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Monday, January 31, 2022

Atherton still looking for someone to operate a cafe in its new library - The Almanac Online

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After having no luck finding anyone to operate a cafe in its new library last spring, Atherton plans to solicit another round of applications. Town staffers say there is renewed interest in the cafe, which they hope can open in the fall.

The new 10,000-square-foot, $19.1 million library, part of the town's $32 million civic center project, is expected to be completed this spring. Last March, staff asked for proposals from vendors to finish and operate the 250-square-foot space, including outfitting it with equipment, supplies and furniture, and signing a contract to operate it for three years. By the May deadline, no one had applied.

During a Jan. 19 meeting, the council approved the request for proposals (RFP) once a subcommittee of council members Elizabeth Lewis and Bob Polito help staff revise it. The RFP should go out to the community on Friday, Jan. 28, said City Manager George Rodericks in an email. The hope is to have the cafe operational by October, if not sooner.

But since the first RFP failed to garner any applications, there has been renewed interest regarding the potential of the cafe space, according to a staff report. During a town's ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new civic center, which was an opportunity to see more of the completed site, there were several ad hoc discussions with potential vendors, according to the report.

DeGolia said whoever runs the cafe could also gain "significant" catering business, for parties or events, from cafe customers.

Lewis, Polito and Councilwoman Diana Hawkins-Manuelian questioned whether the RFP should state that the town would be willing to outfit the space itself so the upfront cost of that work isn't a barrier to "aspiring young operators."

Polito called the RFP "destined for failure" in its current form during the meeting. The town needs to make clear that it wants the vendor to succeed and that it's not trying to make money off of the space.

"If we outfitted the space ourselves it'd be a whole different ball game," he said.

An approximately 2,000 square foot deck and terrace fronts the cafe space.

The temporary library, located in a trailer on the corner of Dinkelspiel Station Lane and Maple Avenue, closed in December, as staff readies to move its collection to the new facility this spring.

In 2013, when town consultants gathered input on the civic center, they found residents would like to a community coffee shop. Other amenities of interest included a park-like atmosphere, an open plaza for performances and shows, and meeting spaces for the community, according to the staff report.

The town expects the landscaped courtyard in front of Town Hall to be ready when the new library opens. The work is in progress now that the old police department building has been demolished, Rodericks said in an email.

A civic center subcommittee is reviewing final stone slabs for the donor wall, he said.

The Council Chambers is 90% complete but the town is still waiting on the final technology installations, he said. The City Council has met remotely since March 2020 when the pandemic hit.

The council will next meet on Feb. 2. The meeting will include a mid-year budget report, a report on the town's recent communications drill and consideration of amendments to the town's landscape screening ordinance.

More information on the cafe application is available on the town's website. Proposals are due by 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 15.

Watch a video of the meeting here.

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The East Bay's new ube-centric cafe is drawing huge crowds. Here's what to order - San Francisco Chronicle

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Ube cookies. Ube lattes. Ube cheesecakes. At the East Bay’s new Cafe 86, nearly everything is flavored with ube, the Filipino purple yam.

The frenzy over ube has sparked hours-long waits — even on a weekday afternoon — at the Filipino sweets cafe, located at 34391 Alvarado-Niles Road in Union City.

Cafe 86 is a popular mini-chain based in Southern California, and the Union City location marks its first expansion in the Bay Area. The roomy cafe has a few tables and a street-art aesthetic — “ube nerds” is prominently displayed — but given the crowds, most people take their orders to-go. (Nearby Charles F. Kennedy Park has picnic tables.)

It might be tempting to write off ube as a trend, given that the ingredient stains food and beverages a glorious violet that pops on Instagram. But it’s a long-standing part of Filipino food culture and a source of pride for the younger generation of Filipino Americans opening restaurants in the Bay Area. Fusion empire Senor Sisig sometimes offers ube horchata as a special beverage, while San Francisco’s high-end Abaca serves a bright purple pina colada-esque cocktail with ube-coconut cream. Ube ice cream is easy to find, with even Trader Joe’s getting in on it.

The flavor is subtle, somewhat similar to sweet potato but with a mellow nuttiness and hints of vanilla. It lends an extra creaminess to desserts and isn’t too sweet. On a recent visit to Cafe 86, ube’s flavors were well-pronounced in several treats — though a few items were already sold out just one hour after opening, including an ube tres leches cake, ube tiramisu and Southern-style ube butter bars.

If you’re tempted by the hype and don’t mind long waits, here’s what to order:

The upside down halo halo is one of the must-get items at Cafe 86 in Union City.

The upside down halo halo is one of the must-get items at Cafe 86 in Union City.

Janelle Bitker / The Chronicle

Upside Down Halo Halo ($7.85): A traditional halo halo sees a scoop of ube ice cream on top of shaved ice, evaporated milk and lots of mix-ins like fruit jellies and beans. Cafe 86’s “upside down” twist swaps out the milk with an ube base and tops it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. There are other notable diversions: no shaved ice and no beans. Instead, coconut jellies, jackfruit and boba provide chewiness while Frosted Flakes add crunch. (Don’t worry, there’s still a cube of caramelly leche flan on top, too.) Most importantly, it delivers on the textural contrasts that make the dessert so special while feeling fresh and new.

The ube truffle is one of several ube desserts at Cafe 86 in Union City.

The ube truffle is one of several ube desserts at Cafe 86 in Union City.

Janelle Bitker / The Chronicle

Ube Truffles ($2.99): These truffles are like what cake pops should be: extremely moist and not too sweet, with a barely perceptible coating of white chocolate. In this case, the center is an ube-flavored cake blended with coconut cream cheese frosting. The orbs are dipped in white chocolate and rolled in pulverized Oreo cookies, which might sound like overkill but it’s not.

The “ube crack cheesecake” from Cafe 86 in Union City.

The “ube crack cheesecake” from Cafe 86 in Union City.

Janelle Bitker/The Chronicle

Ube Crack Cheesecake ($3.99): Ube doesn’t just turn this petite cheesecake purple, it makes the texture deliriously rich and creamy. The salty crust, made of Filipino Skyflakes crackers, helps offset the sweetness and bring out some of the cream cheese’s tang.

Jasmine tea gets a hit of tang from calamansi juice at Cafe 86 in Union City.

Jasmine tea gets a hit of tang from calamansi juice at Cafe 86 in Union City.

Janelle Bitker / The Chronicle

Jasmine Calamansi ($4.45): While feasting on ube desserts, it’s nice to give your palate a break from all the creamy richness. (That said, there are ube lattes, ube milkshakes and ube boba milk teas if you truly can’t get enough.) Try one of the iced teas brightened with another favorite Filipino ingredient: calamansi, which tastes like a cross between a lime and a tangerine. Slightly floral, lightly sweetened jasmine green tea tastes extra refreshing with the tart citrus.

Cafe 86. 12:30 to 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 12:30 to 10 p.m. Friday to Saturday. 34391 Alvarado-Niles Road, Union City. cafe-86.com

Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker

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Sidewalk Cafe - City of Boise

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New Application

The City of Boise now allows you to apply for your license online. First time users of this system will be required to set up an account

Once you have logged in, click "Apply > License" from the top menu. Select the applicable application from the license menu and apply.

Renew Existing License

Once you have set up your account through our online portal, contact the City Clerk's office to link your online account to your existing license. Be sure to have your existing license number available.

After logging in, select "My Records" from the Home menu. You will find your renewal in the list of your current licenses.

LOGIN

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Walker’s Cafe in San Pedro gets a boost for landmark status designation - The Daily Breeze

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  • Walker’s Cafe in San Pedro was a popular stop for bikers through the years. (Courtesy San Pedro Bay Historical Society)

  • Debbie Flowers plays guitar on the roof of Walker’s Cafe in San Pedro during a gathering in this undated photo. (Courtesy San Pedro Bay Historical Society)

  • A pay phone outside Walker’s Cafe in San Pedro with notices of the restaurant’s 1994 temporary closing. It reopened two years later. (Courtesy San Pedro Bay Historical Society)

  • The staff is decked out for Halloween at Walker’s Cafe in San Pedro in this undated photo. (Courtesy San Pedro Bay Historical Society)

  • Walker’s Cafe temporarily closed in 1994 but reopened in 1996. (Courtesy San Pedro Bay Historical Society)

  • An arched counter space inside the Walker’s Cafe building in San Pedro is believed to be a former Red Car ticket window. (Courtesy San Pedro Bay Historical Society)

  • An old ice box, T-shirt and other decor from inside Walker’s Cafe in an undated photo. (Courtesy San Pedro Bay Historical Society)

  • Walker’s Cafe in San Pedro spruced up and ready for a film shoot. Undated photo. (Courtesy San Pedro Bay Historical Society)

  • A Veterans Day ceremony outside Walker’s Cafe in San Pedro. Undated photo. (Courtesy San Pedro Bay Historical Society)

  • The City of Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission unanimously backed a push to protect the site of the now-closed Walker’s Cafe in San Pedro on Friday, January 28, 2022. The ocean-side burgers-and-beer hangout next to Point Fermin Park has been a San Pedro mainstay since the 1940s.(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

  • The City of Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission unanimously backed a push to protect the now-closed Walker’s Cafe site in San Pedro, launching a city process to make sure the site remains a cafe, on Friday, January 28, 2022. The ocean-side burgers-and-beer hangout next to Point Fermin Park has been a San Pedro mainstay since the 1940s. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

  • A Pacific Electrc Red Car passes the site of the current Walker’s Cafe around 1913. (Daily Breeze files)

A push to save the legacy of a hometown burgers-and-beer cafe, an oceanside hangout in San Pedro since the 1940s, got a major lift this month from Los Angeles’s Cultural Heritage Commission.

After a first hearing, the city commission voted unanimously to move forward a proposal to grant landmark status to the business. If eventually approved by the full City Council, it would ensure that Walker’s Cafe, 700 W. Paseo del Mar, would remain a restaurant even though the family that has owned it all these years can no longer run the business.

Walker’s has been closed for about four months.

Emma Rault heads up the effort and prepared the application for landmark status.

“I’m sensitive to the spirit of place, the identity of a community,” said Rault, who grew up in The Netherlands and lived “all over” Europe before settling in San Pedro. “Walker’s encapsulates a lot of what is unique and distinct and special about Los Angeles. Since 1946, it’s played a very important role in the community.”

An online petition has garnered more than 2,400 signatures in support of the cafe.

But the city process has only just begun.

The Jan. 20 vote moves the issue forward, with an in-person commission site visit to be set up next, followed by a second public hearing, consideration by the Los Angles City Council’s Planning and Land Use Committee, and then a final vote by the full council to grant landmark status.

The application, importantly, has the support of Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino, who represents the area.

  • Walker’s Cafe in San Pedro spruced up and ready for a film shoot. Undated photo. (Courtesy San Pedro Bay Historical Society)

  • Walker’s Cafe in San Pedro was a popular stop for bikers through the years. (Courtesy San Pedro Bay Historical Society)

  • Debbie Flowers plays guitar on the roof of Walker’s Cafe in San Pedro during a gathering in this undated photo. (Courtesy San Pedro Bay Historical Society)

  • A pay phone outside Walker’s Cafe in San Pedro with notices of the restaurant’s 1994 temporary closing. It reopened two years later. (Courtesy San Pedro Bay Historical Society)

  • An old ice box, T-shirt and other decor from inside Walker’s Cafe in an undated photo. (Courtesy San Pedro Bay Historical Society)

  • The staff is decked out for Halloween at Walker’s Cafe in San Pedro in this undated photo. (Courtesy San Pedro Bay Historical Society)

  • Walker’s Cafe temporarily closed in 1994 but reopened in 1996. (Courtesy San Pedro Bay Historical Society)

  • An arched counter space inside the Walker’s Cafe building in San Pedro is believed to be a former Red Car ticket window. (Courtesy San Pedro Bay Historical Society)

  • A Veterans Day ceremony outside Walker’s Cafe in San Pedro. Undated photo. (Courtesy San Pedro Bay Historical Society)

  • The City of Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission unanimously backed a push to protect the site of the now-closed Walker’s Cafe in San Pedro on Friday, January 28, 2022. The ocean-side burgers-and-beer hangout next to Point Fermin Park has been a San Pedro mainstay since the 1940s.(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

  • The City of Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission unanimously backed a push to protect the now-closed Walker’s Cafe site in San Pedro, launching a city process to make sure the site remains a cafe, on Friday, January 28, 2022. The ocean-side burgers-and-beer hangout next to Point Fermin Park has been a San Pedro mainstay since the 1940s. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

Speaking at the Jan. 20 meeting of the Cultural Heritage Commission, Derek Brummett, the grandson of original owner Bessie Mae Petersen, told commissioners his father, Richard Brummett, remains the sole owner of the cafe but is unable to continue operating it.

Ownership is listed as Richard D. Brummett, trustee, Brummett Trust in Yuba City.

“He’s 89 and in poor health,” Derek Brummett said of his father, “which is why the restaurant had to be closed in October. He will no longer be able to run the cafe and the remaining family members will not reopen the cafe, so it will either be sold or closed permanently and boarded up.”

Derek Brummett said he was not aware of the landmark status effort until the meeting notice arrived. The alcohol permit for the cafe had been grandfathered in for his family through the years, he said, and that might pose a challenge for any new ownership.

The cafe is directly across from Point Fermin Park and San Pedro’s southern ocean cliffs, a popular community gathering spot throughout the year.

Several residents spoke in favor of the application, including Mona Dallas Reddick, president of the San Pedro Bay Historical Society. The organization, she said, “enthusiastically supports” the landmark designation that would maintain the site’s use as a cafe.

“For decades,” Reddick said, “the old cafe has embodied the seaside and waterside character of San Pedro.”

She also referred to what she called the “ill-advised” destruction of San Pedro’s old Beacon Street district in the 1970s

“We’ve stripped away too much of our history,” Reddick said.

Keith Nakata, a member of Hollywood Teamsters Local 399, which represents location managers, said the cafe has long been a popular spot for film crews.

“San Pedro has so many gems that need to be protected,” he told commissioners. “It’s a very interesting working-class neighborhood.”

Thw town, Nakata added, has the potential to draw many more filming applications because of sites like Walker’s.

“It’s an amazing place,” Anna Marie Brooks, who grew up in Torrance, told the commission.

While she’d only eaten at Walker’s once, it left a lasting impression.

“You could tell it was a community hangout and we have so few of those left in Los Angeles anywhere,” Brooks said. “And the view is amazing.”

Rault, meanwhile, is advocating that Walker’s remains a cafe as a “legacy business” — with the landmark status protecting the structure as a cultural resource.

“It didn’t take me long after first moving to San Pedro to recognize how special Walker’s is,” she wrote in the introduction to the online petition. “It is a genuine, unpretentious, homey space.”

Rault said she was a frequent visitor to Walker’s and, like so many others, was stunned to realize it had quietly been shuttered last fall with no announcement or information about its status or future.

The idea of San Pedro without Walker’s, Rault said, has galvanized supporters who want to salvage its history.

For now, the building still stands but is locked up and, Rault said, being carefully watched by its many neighbors.

“It’s such a time capsule” on the inside, Rault said in a telephone interview.

Walker’s featured a horseshoe-shaped counter, a hand-painted menu board and linoleum floors.

Even before Walker’s opened in 1946, the spot had served San Pedro locals since the early 1900s as a grocery store and as a tavern named Cuddles.

The Walker’s menu featured such items as “Bessie Burgers.” After Peterson’s husband died in 1958, the matriarch continued running the cafe with her sister, Christine Price.

The restaurant closed once before, in 1994, when Petersen’s health was failing. She died in 1996 and her son, Richard Brummett, reopened it.

A new Walker’s-style cafe won’t be an exact replica, most likely. There are new building codes and there would be a new owner with new ideas. But Rault said she hopes it can retain much of the spirit of the old gathering spot — and pay homage to what came before.

“I would assume that whoever steps in would want to do their own tweaks,” Rault said, “but with an appreciation and love for what it is.”

The original stucco building — which has recently been boarded up after vandals broke some windows — remains but is likely in need of upgrades. The area also has a residential zone designation. Walker’s operation was grandfathered in within the zone, Rault said.

“That’s the thing with these places,” Rault said. “They’ve been there forever and you just expect that will continue.

But “once it’s gone,” she added, “there’s just no way of getting it back.”

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Sunday, January 30, 2022

Thai cafe serves up crypto advice with coffee and cake - Reuters

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NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand, Jan 31 (Reuters) - A cafe in northeast Thailand has become home to cryptocurrency traders, adding banks of screens showing the latest market moves and dishing out investment advice alongside coffee and cake.

Behind a calm exterior of cherry blossom trees, customers of HIP Coffee & Restaurant stare at their laptops, supping nervously on iced coffee - part of a surging interest in digital assets in Thailand that has regulators worried.

"It's exciting for me to be here because I get to meet people who share the same interests," said Detnarong Satianphut, a 35-year-old crypto trader.

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"We (traders) get to exchange information because in the trading world we are coming up against millions of people."

Cryptocurrencies have been gaining momentum in Thailand, with as much as 251 billion baht ($7.62 billion) in digital asset traded in November, according to the latest official data.

Earlier this month, Thailand said it would start to regulate the use of digital assets as payments, warning of potential risks to financial stability and the overall economic system.

HIP cafe, which has been around since 2013, got its crypto makeover in 2020.

Since then, according to staff, its customers have doubled. Manager Oakkharawat Yongsakuljinda said the cafe provides alternative investment opportunities for people in the surrounding Nakhon Ratchasima province.

It offers free investment consulting and is planning on starting its own cryptocurrency coin.

Its customers say trading in the cafe offers them the best chance of success in a volatile market, in which the most well known cryptocurrency, bitcoin, hit six-month lows this week.

"Having so many screens helps a lot ... We immediately know and get to analyse crashing factors and whether we should buy," said 23-year-old trader Apakon Putnok.

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Reporting by Vorasit Satienlerk and Jiraporn Kuhakan; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Tom Hogue

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Friday, January 28, 2022

The Local's Cafe & Tavern opens in Greenfield - Monadnock Ledger Transcript

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Monadnock Ledger-Transcript - The Local’s Cafe & Tavern opens in Greenfield
  • A new restaurant, The Local’s Cafe & Tavern, recently opened in the center of Greenfield. —STAFF PHOTO BY JULIA STINNEFORD

  • Greenfield residents Rags Gilmore, Dorene Adams, Patti Gagnon and Sue Gilbert eat in the new The Local’s Cafe & Tavern. —STAFF PHOTOS BY JULIA STINNEFORD

Monadnock Ledger-Transcript

Published: 1/28/2022 5:09:11 PM

Modified: 1/28/2022 5:07:54 PM

A new restaurant is open in Greenfield, bringing out residents who are excited to see an eatery return to town.

“We missed having a restaurant,” said resident Janice Pack. “We used to really enjoy coming down here, and now we can again.”

The Local’s Cafe & Tavern, which recently opened at 4 Slip Road in Greenfield, is the brainchild of resident Heather Gagnon, who said she had been thinking about opening a coffee shop or a cafe for some time.

“That was my thing,” she said. “And it just so happened that the one place in Greenfield closed down and there was nothing, and everybody was like, ‘When is something going to open there?’ And I was like, ‘All right, I guess I’m going to take the plunge and do it.’”

The previous restaurant in that spot was Hungry Goats Eatery, which opened in December of 2019, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Gagnon, it closed in March of 2020 after the pandemic shut down many businesses, and the spot had been empty since then.

“So we came in,” she said. “The opportunity popped up.”

For Gagnon, one of the final pushes to move forward with this idea was when her youngest child started preschool. As a stay-at-home mother, Gagnon found herself in a new place.

“I was like, ‘OK, what am I gonna do?’” she said. “And I really wanted to do this.”

Her husband, Randy, said they made their move to lease the space – from the same owners as the previous tenant – in August 2021, and have spent the months since getting it ready to go.

“The community has been thirsty for something like this,” he said.

The process of getting the restaurant ready to open was hard, Gagnon said, and took longer than she anticipated.

“We had some setbacks with things wrong with the place, and trying to get it all situated,” she said. Some of the kitchen equipment wasn’t working when they moved in, and there were many repairs that needed to get done as a whole. Plus, with pandemic-related supply chain issues and shortages, getting that work done was more arduous than she expected.

“We’d get something done, and then I’d be like, ‘Oh, now I need to do this’, and the list never ends,” she said. 

But through all of that, she said, they’ve found themselves able to open up to the community again.

“It’s been really awesome,” Gagnon said. “I like it so far; it’s been really fun.”

Especially exciting for her has been the community support from Greenfield residents who get to have a restaurant in town again.

“Everybody coming in has been excited to see us open,” Gagnon said. “And everybody in the restaurant is actually from Greenfield.”

“This is the best thing that ever happened,” said Greenfield resident Larry Gilbert. As a guitarist and vocalist, he will also be performing at the cafe every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., something that he and Gagnon worked out together.

The current business model for The Local’s is to serve breakfast and lunch, but Gagnon said that she hopes to expand, both in terms of menu offerings and opening up the tavern part of the restaurant space.

“We want to change as we go, so we’ll grow and develop,” she said. “For now, we’re really just getting a handle on things, in terms of what people want, and just getting our name out there too.”

The Local’s is open Tuesday through Thursday from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.



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Dining on Greek and Lebanese favorites at Café Phoenicia - 225 Baton Rouge

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Our food critic’s name may be false, but the credentials are not. This gastronome has studied the history, cultivation, preparation, science and technology of food for more than 30 years.


THE BASICS:

John Makeri and Menam Abdalla started their Mediterranean restaurant business in Zachary, serving up Greek and Lebanese classics, and immediately developed a following that now includes locations in Central and Denham Springs.

WHAT’S A MUST:

Start with some hearty appetizers like Falafel or the Fried Halloum Cheese. If you’re in need of a warming starter, the Lentil Soup hits the spot. For entrees, aim for the Veggie Phoenicia platter if you want to get a sample of popular items like Mujadara and Moussaka, and finish the meal off with a sweet dessert of Ashta and its layers of custard and phyllo dough.

Café Phoenicia can be found in two parishes and three cities in our area: the original in Zachary, plus locations in Central and Denham Springs. Given its close proximity to our house and traffic being, well, terrible, we decided to visit the Livingston Parish outpost.

Located just off I-12 in a strip of businesses next to the Bass Pro Shop, this Mediterranean restaurant serves up familiar Greek and Lebanese cuisine in a dining room painted with murals of the coastal European region.

It was a good call to start with Falafel from the appetizer section and a cup of Lentil Soup. Flavorful falafel balls had copious garlic and parsley throughout with a crisp exterior. A snappy tahini sauce for dipping boosted the chickpea and fava bean filling. The real jewel of our starters was the yellow lentil soup. It had a lightly puréed texture and was peppery without overpowering my palate. It was a phenomenally flavored, hearty and comforting cup.

This is an overshot photo of the appetizer platter at Café Phoenicia.

A sampler platter entree gives diners a wide swath of tastes and a morsel of several menu items. To allow for the biggest options of both appetizer and entree items, the Phoenicia Sampler seemed a no brainer. With chicken shawarma, gyros, kabobs, kibbi, hummus, grape leaves and cabbage rolls, this plate literally had it all.

Its chicken was rather dry with crisp edges and a soft lemony piquancy. Gyros was tender with an easy tang, though it was not particularly unique from others I’ve tried. The kibbi had a crisp cracked wheat exterior, but it was rather greasy, and the ground meat inside could have used a touch more seasoning. The true standout, though, was the tender, juicy, perfectly cooked marinated beef kabob, which had us wishing it was the singular meat on the plate.

Both the hummus and rice pilaf were classic versions, but when mixed together, each elevated the other. Cabbage rolls were incredibly juicy with a perfect slow-cooked cabbage flavor that enhanced the filling of mild, tasty meat and rice. The brininess of the grape leaves had the same engaging effect on the filling.

A rarity on any cuisine’s menu is Lamb Shank, likely due to its long cooking time. On our visit, the restaurant had unfortunately just run out, so we chose the Veggie Phoenicia platter instead.

 

With mujadara, moussaka, spinach pie and hummus—which they happily swapped for baba ghannouj—we were able to try just about every traditional vegetarian dish offered on the menu. Mujadara includes two of my favorite comfort foods: lentils and rice. A beautifully seasoned dish, this classic combo of beans and rice was quite pleasing with its earthy flavors and zing of heat. I could have eaten a bowl full. With the spinach pie, flakey phyllo encapsulated a robust spinach and onion center that caused both my partner and I to greedily gobble it up. Moussaka had a wonderful richness with succulent eggplant and tangy tomato sauce. The smokey baba ghannouj had a lingering garlic flavor that made us grateful we had substituted this option over the hummus we’d already sampled.

Next was the dessert course. Though Café Phoenicia does offer baklava and tiramisu, we stuck with ashta, a more traditional Mediterranean dessert but perhaps less familiar to American tastes. Served hot, this flakey pastry’s exterior was painted with a light honey rose syrup and sprinkled with chopped pistachios. Inside, a lightly sweetened custard oozed out of the layers of phyllo. Airy and lithe, this dessert is thankfully far less sugary and rich than the ubiquitous baklava. It provided a perfect ending to a heavy meal.

For us, the vegetable options far outpaced the meat options at this restaurant in both zest and zing. These ample servings of highly seasoned options would  satisfy even the most ardent meat and potatoes eater. My advice: Go vegetarian at Café Phoenicia. After this, the hardest decision will be which of the tasty locations to visit first.

MAKE A VISIT

Zachary: 5647 Main St., Suite A

Denham Springs: 240 Range 12 Blvd., Suite 111

Central: 14319 Wax Road

cafephoenicia.com


This article was originally published in the January 2022 issue of 225 magazine.


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Kiki Bistro rebrands as Sister an all-day European café - Axios Charlotte

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Kiki Bistro rebrands as Sister an all-day European café

Sister Plaza Midwood. Photo: Symphony Webber/Axios

Today is the official first day of a new chapter for longtime Charlotte hospitality veterans Andy and Lesa Kastanas.

Background: KiKi Bistro opened back in November 2019 as a dinner spot and cocktail lounge serving Greek and Eastern Mediterranean food. But the pandemic slowed the early enthusiasm, and they’ve been wondering if they should do something different with the space recently.

  • On the other hand, sibling concept and upstairs neighbor, Soul Gastrolounge which has been a staple in Plaza Midwood since 2009, has remained stable throughout the pandemic. It often has two-hour wait times.

Why it matters: Over the years, Soul has received many requests to serve lunch and now Sister will satisfy those requests.

“We thought it was the right time, with all the changes that are happening in the neighborhood, to do an all-day concept,” Andy Kastanas tells Axios.

What to expect: Soul executive chef Jay Pound and Beverage Director Kelly Minton will be at the helm of the food and drink program. They’ll incorporate popular menu items from Soul, including the lamb lollipops and Asian-glazed pork belly tacos, into Sister’s menu.

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  • Sister will also serve Greek pastries like baklava and Tyropita as well as breakfast and lunch items like breakfast bowls, salads and small plates.
  • Brunch offerings are set to roll out in the late spring.

Space: As for the design, the 3,000-square-foot space saw minor interior renovations led by Plaza Midwood interior designer, artist and musician Scott Weaver.

  • Original elements from Kiki, from the signature black and white theme will remain, but new additions include a mural by Rodney Raines and a second by David Harwood.
Sister Plaza Midwood

Photo: Symphony Webber/Axios

Zoom out: The Kastanases are part of a generation of restaurant owners who helped build the Charlotte food scene we love today. Andy was a co-owner of Cosmos Café, which opened in Uptown in 1997 and challenged the meat-and-potatoes city by serving up international dishes and martinis.

  • Cosmos lived on until 2016 and helped give birth to several other culinary careers: Dot Dot Dot co-owner Stefan Heubner was a bartender at Cosmos, and Intermezzo owners Djordje and Branko Avramovic were barbacks at Cosmos.
  • When they opened Soul Gastrolounge in 2009, the no-reservations, small-plates restaurant became the centerpiece of Plaza Midwood’s decade-long run as one of the city’s best nightlife neighborhoods.

The big picture: Greek immigrants in general played a pivotal role in establishing Charlotte’s modern-day restaurant industry. Some of Charlotte’s OG decades-old restaurants — many of which have since closed, such as Town & Country Drive-In and Tanner’s Snack Bar — were Greek-owned, but for a long time, none served Greek food, as Kathleen Purvis wrote in the Observer a few years ago.

  • Andy Kastanas’s parents came to the U.S. from Greece in the 1950s, as Purvis wrote. But his menus have always embraced his family’s roots.

Location/hours: Sister’s exact address is 1500-A Central Ave., at the corner of Pecan and Central avenues. Hours are 9am-9pm Tuesdays through Thursdays; 9am-10pm Fridays and Saturdays and 9am-3pm on Sundays.

Here’s a look at some of the dishes:

Sister Plaza Midwood

Phyllo-wrapped, barrel-aged feta with toasted sesame seeds and thyme honey. Photo: Symphony Webber/Axios

Sister Plaza Midwood Greek Salad

Sister’s Greek Winter Salad is made with local greens, radishes, fresh root vegetables, dill, scallions, and grilled halloumi cheese. Photo: Symphony Webber/Axios

Sister Restaurant Plaza Midwood

Pictured is the Peinirli (a bread boat baked with bacon, kasseri cheese and egg. Photo: Symphony Webber/Axios

Sister restaurant

Pictured is an assortment of Greek pastries. Photo courtesy of Sister Restaurant.

Sister Plaza Midwood Matcha Latte

Matcha. Photo: Symphony Webber/Axios

And a look at the space:

Sister Plaza Midwood

Sister Plaza Midwood

Photo: Symphony Webber/Axios

Sister Plaza Midwood

Photo: Symphony Webber/Axios

Sister Plaza Midwood Rooftop

Sister has its own rooftop patio that overlooks Central Ave. Photo: Symphony Webber/Axios

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"cafe" - Google News
January 28, 2022 at 04:37PM
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Kiki Bistro rebrands as Sister an all-day European café - Axios Charlotte
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