date: 2/26/08
location: minneapolis
grade: b-

i came into cafe maude (not featuring pictures of bea arthur, but rather named after maude armatage, who helped found the parks system among other things) with high hopes. the reviews all looked pretty good, the menu looked interesting (you could start with fries with cheese fondue, have mac and cheese, the finish with a cheese plate, in other words). the prices look reasonable, most items were under $10, entrees up to $16, and the most expensive dinner was $25. there's only one page of it, but it's interesting and full of options. the place was pretty full when we came in, always a good sign. and hey, i even got a spot in the parking lot. but though i wasn't despondent when i left, i was wasn't overjoyed, either.

as the grade reflects, the experience was a bit above average. both service and food needed tweaking, the service more so than the food. the server started out ok, handling menu questions ably, but then went quickly downhill, not stopping at the table hardly ever to see if we needed things (and we did), and when we inquired about getting bread when most of the table had soup, we were told bread is served after that and before the main course. um... wrong answer. and when the bread went quickly (as it does with us), we got a refill after three of four people had finished. very odd and offputting. the bread itself was decent, with a nice herbed butter.

the food is almost there, and maybe it should be a bit further along by now. it's been open since for almost a year now, maybe? three-quarters of a year? more than enough time to fix small things, like the lack of salt in the roasted corn chowder with tomato, avocado, and smoked bacon. the problem was compounded by the lack of salt and pepper shakers on the table (see: having problems getting the server to the table, and they were the one who praised the soup highly). it was otherwise a winning dish, but way underseasoned. three people started with that over the other soups that sounded good, a tomato bisque with the mini-grilled cheese and butternut squash. it'd be interesting to see a soup tasting so you can get all three.

i, as you have surmised, ordered the fries with the cheese 'fondue.' the fries were strongly potato-tasting, which is not a bad thing per se, but in this case it was because they were underdone a bit. the fondue wasn't so much a fondue as a thin dipping sauce. it wasn't bad, but it wasn't a fondue.

for the second round, there was a competent golden beet salad, with tons of beets and not tons of the rest of the ingredients goat cheese, walnuts, pomegranite, mache, and truffle-champaigne viniagrette. carapaccio with curry viniagrette, beets, and horseradish oil was a bit better, the sauteed spinach with fried egg, basmati, and feta with some harissa in it an interesting combo. something that'd be interesting to try at home, but as someone pointed out, not something you'd think of putting together at home (with or without harissa).

and yes, for me the mac and cheese with aged cheddar, mahon, parmesan reggiano, white wine, herbs, and fried bread crumbs. the sauce was a bit heavy on the wine, i think, and not on the cheese. it was more of the fries dipped in the thin 'fondue' effect, not so much a mac and cheese, the cheese was more of a coating than a sauce, if that makes more sense. you got a hint of cheese. it wasn't bad, but mac and cheese, not so much. it wasn't even mac, actually, but penne. perhaps the smaller size of macaroni would've gone a bit better with that sort of sauce.

the most nondisappointing aspect of the experience were the drinks. they have a wonderful drink menu full of great, stupidly-named girl drinks, alcoholic and non, from the mixologist from la belle vie. on the non, i was thinking of going for the rubber ducky, mostly as it was served with a peep (yo, my peeps!) and frankly, the great stupid name. i ended up with one called 'this charming man' instead (hey, who doesn't like a good smiths reference?).

it sounded like a kir royale, kinda, with gin, lemon, cassis and cava. it was supposed to come with an english cigarette, but they had none (so it was $.50 less than the listed price, $7.50 and yes i was going to give it away). a bit spendy, but boy, chock full of booze. i was a bit liquored up and had to have probably even more bread than usual (once it got there) to absorb it.

the other drinks were a black bunny (blackberry cosmo, garnished with black raspberries), a woman of leisure (caipirinha with roasted banana and other tropical fruits) and a tom girl named maude (way grapefruity and very alcohol-forward). they were all about in the same price range, but boy, one'll last you a long time. they're not stingy.

it'd make a nice place for a happy hour, except two things... no drink specials, and you can barely hear anyone there when a band's not playing, and they have lots of live music. the place is way different than the sandwich shop it used to be. it's one of those dark-orange places. i can see why it's crowded, though, it does fill a need for a neighborhood cafe that you can walk to. but i agree with jeremy iggers... i prefer cave vin a few blocks over on xerxes. it's not so far away, and it's quieter with better food.