Cafe Deluxe, Bethesda, Md.

My friend Kevin took me to a late lunch yesterday after I played for his grandmother's memorial service up in Maryland. We had to go to several places trying to find something open in that limbo between 2 and 5 in the afternoon when so many restaurant kitchens close. Eventually, we ended up in Bethesda at the Cafe Deluxe. It was delightful! I've been to the Cafe Deluxe across from the National Cathedral, and I really liked the Bethesda store a whole lot better (there's also one at Tyson's Corner, but I've not yet been there).

Kevin started with the golden carrot soup, a nice, thick carrot purée that served as the soup du jour. I had a simple salad of mixed greens with tiny little teardrop tomatoes and shavings of parmesan cheese.

For main courses, Kevin, being straight from his grandmother's funeral, wanted comfort food and chose the grilled meatloaf with creole sauce, mashed potatoes, and green beans. It was a big, juicy-looking chunk of beef that looked quite good, and I noticed Kevin didn't let any of it go to waste.



I had the roasted lamb shank with mashed potatoes and some of the biggest asparagus spears I think I've ever seen. All was great. I absolutely love their mashed potatoes! They are made from new, red potatoes and mashed with the skins. When I first saw the half dozen thumb-thick asparagus spears on my plate, my first reaction was disappointment, knowing they'd be woody and nearly inedible, but to my great surprise, the asparagus spears were tender all the way through and it was obvious where the kitchen had pared off some of the less-desirable parts of the vegetable—I've seen some high-dollar restaurants that didn't even do that. My lamb was a big leg shank with lots of meat, all tender and well-flavored; a sage leaf garnished the joint.



We were both stuffed, but we ordered dessert anyway, Kevin a crème brulée in a large, flat ramekin and garnished with a couple of fresh raspberries, and I the strawberry cobbler à la mode. My cobbler came in an individual casserole nearly six inches in diameter and had the virtues of flaky crust and a not-too-sweet strawberry filling.

(Photos by Kevin and his cell phone.)