Cafe Esin

Every once in awhile, I feel the need to get back to my Restaurant Reviewing roots…after all, that was my original idea when I started this blog…that I would write about restaurants, because, well, what ELSE would I write about? I don’t have any ideas, so that will do. HA!

Anyway, Friday afternoon, Maya had her friend Jackie over for a sleepover. We quickly discovered that there was no food in the house, so we decided we would go out for dinner (our solution all too often, but we really do enjoy it). Ted wanted to go to a restaurant in San Ramon named Cafe Esin. He had been there a few years ago with his mom, and she still frequents the restaurant, and they both said it is very good. OK. Ted called and made a reservation, and off we went.

One of the odd things about suburbia is how you can find little gems like this in the most unlikely places…Cafe Esin is located in a strip mall, just off of the freeway, close to McDonald’s and a Safeway. Not too impressive. But when we walked in the door, I was very happy to see white tablecloths, candles, and friendly staff. What a nice way to end a week!

There are three components to a good restaurant, in my book, and so many have one or two, but not all three. A good restaurant should have, of course, good food. It should be fresh and flavorful and delicious. Second, it should have some atmosphere. If the restaurant is a greasy spoon, I want it to look and feel like a greasy spoon. You know what you’re getting, then. And third, it should have good service. What that means can vary, depending on the type of restaurant you’re at, but it should always mean friendly people who know their stuff.

Happily, Cafe Esin has all of the above. The food was wonderful. I started with a roasted beet salad, and then had the butternut squash risotto for dinner. I was a bit worried about the risotto, as I generally don’t care for risotto (often it’s gloppy), and with roasted butternut squash, there’s a good chance that it might be overly sweet, or rich, or both. Instead of getting a gloppy too-rich dish served to me, however, I got just what I wanted…creamy risotto, with just the right amount of squash to flavor it and give it texture. Mmmm. Ted started with a Caesar salad, and then had a filo wrapped chicken breast, stuffed with three cheeses and spinach. It was served with couscous and a tomato coulis. He really enjoyed it. Very yummy. Maya had the Meze Platter, which was humus, eggplant, dolmas, tabbouleh, olives, and pita. She filled up a bit on Sprite (they just kept coming…) and didn’t have a LOT of room for dinner, but she did enjoy the hummus and some eggplant. Jackie had a cheese pizza from the kids menu, which she liked, though she feels that she is cursed, because when she eats pizza, often the cheese falls off. She also filled up on Sprite and bread, so not much pizza was consumed.

Being too full for your dinner, however, is completely different from being too full for dessert. I mean, I only ate half of my risotto, and I clearly had a bit of room left. Ted and Jackie ordered Creme Brulee’, which I think was the only disappointment of the evening, as the brulee’ part was maybe too burned or something, and tasted a bit off. The creme, however, was very yummy. I had an apple crisp, which was pretty darned good, but I wish they would have just brought me out a spoonful, rather than the whole thing. Maya won the dessert contest, however, by ordering the Meyer Lemon cheesecake, which was just lemony enough, not overpowering, and creamy and perfect. Sigh.

So, that’s the food. The atmosphere was friendly, yet subdued and pretty. Very nice.

The service, though, was part of what made it such a nice evening, for me. I have a few pet peeves when it comes to dining, especially when we have Maya with us. I do not like it when waiters ignore her, and ask us what she wants. I do not like it when the child’s food is an afterthought, and isn’t brought out until we are both halfway finished with our food. I do not like it when our drinks are refilled quickly, and she is ignored. Happily, none of this happened at Cafe Esin. Though it is not a kid’s restaurant by any means, and I wouldn’t expect them to have a highchair available, they did have a children’s menu, and were clearly prepared to accommodate children. The waiter talked to them with respect, and asked if we wanted their food with our main course, or with our salads. That is much appreciated, as a child who is eating and happy is much more fun to dine with than a child who is hungry and bored. Even when your child is almost 11, and has pretty decent table manners, this is still true. The waiter also refilled their Sprites without having to be asked, another bonus. He knew the menu, knew the restaurant, and seemed to enjoy working there, and he may even like people. What a concept.