Delta Cafe
Jan. 26th, 2003 03:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sinanjuThe
Delta Cafe is a fairly small restaurant, somewhat expanded (according to
friends to who've been there before) from it's hole-in-the-wall origins.
They serve "southern" food, which is kind of hard to come by in Oregon.
And being a North Carolina-born, Virginia-raised boy, I miss that stuff.
I've known about the Delta Cafe for some time and have been meaning
to go there but had never gotten around to it.
Yesterday some friends who were planning to visit us last night (we have friends over every Saturday evening for gaming) called and invited us to join them at the Delta Cafe. So we did. A third friend, another regular at our Saturday night get-togethers whom we had not expected to see, also showed up.
The menu did not disappoint. I ordered cajun blackened catfish, with black-eyed peas and red beans n' rice for side dishes. It also comes with your choice of a biscuit or cornbread and I, of course, chose cornbread. Oh, and I ordered hushpuppies for an appetizer. It's been many a long year since I had hushpuppies. And I got a 32 oz. sweetened iced tea to drink.
My lovely and talented wife ordered pork chops (with applesauce), potato cheese casserole and, uh, something else. Plus some kind of mixed drink. The other members of the party ordered various other things. The service was prompt, the food was plentiful, and it was good. We'll definitely be going back.
On to specifics, though.
The hushpuppies were these honkin' huge balls of cornmeal, deep-fried and cripsy on the outside. Not the sort of hushpuppies I grew up eating, which were shaped like a crescent roll (only rather smaller). But the hushpuppies at Delta Cafe were very tasty, and hot and absolutely delicious when smeared with butter. A definite winner.
The cajun blackened catfish was acceptable, but not as good as I'd hoped. But then, I've learned that it's hard to get really good blackened anything. Done right, it's cooked very quickly in a very hot iron skillet, with lots of blackened spices. Most places that serve such things (in my admitted non-expert but very interested opinion) seem to cook it a little longer at a somewhat lower temperature than is ideal and without enough seasoning. The catfish itself was good, but it wasn't nearly spicy enough to suit me. If it doesn't leave my tongue burning and make me reach for the iced tea after every bite, it's not spicy enough.
The black-eyed peas were good, as was the red beans and rice, but I ordered the latter mostly because I got two side orders as part of the meal--I only really wanted the black-eyed peas.
The cornbread muffin was soft and semi-sweet. When I make cornbread at home, I like it without any sugar and ideally cooked so that it has a slightly crunchy exterior. This wasn't as sweet as most restaurant cornbread (which is always sweeter than I like), and it wasn't at all crunchy. Rather a disappointment, really. But since the hushpuppies more than made up for it, I was quite happy. But next time I'll just ask for hushpuppies to be brought with my meal instead of the cornbread.
The iced tea was heavenly. I grew up drinking sweet iced tea, and learned very young how it's supposed to enjoyed. First, you fill a large glass with ice--as much as it will hold. Then you pour sweet iced tea over the ice to fill the glass. Drink it. Refill the glass. Drink more. Delta Cafe serve you sweet iced tea in a 32 oz. mason jar. That, too, was a definite hit with me.
Overall, it was a wonderful experience. We'll definitely be going back. Soon.
Yesterday some friends who were planning to visit us last night (we have friends over every Saturday evening for gaming) called and invited us to join them at the Delta Cafe. So we did. A third friend, another regular at our Saturday night get-togethers whom we had not expected to see, also showed up.
The menu did not disappoint. I ordered cajun blackened catfish, with black-eyed peas and red beans n' rice for side dishes. It also comes with your choice of a biscuit or cornbread and I, of course, chose cornbread. Oh, and I ordered hushpuppies for an appetizer. It's been many a long year since I had hushpuppies. And I got a 32 oz. sweetened iced tea to drink.
My lovely and talented wife ordered pork chops (with applesauce), potato cheese casserole and, uh, something else. Plus some kind of mixed drink. The other members of the party ordered various other things. The service was prompt, the food was plentiful, and it was good. We'll definitely be going back.
On to specifics, though.
The hushpuppies were these honkin' huge balls of cornmeal, deep-fried and cripsy on the outside. Not the sort of hushpuppies I grew up eating, which were shaped like a crescent roll (only rather smaller). But the hushpuppies at Delta Cafe were very tasty, and hot and absolutely delicious when smeared with butter. A definite winner.
The cajun blackened catfish was acceptable, but not as good as I'd hoped. But then, I've learned that it's hard to get really good blackened anything. Done right, it's cooked very quickly in a very hot iron skillet, with lots of blackened spices. Most places that serve such things (in my admitted non-expert but very interested opinion) seem to cook it a little longer at a somewhat lower temperature than is ideal and without enough seasoning. The catfish itself was good, but it wasn't nearly spicy enough to suit me. If it doesn't leave my tongue burning and make me reach for the iced tea after every bite, it's not spicy enough.
The black-eyed peas were good, as was the red beans and rice, but I ordered the latter mostly because I got two side orders as part of the meal--I only really wanted the black-eyed peas.
The cornbread muffin was soft and semi-sweet. When I make cornbread at home, I like it without any sugar and ideally cooked so that it has a slightly crunchy exterior. This wasn't as sweet as most restaurant cornbread (which is always sweeter than I like), and it wasn't at all crunchy. Rather a disappointment, really. But since the hushpuppies more than made up for it, I was quite happy. But next time I'll just ask for hushpuppies to be brought with my meal instead of the cornbread.
The iced tea was heavenly. I grew up drinking sweet iced tea, and learned very young how it's supposed to enjoyed. First, you fill a large glass with ice--as much as it will hold. Then you pour sweet iced tea over the ice to fill the glass. Drink it. Refill the glass. Drink more. Delta Cafe serve you sweet iced tea in a 32 oz. mason jar. That, too, was a definite hit with me.
Overall, it was a wonderful experience. We'll definitely be going back. Soon.
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(no subject)
Date: 2003-01-26 05:19 pm (UTC)The food was very good. The portions were *very* generous--I had plenty left over for lunch today. Next time I'm skipping the cornbread muffin and getting hushpuppies, too--they were terrific.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-01-27 03:36 pm (UTC)I keep meaning to order a 40 oz. Pabst Blue Ribbon on one of our visits -- not because I especially like PBR, but because they bring it to the table on ice, in a bucket. A little precious, but still cool.
Okay ... now I'm hungry. Damn.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-01-27 04:45 pm (UTC)