We haven't been to Three Doors Down Cafe lately, so here's what I had on March 26

My cocktail, a London Fog Cutter. I'm always tempted by what is written on the DRINK board at 3DD--a taste that complements the food--so I ordered this libation without qualm. Turned out I made a brilliant decision, relying on the talent and skill of Matt at the bar.


The DRINK board tells the tale of a really good drink that just got better with every morsel of food.


The soup: prosciutto, acini di pepe pasta, cauliflower, parsley, chicken stock. Although I had already ordered a salad and an appetizer, when I heard the ingredients, I asked for a small bowl. If I had been down in the dumps, one spoonful would have lifted me right up, it was that comforting. I looked up acini di pepe on Google. I found "Italian for peppercorns" and "A very tiny ball of pasta that is used mainly as soup pasta." Yep.


The salad, from the menu: slivered baby artichokes, baby arugula, spring radish, parmesan and lemon oil. As I ate, I realized onion was also there, so I asked Leland in the kitchen afterwards, "What sort of onion was in my salad?" "Spring onion, Mom," he answered. "Very good. How'd you slice those artichokes like that?" I went on. "Mandolin," he said as he continued to work. Then even later on, via Facebook, he explained that the arugula was actually micro arugula. Crisp and tangy mixture of texture and flavors--made me think of spring.


I knew from the get-go that I wouldn't need an entree, what with the soup and the salad and these little bits of what turned out to be utter perfection in the guise of an appetizer. The menu said spinach and ricotta dumplings in gorgonzola cream sauce. When I looked at the photo at Picnik so that I could resize it, I saw brown tidbits in the dumpling that I had split with the fork. So before I did this post, I called Lamont and asked, "Was there something brown in those spinach and ricotta dumplings?" "Bread crumbs," he quickly replied. "We didn't use flour in that recipe; we used bread crumbs for the binder." "Oh," I thought, "no wonder they were so airy," just as he said, "That's what makes them so airy." "Lamont," I gushed, "they are little bits of heaven! And that gorgonzola cream sauce!" Then I repeated what I think I had said to them in the kitchen Friday night just before I left, "I could go swimming in that gorgonzola cream sauce!" The last thing I asked him about them, "Are they on the menu Friday night?" "Yes, I think so," he answered. "Oh, boy," I chortled.

Y'all really ought to come to Portland and join me at Three Doors Down sometime. We'll drink us some good drink and eat us some good food and have us a good time!