Friday night at 3 Doors Down Cafe, SE 37th and Hawthorne, once again

Draught prosecco is now available at the restaurant. If you look closely you can see an empty glass in the center of the photo with the Bayern label and lion's head just to the left of it. That glass is attached to the handle that you pull on the machinery that contains the prosecco. I guess that's called a spigot that the liquid flows through, though I'm not sure at all.


My drink was prosecco, lemon sorbet with lemon peel. Very refreshing. This is the same shaped glass that is on top of what I'm calling the spigot.


I took this photo with my iPhone--I love that phone's many uses, but as yet I am not too crazy about the camera aspect of it. However, I could not get a decent photo (not enough light) of this big, hearty bowl of soup with the D50, so I used the iPhone and it's flash. The soup is mini meatballs and escarole in chicken stock. Let me tell you, I have eaten many a meat ball at 3 Doors Down Cafe, but none exactly like these. They were firm yet light. By that I mean they held together very well as meat balls and cut easily with the spoon, but they almost didn't need to be chewed--they just sort of melted and/or crumbled apart in my mouth. And that escarole was tender and tasty. Finishing it all of--grated parm. Along with the chicken stock, these ingredients added up to a soup I would like to have again next Friday.


My next and last course was this appetizer, a great combination of smooth, creamy Miticrema fresh sheep's milk cheese from Montesinos, Spain, along with Padron pepper jelly (made by chef owner Dave), prosciutto rossa, 30-year-old balsamic vinegar and grilled bread. First I picked up a slice of the bread, then spread a bit of the cheese on it, followed by a generous dollop of the pepper jelly. Then I cut a bite of the prosciutto with my fork to have at the ready after I took a bite of the loaded bread. Wow. Taste, texture, and just enough heat from the Padrons. To get this photo I took my plate over to a table near the window--you can see the light still outside that filtered in through the blinds which allowed me to get a photo that I liked with the D50.

All in all, if I were to score tonight's dining experience at 3 Doors Down Cafe, I'd put it at 10 out of 10. Can't help it, y'all. It's true.

Cocktail, appetizer, salad--my Friday night at 3 Doors Down Cafe

Blackberry Daiquiri: blackberry puree, rum, orange liqueur and lime juice. Yummy summer libation.


Appetizer: Miticrema fresh sheep's milk cheese (Montesinos, Spain), grilled figs, 30-year-old balsamic vinegar, crackers. Cheese note on the menu: cream-cheese-like consistency, salty, acidic, creamy finish) Perfect combination, the cheese, as noted, and the lush, juicy fig bits, on top of a firm yet crispy cracker that held up well to having cheese spread on it before disappearing bite by bite. (I took this photo right at the bar where I sit on Friday after work, with my friend Richard holding up the huge white cloth napkin to my right as a reflector for the sunlight coming in through the windows from the left. I think it turned out just like I wanted it.)


Salad: duck confit, roasted beets, mache and creamy sheep's milk cheese. I had the same salad on Sunday, August 15, and well remembered the flavors and textures, the utter meatiness of the duck, my satisfaction doubled when my friend Danielle decided not to eat her duck confit, just her beets, mache and cheese. Yet, even though I only had the one duck leg Friday night, it's crispy skin and juicy meat demolished that memory, overtaking my senses. Who needs two duck legs when you've got one perfect leg to devour?