Central Florida's Good Eats

My blog is a culinary journey through good eats in central Florida and points beyond by me, the Lake Mary Food Critic. I cover all aspects of food including dining, cooking, shopping, and events--anything food!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Chef Henry's Cafe

hen my dear friend Ewa asked where I'd like to meet for dinner on my birthday, I did not hesitate: Chef Henry's Cafe, of course! Since they've reopened in Longwood, I've been to Chef Henry's a number of times and have always enjoyed the food there.

So, on a recent Friday afternoon, Joe and Ewa and I got together at Chef Henry's Cafe for lunch. It was all i knew it could be. We were quickly greeted and given our choice of a table. The tables were nicely laid out with white tablecloths and napkins. Adorning the table were a few marble pellets of varrious shapes, a nice and festive touch of class. It did not take us long to decide what we wanted.

Ewa ordered the "pick three" trio of appetizers. For her choices she decided on the day's special Split Pea with Ham soup, Halušky, and Bryndzovnik. Halušky are a potato dumpling, similar to a spaetzle. They were served with bacon and scallions and a creamy sauce of some sort. Ewa proclaimed them delicious. Bryndzovnik is a puff pastry filled with sliced potatoes, sour cream and cheese. It was served on bed of mixed greens and topped with a creamy cucumber and dill dressing. Also excellent as you can see in this picture:

Joe ordered the special of the day, a three course meal. For the first course, he had the Split Pea with Ham Soup. For the main course, a piece of haddock was nicely baked and served over a puffed pastry (like the Bryndzovnik) that was stuffed with potatoes, sour cream, and cheese. This was served on a bed of some sliced and fresh cooked green beans and topped with a delicious cream sauce and a bit of tomato. Joe said it was very good and the fish cooked perfectly. It even looks great in this picture:

For the dessert cake, he had some banana cake. But it was no ordinary banana cake. Rather it was several layers of a light chocolate mousse, tender bananas in pudding, a light cake, and whipped cream. It was truly divine.

I started out with a bowl of the soup of the day, the Split Pea with Ham soup. This was certainly no soup out of the can--it was very good. You could tell that a ham bone gave it's all for this soup, it had a great mouth feel and a nice texture. Bits of ham and carrot and peas all floated around and gave it a wonderful taste. This was a really, really good soup. I loved it!

By the way, you can notice just to the top left of the plate, there are some of the table decorations--what a nice touch that was.

For my main course, I decided to try a sandwich. I had one who's name I can't remember, but I sure can remember the taste: it was basically a pork schnitzel--pounded breaded and fried pork. It was excellent, nice and tender, juicy, and flavorful. It came out hot and just perfect, served on a nice hearty white bun with some lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Nothing else was needed, the meat was truly the star of this sandwich. I did not read the menu well and so it came out with french fries (usually I try to get a salad instead). Well, since they were there, I had to have some. I must say the fries were the least favorite part of my meal. They were hot and tasty, but ever so slightly overcooked, and the oil they were cooked in was a bit old and overused--it should have been changed. But the fries were my only complaint about this meal.

Our service was very good and we had a wonderful time. It was a nice and memorable way for me to celebrate my birthday--with good friends and good food! Smacznego!

Posted by Lake Mary Food Critic