresh tomato mix that I didn't try. Not a big tomato guy (see marinara comment above).
We were seated in an as-promised 30 minutes. We were seated in a booth in the corner of one of the many rooms that make up the CF. If I had one complaint about the ambiance, it was that there were two birthday parties going on, and when they sang, the noise carried throughout the entire restaurant. I suppose you could run accross this at most restaurants... but it didn't add anything to my experience. Our waiter, Kyle, was very good, polite, and enthusaistic about our dining experience. It worked well.
For our "regular" meals, I chose the "Classic Cheeseburger" because I enjoy a good burger. The wife chose the "Navajo" sandwich because of the always intriguing and delicious avocado-chicken mixture. Dad chose the "Teriyaki Chicken" and Mom picked the "Da Vinci" pasta.
The classic cheeseburger was delicious and large. It was enough for two meals. It came with french fries, but they were nothing to write home about, and you could likely find the same fries at McDonalds. Lucky for CF, I like McDonalds french fries.
The Navajo was a delicious Indian taco filled with chicken, avocado, vegetables and mayo. It was also served with the same fries. It was also enough for two meals.
The Da Vinci was a tasty dish with penne pasta, mushrooms, chicken and fresh herbs in a delicious light sauce. It was quite tasty, and was more than enough for two meals.
The Teriyaki Chicken was a somewhat smaller dish, with a good amount of chicken and plenty of steamed rice that was a good filling one-meal dish. The teriyaki chicken was drenched in a very good light sauce and had a garnish of sesame seeds on it. The rice is hard to screw up, and was good.
A night at CF wouldn't be complete without... of course, cheesecake.
Mom and Dad got two- one for dessert and one for later. They went traditional, and got a strawberry and a cherry slice.
The wife and I branched out a bit more. I got the chocolate mousse and she got banana creme cheesecake. Mine tasted very light, like chocolate heaven. The wife's was equally light, and tasted very much like banana pudding, a favorite in our household.
Overall, the night was a success. And though I went into CF thinking that it would be overpriced and marginal food, I left quite happily surprised. The variety on the menu (there were so many dishes I wanted to try) and the deliciousness of the cheesecake as well as the "regular" food made the experience well worth the wait.
Oh, and one of the best parts- it's always enough for two meals!
Clockwise from top- mom's Da Vinci pasta, the wife's Navajo, my classic burger. The leftovers, of course. They were still good reheated.
1 comment:
thanks for making a post, honey.
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