HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013 Dec 13 - Newspaper ArticleLet's do lunch:
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By a RIE HIGGINS
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Optimist's new owners add to oid tavorites
recently had to go on a power
shopping trip so I invited my
youngest daughter to go with
me since she is one of the best
shoppers I know. On our way
to Hyannis, we decided to stop
for lunch at The Optimist Cafe in
Yarmouthport.
The gingerbread trim on the
historic gothic -style sea cap-
tain's home turned restaurant
is charming and the interior of
the antique building is equally
inviting.
We were seated at a lovely
table in the front dining room in
front of a window. The golden
yellow dining room with white
wainscoting was warm and com-
fortable. Soon we were sipping
on the Optimist's teatinis ($3.95).
They are specialty iced teas,
served martini -style but without
the alcohol. My daughter chose
the orange dulce, a dark brew
with notes of orange, vanilla and
jasmine served with orange and
lemon slices. It had a nice citrus
note and was very refreshing. I
had the decaf ginger twist, with
lemon grass, tropical fruits, mint,
ginseng and ginger. It was more
floral than I expected and lacked
the ginger bite I had hoped for,
but the crystalized ginger gar-
nish helped round out the flavor
profile.
The butternut squash bisque
($4.75) was delicate and creamy
and had a nice note of nutmeg.
It came with a package of oyster
crackers and a crostini for dip-
ping.
The Optimist Cafe serves
breakfast all day, so my daughter
decided to sample the crois-
sant sandwich, aptly named
"The Delight" ($10.25). The
buttery croissant was filled with
scrambled eggs, spinach, ham
and cheese, and topped with
hollandaise sauce. It was simply
delicious and quite a plateful. The
accompanying "mist potatoes"
were homemade home fries sea-
soned with dill and paprika.
I'm a big fan of ploughman's
lunches so I knew right away I
would choose from one of the
four selections in that category.
I settled on "The Welcome"
($9.99) after our server assured
me the honey ham was very
good. It was. The ham came in
LAURIE HIGGINS PHUIUS
The Optimist Cafe's elegant teatini is available in several flavor
combinations; the croissant sandwich with hollandaise, below, is
aptly named "The Delight."
The Optimist Cafe
134 Route 6A, Yarmouthport
508-362-1024, www.optimist.com
four nice -sized slices that were
artfully draped over a giant salad
of mixed greens, grape tomatoes
and slices of red onions. The
accompanying pineapple slices
were not quite ripe and they
weren't grilled as advertised on
the menu. They actually detract-
ed rather than added to the plate.
A nice slice of cheese would have
been better.
Overall, the dish was more like
a chef's salad than a ploughman's
lunch. The "crusty warm bread"
was four slices of slightly over -
toasted pieces of the same bread
served with the soup. I would
have preferred the bread to be
warm but not toasted. I used
each slice as a vehicle to build a
"Soon we were sipping
on the Optimist's
teatinis. They are
specialty iced teas,
served martini -style but
without the alcohol.,
mini sandwich with the ham and
accompanying ramekins of spicy
mustard and sweet chutney. That
still left a lot of undressed salad
greens on the plate. Our server
brought me a side of the house -
made port vinaigrette, which
addressed the issue perfectly.
New owners took over The
Optimist Cafe in February. They
kept the same name and a lot
of the menu favorites that draw
customers back like the hearf
shaped "Love Waffle" ($8.75).
They also added several interest-
ing new choices like a gourmet
grilled cheese ($7.50) that is
reason enough to go back. We
had a lovely time and left happy
and perfectly fueled up for our
shopping trip.
If you
g0.
Hours:
8a.m.to3
open
p.m.
daily