Cafe Maude

I am really not a gusher but Café Maude kind of makes me want to gush. The atmosphere is great, the room and bar are buzzing and attractive and the food has just been wonderful both times I have gone. I think I really do understand why this is one of the top tables in town. Monday night at Maude was a bit interesting, I swear it must have been "Ladies Night" as the dining room was at least 70% women. My date looked around in glee and probably would have been happy to leave me at the door. Just to make sure that it would be especially awkward, the table behind us was filled with my co-workers. Great way to date.

For our 8pm reservation, we were quickly seated and perused the extensive cocktail and drink list, finally settling on a bottle of the Prima Tempranillo, which was very good. The table behind us nodded in approval.

We may have gone a little gangbusters with the ordering. I had the flatbread with goat cheese and eggplant caponata, he had the Half a Chicken with Moroccan spices and Apricot and as sides we got the house cut fries with cheese fondue and grilled asparagus with parsley almond sauce and shaved parmesan. By far the best dish on the table to me was the asparagus. They were perfectly grilled to the point of a bit of sweetness and the parsley almond sauce was an excellent pesto rendition that I can't wait to copy at home. There didn't need to be this sauce on the asparagus and it is simply indicative of how the little things at Maude push it over and above in terms of deliciousness.

For example, my flatbread was a nice oblong flatbread shmeared with goat cheese and generously topped with caponata. Unremarkable on its own perhaps, but it was punched up with hints of citrus. It may have only been a squeeze of lemon before serving but this added touch made all of the difference to the dish. Same goes for the eggs I had for brunch there last month where the cucumber and cilantro were highlighted by the light touch of harissa to finish.

The fries were very good. Better than those the next night at Meritage. The cheese sauce they were served with was mild and if the menu hadn't said cheese, I would probably just have assumed a weal Béarnaise or Hollandaise. There really is a reason everyone loves ketchup instead - it is sweet, salty, tangy and full of punch. Can anything really replace it at the table? I will keep looking but no one has convinced me with their sauces in this town yet.

My companion's 1/2 chicken was massive. He says he has had it many times before and it was larger than ever before and much poorer in quality. It didn't keep him from eating it but I could tell he was a bit disappointed. Poor guy.

Other than the chicken, the rest of the evening was really smooth even with the giggling glances from the co-workers. Water was refilled and service was timely and gracious. My only response to two meals out this week at bistro type places like Maude and Meritage is that I kind of feel like I need to find a restaurant that doesn't start with the letter M. And probably commit to eating a few less French fries per week…

Café Maude 5411 Penn Ave S Minneapolis www.cafemaude.com