This afternoon at 1pm, Kristal managed to momentarily walk away from her chaotic real estate listing life, and met me at Cafe Felix for some lunchtime nosh. The super friendly hostess greeted us at the door, and we were given our choice of dining inside or outside. Dining outside was an obvious choice, since the weather today here in Ann Arbor had cooled down some from earlier in the week, and it was a sunny, lovely 75 degrees. We were seated at a table just off of Main Street, which totally satisfied my inner gawker. I love a good people watching session! Once we both got settled (and the hostess found me a missing chair!), our server JD wandered on over to present us with the menu.
RW lunch menu for Cafe Felix
Cafe Felix was offering a choice of sandwiches paired with a green salad, plus a choice of two crepes for dessert. This was pretty standard based on other menus I'd seen for the week, but the surprise, was learning that Felix also included a fountain drink in their $12 price. Score! I quickly decided on iced tea with a Croque Monsieur and the vanilla berry crepe, while Kristal went with iced tea, a salmon sandwich, and the same vanilla berry crepe. Why mess with a good formula, right?Once our food arrived, I was happy taking pictures of our lunch in the natural sunlight. :-) We both couldn't wait long though, and dug into our sandwiches just as soon as we could. I thought my Croque Monsieur was really good. I loved the salty bite of the ham with the subtle swiss, and it being broiled all over the delicious marble rye bread didn't hurt one bit. While I didn't particularly love the layer of beschemel sauce on the bottom of my sandwich, I understand it's traditional in a Croque Monsieur, so I took it in as all part of the experience. Kristal also really liked her salmon, and her only comment was that she thought it was sort of strange that they served the burger (of sorts) with a layer of tarter sauce under the cheese. She said it didn't make the sandwich taste offensive or anything, and she liked it, but it was not something she'd had before. The greens that arrived with both of our sandwiches were also served with a really tasty balsamic vinaigrette, and we chowed every bit of it we could stab on our plates. I do like a good salad.
My Croque Monsieur in ode to Stephanie
Kristal's salmon "burger"
After eagerly finishing our sandwiches and anticipating dessert, JD did not disappoint us and brought out our crepes in lightning speed. Unfortunately, my disappointment stopped there. I thought the crepe was pretty bad. In fact, I think a more descriptive term for my dessert could have been "pliable rubber pancake served with runny vanilla sauce and a sub-standard vanilla ice cream." Ouch right? I hate to do it, but Felix advertised their crepes as authentic, and I can't help but call them out on their crap! I've been to Paris, I know what crepes are supposed to taste like. This was not it I warn you.
Kristal's salmon "burger"
Vanilla berry crepe
So terrible crepe in mind, I have to say Cafe Felix is definitely off my list for next year. The lunch itself was lovely, and I've even been to Cafe Felix before for drinks and tapas that were splendid! But I think this is another case of a small restaurant being ill-equipped to create well-prepared food for the masses. Oh well. Maybe one of these days a restaurant will get it right. Until then, my quest for a perfect restaurant week meal continues!
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