but the empire it has spawned has inspired little comment. Unluckily, you have me to correct this:
Beatrice is terrific as a cafe. I haven’t had a pastry there that I’ve failed to love. Two-ish years ago they had a rose puff that was among the best sweet things I’ve stuck into my mouth. Sadly that has now been replaced by other flavors. I hope to excite the three of you who still participate here into organizing a rally outside: “Give me rose, or give me brambles!”
Lex/Geppeto: Takeout and delivery from these places proved excellent over the pandemic. For those who do not know, Will Gilson (aka, Sir Puritan) opened Cafe B, Lex. and Geppeto in the same building just when the pandemic – remember that? – struck. After a periopd of dormancy they opened one by one to delivery/takeout then to in-person. They’re a good group with, as you might expect from the Puritan roots, serious food. Gemma Iannoni, as serious a wine supplier as there is in these parts did a wine tasting there a few months ago.
I had to organize a small dinner last weekend for somebody with mobility and infection issues. They couldn’t have been nicer. They laid out a table for us downstairs overlooking that little body of water in those parts (we were alone there), and let us pick from either the Geppeto or Lexington menus. Everybody loved the food from the burger through the duck breast. I was, as is my lot these days, too busy running the show to eat much, but what I had was good, including their lavender take on that classic that I rarely allow messing with – the negroni.
I’ve been curious about this restaurant complex so thank you for this. I know you are “anti-like,” @fooddabbler, but I’m not. I’ll even supplement with an emoji.
I tried a few things from Amba today: chicken shawarma, felafel (both in pita sandwiches), hummus, and – I had to – their house amba sauce. Everything was very good, but the first three didn’t blow me away as a single bite of almost anything at Oleana/Sarma/Sofra does. The chicken shawarma at Sofra and the felafel at Oleana, for example, are more complex, more layered, more heightened in flavor than the ones from Amba. Both Amba sandwiches used the same tangy add-ons: pepperoncini, tomatoes, parsley, etc. It was a very tasty tangy-add-on but it led to a sameness in the two sandwiches. The hummus was very lemony, but I’ve had better. The accompanying pita was lovely – fluffy and fresh. The best item was the amba, rather like a liquid, more heat-lowerd Indian mango pickle. The “lowered” is not an objection – you catch more nuanced flavors this way. I’ve had amba elsewhere, but this was among the best I’ve tried.
Geppetto (I inadvertently dropped a t in my thread title) has a monthly pasta delivery service that (based on my first experience this week) is very good. For $90 (for two, including delivery) we got:
Caeser salad with very fresh, crisp Romaine, an excellent dressing (with anchovies on the side that you could mash in – which I did), tiny, crisp parmesan crumbles and croutons.
Farfalle stuffed with ramp pesto (and extra on the side), to be assembled with asparagus and snap peas, and garnished with toasted pistachios and shaved pecorino.
Mafaldine with a braised lamb sauce, with containers of mint, basil, chili flakes, parmesan and toasted pine nuts to be added at specified points.
Chocolate budino with vanilla mousse and candied orange peel.
The bag had an intimidating number of small containers, but everything was color coded (pink stickers for the farfelle collection, blue for the dessert, etc.) so setting up the set for each dish was very easy. The cooking and assembly instructions were crystal clear. I was able to get dinner ready in about 30 minutes, the first 10 of which were spent getting the water to the boil for the pastas.
How apropos! I have been meaning to post some experiences at Cafe Beatrice, but since we have a dinner at the Lexington planned for tomorrow, was putting it off to cover both. However, now that the topic is front and center, I have no excuse. The Cambridge Crossing area is now conveniently reachable a direct 3 miles down the bike path from Chez Parsnipity, so on several recent occasions we have gotten tires inflated and the whole family and +/- friends to bike over for a weekend breakfast or lunch.
I’ve found their coffee, both drip and espresso drinks, to be excellent. They have free seltzer on tap, always a huge draw for our clan, and very good pastries. The maple kouign aman seems to be their claim to fame, and you can see why:
We also liked the Earl Gray cookie.
Sandwiches of both the breakfast and lunch variety have been enjoyed, and everything can be made on gluten free bread (not apparent from the online menu and possibly why we went years without checking it out).
There are ducklings nearby in the water feature (canal? pond?) to enjoy, and plenty of bike racks. I can’t speak to car parking. It’s an intriguing space overall, with the trio of restaurants having launched. The roof deck is not open during the day as Cafe Beatrice, which is why we’re planning to return for dinner to check it out. Stay tuned!
