Restaurant Round-Up: California Café

When you're a kid, there are certain restaurants that just seem impossibly fancy even if they really aren't. For me, the California Café in Carlisle was one of them. My parents certainly took me out for nice dinners plenty as a child, but that was a place that they went on special occasions.

When I grew up a bit, it was a place that I began to enjoy going to myself. It was one of the places where I began to step out of my comfort zone and start ordering food that wasn't breaded and fried. I know that I went there with a group of people before at least one prom and maybe a homecoming too. I took my wife there one of the first times we went out for dinner when she visited me at my parents house. So when my family was picking a place to celebrate a pair of birthday's including my own, it was a natural choice. It's kind of an old standard for me at this point. In an odd way, it's become a source of comfort food.

If you find yourself in the Carlisle area this holiday season, the California Café is worth a look. What follows are my reflections on a recent visit there, my first in a long, long time.

California Café
Name: Justin
When: Friday evening. 6:30pm reservation.
Been Before: Many times.
Ordered: The California Café offers both a full four-course option and a two-course option with any entrée. Really, one of the main reasons I go there is the four-course option, which includes a French roll; a choice of soup, the quiche of the day or pork and chicken liver pate; a house salad; an entrée and a dessert. I had the quiche lorraine, a house salad with mandarin orange dressing, the Poulet Nouvelle-Orleans and a piece of cheesecake. Other entrees ordered by my table included Coq au Vin, Échine de Porc Indochinoise and, if I’m not mistaken, a steak.
The Food: I had heard that since the restaurant changed hands a year or two ago, it had slipped a little bit. The meal I had on this visit wasn’t the best I’ve ever had there, but it was simply a case of me ordering the wrong thing as opposed to the food being poorly prepared. Generally, I think of the bread at a restaurant as a secondary concern, but I love the California Café’s French rolls. They are so dense and moist with a firm crust. The quiche lorraine was very good and the mandarin orange dressing is also a favorite of mine. A word of warning, the salads are generally dressed quite heavily, so if that’s not your style, I’d suggest getting the dressing on the side. My entrée was cooked well, but was too heavily spiced for my liking. Not too spicy, just too much going on. Everybody else seemed to really enjoy his or her entrée, and my wife was especially impressed by hers. My potatoes and vegetables were excellent. Attention to detail is definitely one of California Café’s strengths. Even though I didn’t choose my entrée well, I still had a nice dining experience. Oh, the Cheesecake was wonderful.
The Ambiance: It’s as casual as a fine dining restaurant gets. With that said, I wouldn’t wear shorts or jeans. I’ve always thought that the interior was very cozy, and whole front of the building, both upstairs and downstairs, is basically a huge pane of windows. While we were there, the downstairs tables were about a half to two thirds full. I know that a lot of fine dining restaurants are really getting pinched right now, and I hope that we don’t see too many more closings in the area.
Company: My wife and parents.
Did Others Like Their Meals: Very much so.
Cost: A four-course option will run basically from $30 to $42. For the amount of food and the dining experience that you get, it’s really very reasonable. There are many restaurants around here — restaurants that I like — that you don’t feel like you’re spending all that much and then the bill comes and when it all adds up, it’s more than you expected. It’s nice to know what you’re going to spend going in.
The Service: I had heard that this was one of the aspects of the place that had slipped, but our courses were well paced and our server was friendly but not pushy. Two different waitresses tried to take our dessert orders, which was kind of funny.
Notes: If you’ve never been, it’s a good place to check out for a change of pace. The California Café is basically a French restaurant, but I was intrigued to see so many Indian touches on the menu. If you’d prefer classical French, you can certainly get it, just something I noticed.
Recommendation: Sure.