This was our first time going to a more upscale place, relative to our previous restaurants. It was a nice change, and we greatly enjoyed the experience. Thanks Amanda for finding at such last minute the night before.
Del Ray Cafe is situated in an old house that has been converted, so it has great ambience and charm. The service was good and our waiter was friendly and upbeat. This time I ordered the SOS chipped beef with roasted potatoes and a mini croissant. I made a great choice.
This wasn’t your run-of-the-mill cream chipped beef that you get in most diners, which usually consists of some reddish processed beef slivers swimming in a who-knows-what white sauce. The beef was flavorful and salty as to be expected from actual chipped beef. Instead of a white sauce it was served in a gravy, but it wasn’t too heavy nor did they add too much as to drown out all the other ingredients. Finally served atop roasted potatoes as a base, with a mini croissant to round out the brunch experience. Other notable dishes on the table were the pork belly and vegetable hash.
For the first time we ordered dessert. We shared among the table 2 dishes: 10 Chouquettes (Oven-Baked Choux Pastry) with Chocolate, Whipped Cream and Raspberry Dipping Sauces and 8 Chocolate Beignets with Orange Crème Anglaise.
Chouquettes
Beignets
The beignets were not the typical puffed type but rather they were the round balls, filled with chocolate. Everybody really liked both desserts and I would have loved to order more.
As we were waiting I saw waiters carrying around plates of croissants and chocolate croissants. The restaurant serves to-go orders of these and their baguettes. I forgot to get some chocolate croissants to go, but the next time in the area I definitely plan to pick some up.
Overall I loved the food and the restaurant. Parking was a bit tough but that’s to be expected in Del Ray on a Saturday afternoon. The price was great for what we got, with my plate only costing $12. If I had one nit-pick it’s that their pancakes were nothing special. They were probably the worst of all the places we’ve been so far. They were a bit doughy and the outside wasn’t crisp like I like them. But, other people at the table preferred that style so really to each their own.
