Restaraunt Review: Cafe Luna - Tapas

Okay. Part II of the Cafe Luna adventure. We've covered lunch. This time, we're going to tackle the tapas. At some point down the road, we'll get to the actual dinner menu, I'm sure. But for now, we're going to examine how the small plate phenomenon has hit Champaign-Urbana.

Until recently, the only real option for anything resembling tapas would be Radio Maria out in downtown Champaign (which will get it's review in the future, too). So, naturally, when I found out that Cafe Luna had a pretty full tapas menu, I was intrigued. Over the course of two marathon eating sessions, I got myself a pretty good handle on the flavor of the menu. Each of the dishes ranged from $4 to $9, and for $40, two people can have a nice dinner, without wine, and be very entertained.

The item that really stood out to me as a great opener was the fried goat cheese, which was served with caramelized onions and drizzled with honey. Each of the four little morsels of the cheese were great - a little tangy and a little sweet from the honey, and the warm bread that it came with fit the bill well. What seems like the more popular opening dish was an olive tapenade and goat cheese served on grilled sourdough. But my dining partner and I both seemed to agree that the olive spread was a little too salty, and spread on a little too thickly. I think that serving the spread on the side, and letting us apply it on the toast ourselves would probably solve the problem.

Two items that we saw consistently ordered were the fried artichokes and beets and the duck confit ravioli. There was a good reason for that. Quartered artichokes and beets were seasoned and fried, and served with a balsamic reduction. It wasn't anything complicated, but what resulted was a very tasty and fun to eat dish. I had never been a huge fan of beets, but the juicy, sweet, and slightly tangy flavor of this dish has made me a convert. The duck ravioli was a real simple dish - just a filling of a tasty chopped and sauteed duck meat, stuffed into pasta, and then pan fried so that it was nice and crispy and a little chewy. The sauces that were on there were a balsamic reduction and a Asian-style teriyaki which worked really well together. These were definitely winners.

I think that there's a common thread to the quality of the dishes that are done here. Generally speaking, the meat dishes were generally very good, and the seafood left me somewhat wanting. All things considered, 50-50 on the seafood isn't too bad for being in the middle of Illinois, though.

There was an excellent beef kabob that had tenderloin and mushrooms, served with a side of whiskey au gratin potatoes. The beef could have been cooked medium rare, instead of medium well, but overall, the dish was good. I think that the highlight was the carpaccio, which was served with a tangy mustard, mixed greens, capers, and thinly sliced onions. Eating it with the sourdough bread that came on the side felt like I was eating this great roast beef sandwich. Of course, there was one miss. The spicy sausage and cabbage in red wine just didn't feel right. The sausage didn't have enough of a meaty chew to it, and instead felt overcooked. The flavor was okay, but the texture was a miss.

Two seafood dishes were excellent. One was a special, three chunks of lobster tail, just lightly salted and briefly broiled, served rare. It was very simple, and presented in an attractive fashion. Each of the chunks of lobster had a garnish of a different herb - rosemary, thyme, and dill. And half of the dish had this light, sweet pea sauce, while the other side had a richer ginger butter sauce. Both were fun, and the dish is definitely worth getting if they have it. The other dish was the spicy steamed clams and ham. The clams were okay - just standard littlenecks. But the broth was amazing - this savory, spicy liquid that I wanted to soak up every drop of.
Of course, there were some misses. The scallops weren't very inspired, and lacked much flavor. And the mussels and garlic in white wine didn't really have a lot of flavor, and in fact one of the mussels had a cracked shell that almost drew blood when I wasn't paying attention. One dish that could have been intriguing was the yellowfin tuna cubes, coated in sesame and served with soy sauce. I had the misfortune of biting into a piece of tuna that probably shouldn't have been served. It tasted okay, but the cut of tuna had a lot of connective tissue, and ended up being almost inedible. The rest of the tuna was tasty, but the first bite really threw me off. I think that on another occasion, the tuna could be a keeper.

All in all, the tapas were a lot of fun to eat. The service was always pretty solid, though the servers could have been a little more knowledgeable about the menu. I have to say that the tapas menu compares favorably to the other options in this town. It's a place that you could bring a date, you could bring a business associate, bring your buddies, or just bring yourself. I have to say that I'm a fan.

-foodgeek

Rating: 1 star

Restaurant Review: Dom's Patio Villa - We Were Goodfellas

Okay. So I hear about the place, Dom's Patio Villa, and how it has some the best Italian food in town. This probably wouldn't be too great of a feat, given that this is Champaign-Urbana. But what the heck. I grabbed a buddy of mine, and went to town. How much food can two guys put down? Not nearly enough. It should have been 4 people to really sample the menu, but whatever. I can always go back, and try to confirm my thoughts later.

The place is right near everything, but you wouldn't really see it unless you were looking for it. That's a definitely plus. The building looks sort of shady, as the entrance was built into a solid wall, painted white, with no windows. This is the sort of place that you see in the movies, and I was half-expecting to see Joey "Fingers" Moretti and Frankie "Fish Food" Rizzetti with the rest of the wiseguys inside. But then I remembered that this was cornbread Illinois, and not New York or Chicago, and stepped inside with confidence.

The place is cool - sort of nondescript. There's a funny mural on the wall, and the place looked sort of like a banquet hall - nice, but sort of sterile. The crowd was generally older, family oriented. Not the hip-spot. But that's OK. We're here to eat, not to see and be seen.

As you sit down, you get a couple little wedges of focaccia, with some herbed olive oil to dip. Excellent - the bread picks up the oil nicely, and you get this fun sensation as the dense bread sort of melts in your mouth with a smoky flavor. Good times, though they didn't offer to bring out more bread. That would have definitely made the wait a little more fun.

But the wait wasn't long - there was a very helpful server who pointed out the popular dishes, and seemed pretty knowledgeable. The only downside to the place was that there were too many "house secrets." They don't always understand that they are in the cooking business, not just the food business. Chances are, I can make whatever they make. I just want them to do it for me this time.

The server recommended the Chicken ala Dom, the Braciole (bruh-shoal), or the Manicotti. We went with two of the three, as we went with the Galena in lieu of the Chicken ala Dom, as it was the same dish, only with a filling, instead of just a chicken breast. In addition to the three entrees, they also had rice balls as an appetizer. This definitely had potential, as well. This was a research project, and we were going to be meticulous.

The side salads and the rice balls came quickly. The rice balls were a rich, somewhat spicy meat filing, surrounded by a mixture of rice and cheese (probably mozzarella), and then deep fried. We got two of the golden fried treats, and a side of the marinara sauce. They were excellent. Crispy on the outside, savory on the inside. The marinara was fun, as it had a very bright, a little sweet, and a little savory tomato flavor to it. What made it a little different was the abundance of garlic, cut up into small, but visible pieces. Very tasty if you're into garlic. But, the next time, I'll ask for an alfredo dipping sauce, as the marinara competed with the filling a little too much. The salads were pretty plain - chopped up iceberg, a slice of tomato, and a slice of cucumber. The house Italian dressing was fun though. Very light, a little sweet, a little sour, and very different. It's generally not my style (think rich bleu cheese dressing), but it was a good change of pace, and a good complement to the fried rice balls.

There was a little wait until the entrees came, but the server was great about coming by and bringing drink refills. A very underrated part of the dining experience - servers should be relatively hands off to let you have some conversation, but always looking to see if you need more drinks. A server who can bring refills without being asked usually rings up an extra 5% on my tip.

The three entrees all came together, with a basket of a tasty, crispy garlic bread. With the abundance of sauce that was on all of the dishes, I was pretty confident that we'd be using up the bread.

The Braciole was a roulade - sirloin steak, stuffed with a mix of breading, salami, and pepperoni, all ground up finely - served with a small side of spaghetti, all smothered in marinara sauce. It was definitely tasty, but could have used a more tender cut of beef, as the sirloin was a little tougher than I was expecting. The filling could have been just a touch heartier, as it tended to dissipate in the marinara sauce while you sliced it (which was accentuated by the tougher cut of steak). It wasn't bad, but there are other items that would be on my list before the Braciole.

One such dish would be the Galena. Another roulade, this time a spicy filling of beef, pork, and cheese, rolled up into a pounded chicken breast. It came in a rich, white wine sauce, again accented heavily with garlic. This roulade was very tender, and pre-sliced. The filling was a little more solid than in the Braciole, and was easier to eat all parts of the dish together, letting the flavors blend.

The manicotti was the last dish to be sampled, and it was very good, though the portion could have been larger. A little more care would have been preferred in putting sauce on top of the noodles, as parts of the noodles were uncovered, and were dried out by the broiler. The noodles were stuffed with two different fillings, one meat and one cheese. The meat was excellent - spicy, and meaty. It had a little bit chew to it, so that you knew that you were eating a meat filling. The cheese was tasty, but a little bit too dense. A little less egg and mozzarella in the filling would loosen it up and give a creamier taste.

The final act of gluttony was dessert. They had homemade cannoli and tiramisu. The tiramisu was pedestrian. The flavor could have been a little richer - using a good espresso instead of Kahula probably would do the trick. And there could have been a greater amount of the marscapone filling. It wasn't bad, but it wouldn't be a reason to come back.

However, that was not true of the cannoli, which was amazing. The shell was crispy, and just the right hybrid of cripy and crunchy. It also had a subtle cinnamon flavor to it that really worked. The filling was very tasty, with a light, sweet taste and feel, that was complemented by chocolate chips, and candied fruit. Here was another "house secret" that mildly annoyed me. We were trying to figure out what the candied fruit was soaked in. I was guessing brandy or maybe amaretto. My buddy guessed rum. And the server didn't know, and told us that it was a secret. Regardless, the cannoli alone made this trip worthwhile.

All in all, this was a good place to get a quality meal. After tax and tip, you'd probably expect to spend $40 - $50 for a dinner for two, sharing an appetizer and a dessert, without wine. A little more than doing the Olive Garden, but the food is much better. The final rating will have to wait until the rest of the menu gets a look, but for now?

-foodgeek

Rating: 0.5 stars, with potential for another 0.5 star.

Dom's Italian Patio - 301 S. Locust, Champaign, IL. (217) 352-8444. Appetizers: $2.95 - $9.75; Sandwiches: $3.25 - $7.50; Entrees: $8.75 - $16.95; Desserts: $2.75 - $4.75. Open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday. Reservations recommended on the weekends.

Long overdue update:  Dom's closed it's doors in 2007, after the original owners passed.

Restaraunt Review: Cafe Luna - Lunch

Lunch in campustown can often be dreary. There are a couple nice Chinese places, and aside from that, you're looking at bar food, subs, or a couple fast Mexican places. For me, Cafe Luna is a very welcome change of pace to all of that. It's located on hallowed ground for me. Cafe Luna replaced Mykonos, a Greek burger/gyro spot after my buddy Taki passed away a couple years ago. Many late nights were finished up there. So for me to set foot back into the same place was a little strange. But it was well worth it.

The decor was cool, without the pretense. There was lots of black, but there was some colorful art and fairly light hearted music to balance it out. I went there with a friend at 11:30, and we beat the lunch rush, and got seated quickly. We opened up with a charcuterie plate that had some nice olives, sweet and tangy little gherkin pickles, some thinly sliced red onions that were very sweet, some fresh fruit, and was highlighted by a small assortment of prosciutto, salami, and pepperoni and a wedge of this great triple-cream cheese that was excellent with a great texture and a slightly nutty flavor. A few slices of french bread gave some temperance to the salty treats, which were very fun to eat, though for the price, a larger portion would have been appreciated.

The next item to come out was our salad, two crabcakes, served over a bed of mixed greens. I don't fault the kitchen, but there's a lesson to be learned here. Don't order crabcakes unless you're on the coast. Even the best canned lump crab meat is a far cry from the good stuff. Unfortunately, it didn't taste like Cafe Luna used the best canned lump crab meat. The crabcake was too mushy, and just didn't have that great taste of the ocean that you get when you have a good crabcake. And that can be forgiven. After all, this is the middle of Illinois, not the Maryland shore. But what was a downer was the herb vinaigrette that the mixed greens were tossed in - too much oil, and not enough zip to it. Instead of light and tangy, it was heavy and oily. Not quite what you're hoping for in a salad.

But what absolutely saved lunch was the wonderful sandwiches that we ordered. A seared flank steak sandwich was seasoned perfectly, cooked just right (nice and rare), and had a nice melted Gruyere and caramelized onions, all between a grilled sourdough bread. The steak was incredibly tender and juicy, and the rest of the sandwich just worked. Good ingredients, simple food, done well.

What stole the show for me was the grilled duck breast sandwich. Again, cooked just right (medium for me), and tasty, the duck was a highlight. It came with pancetta, arugula, and a fig jam, on a grilled Zupfe bread. Zupfe bread is this really tender bread that had egg, sort of like Challa. Really good bread for the sandwich. The sandwich was just great, and a lot of fun to eat. A little indulgent, but not overboard. It was served with pancetta, though I think that a couple thick strips of smoky bacon would be more appropriate - not as sexy as pancetta, but the smokiness would play with the flavors of the fig jam and the duck a little more than the pancetta did. The fig jam was a very good complement to the duck, but the kitchen was just a little heavy handed with it. I would go with just a thin spread over the bread, rather than the schmear that they were going with. Maybe if they just put it on the side, and let the patrons handle it themselves, it would be better.

Lunch was good. The crowd had a little buzz to it, though the place wasn't packed out so that you felt obliged to eat in a hurry. I think that this place is definitely a lunchtime winner. What really caught my eye was that Cafe Luna also serves a dinner menu and has a tapas menu. That review will come soon!

-foodgeek

Lunch rating: 1 star.

Cafe Luna (217) 344-1895; 313 E. Green St (SW corner of 4th and Green)., Champaign, IL 61820. Lunch menu: Appetizers: $3.50 - $7.50; Salads: $3.50 - $7.50; Sandwiches: $4.50 - $8.50.

Long overdue update: Cafe Luna did well at that original spot, and then moved to downtown Champaign where they had a much larger spot, and did well for a time.  Unfortunately, they closed down by 2012, after a couple years of lackluster service and declining quality.  Currently, Maize at the Station inhabits the spot at 100 N. Chestnut St.  They are pretty phenomenal - excellent Mexican food that would have played well even on a border town like El Paso, TX, where I was living for 7 years.

Mission Statement: Why This is Here

This is just a little tangent to my blog (http://chairmangau.blogspot.com ) - I want a place to list down my thoughts on restaurants, just in case I want to give it a shot a little later down the road.

This will be New York Times style - 1 star = good; 2 stars = very good; 3 stars = excellent; 4 stars = extraordinary. You see a decent number of 1 star places, a handful of 2's, a 3 here or there, and the rarity will be the 4.

My goal is typically to produce quality, 1 star food in my own kitchen. We'll see how others stack up in my estimation. Feel free to read and comment, though this is mainly for myself. Let's see what I can do!

-Chairman