MiddBite: Café Provence, Brandon's Crown Jewel

Let us preface this review by saying that we know it is long, but don't let that discourage you from visiting this charming cafe. If anything, take the lengthy entry as a sign of our love for this establishment.

By this point in the month, the two of us have been to the vast majority of Middlebury’s “parent friendly” restaurants. Maybe it’s the fact that we’re finally tired of Proctor dinners that had us seek out Black Sheep, Storm, and Starry Night in our first few weeks of reviewing, or maybe we simply used our blog as an excuse to dine at some of Addison County’s finest, but whatever the case may be, neither of us could think of a more appropriate way to end our month-long-reprieve-from-the-real-world than at Café Provence. It wasn’t until my sophomore year at Middlebury that I discovered Brandon’s main attraction. I blame my late discovery primarily on my aforementioned obsession with Black Sheep’s complimentary French fries and mashed potatoes (how many times can I mention these?). In spite of my late discovery, in the past three years I have done my best to enjoy Café Provence to its fullest; this last visit was no exception.

In the spirit of sharing the love, we invited five of our friends to join us at this cozy restaurant fifteen miles south of campus on Route 7. Throughout our month, we developed a system for our dining experience, and one of our “tricks” is to invite as many people as possible, ask everyone to order something different, and then taste each and every person’s plate. It’s the perfect solution for the indecisive orderer, which I often am, and the food critic who must try every dish on the menu. Brilliant, I know.

Café Provence markets their food as “gourmet cuisine with a casual touch”. There is no denying this approach as the Café exudes a homey vibe while providing some of the best dishes served in the twenty mile radius. The menu is a perfect mix of fresh, locally grown options, gourmet entrees, and casual fare. The appetizers consist of two soups, neither of which we ordered, but judging from the aromatic fragrance wafting towards us from the neighboring table, these soups live up to the high quality found in the rest of the menu.

Perhaps as females (at this time, Kirsten Lundquist '11 would like to open up a discussion on the hetero normative discourse of female salad eating), or maybe just as cheese fanatics, many of us ordered the specialty salads. The Caesar salad was true to the classic but the dish didn’t turn many heads. I recommend the Blue Ledge Farm Goat Cheese Cakes Salad, which is offered with warm goat cheese cakes with mesclun greens and rosemary balsamic reduction. As a recent convert to the love of cheese (what have I been doing all of my life??), these goat cheese cakes were as close to cheese porn as I can imagine. Drizzled with the previously mentioned rosemary balsamic reduction, these cheese cakes, a marriage of two beautiful words, were fresh and creamy, as all goat cheese offerings should be. We also ordered the Baby Spinach Salad in an Asiago Cheese Cup. After the euphoric revelation I had with the goat cheese, this salad was par for the course. Served with red onions, toasted pecans, and a maple bacon balsamic dressing, this take on the classic salad did little to differentiate itself. Maybe I’m not the biggest fan of asiago, so if you are, disregard all that I say and order this dish, but I found the salad itself to be good but not awe-inspiring, and the Asiago cheese cup to be overpowering in flavor.

One member of our party also ordered the Fried Calamari with Marinara Sauce, served with mesclun greens, a balsamic reduction and lemon juice. This interpretation was satisfactory and good to say the least, but after my declaration for Costello’s take on this dish, it would take a lot more to wow this calamari fanatic. Don’t get me wrong, if you like fried calamari, Café Provence will not disappoint, but after this meal, my vote stands behind Costello’s.

Café Provence’s crown jewel lies in its entrée offerings. From the very first time I came to this restaurant, I have ordered their highly acclaimed Seafood Stew at each and every visit. My experience with this dish has been so positive that I began ordering this stew at other restaurants I frequented. As I quickly found, the Café Provence rendition on this popular entrée is by far the best there is (or at least that I’ve had). The entrée comes in what can only be described as massive bowl, which is filled with scallops, shrimp, mussels, and typically some variety of fish, all of which sits atop a bed of saffron risotto bathed in a lobster and tarragon broth. For all you seafood lovers out there, this dish is a hit. The flavor of each of piece of seafood complements the heartiness of the risotto and the flavorful nature of the broth. The dish itself is pleasantly filling, and typically ends with its diner searching scrupulously for each and every remaining grain of risotto and wishing that the dish would magically refill itself. I have once been fortunate enough for this very instance of magic to occur. One time, when dining with a friend, I downed much of the seafood and the vast majority of the risotto, only to be left with a few pieces of fish and mussels. As any educated person may know, it isn’t smart to either open a closed mussel or more importantly to eat said mussel. I, on the other hand, do not fall under this category of people and tried to open one of my unopened remaining mussels. To this day, I stand by the fact that I didn’t intend to eat it, just to glimpse the mussel’s hearty interior. With the mussel firmly gripped in one hand and my knife in the other, I began to pry at the crack. Not surprisingly, the mussel gave way to my wishes and opened, but instead of being greeted with the sight an inedible piece of seafood, I found myself covered in a large amount of black ink. Turns out in its time in the sea, this very mussel has swallowed a black ink squid, which in turn had found its escape all over my yellow tank top. Despite ruining my shirt and the fact that I had already consumed the majority of my dish, I found a very happy ending with a brand new, piping hot plate of seafood stew…which I shamelessly ate. Moral of the story: you can never have too much of Café Provence’s seafood stew.

Due to the high demand for the Seafood Stew and our policy that everyone should order something different, I shared much of my entrée with my friends. The upside to this? I got to eat their dishes too. Devin Perkins ordered one of the heartiest burgers I’ve seen, the Café Provence Burger, which she topped with gorgonzola cheese and sautéed mushrooms. The burger was delicious, cooked perfectly to the requested medium-rare level, and earns a thumbs up from this reviewer. While there wasn’t anything about this take that made it stand out among the competitive field of gourmet burgers, I couldn’t find any detracting attribute. Unable to finish the whole burger, Devin wisely decided she would get it wrapped up and enjoy the remainder at a later hour in the evening. Yet, due a miscommunication, Devin lost the second half of her burger and our server graciously offered Devin her choice of the Café’s delectable dessert offerings. More on that later.

Kendrick Campbell, our resident dancer, ordered the duck special. Always making me proud, Kendrick took down the entire bird leaving but a few scraps of the phyllo wrapped barley side. I was fortunate enough to try these scraps and they lived up to all expectations. I’ve also come to the conclusion this month that anything and everything wrapped in phyllo is delicious. See the Starry Night review. While I don’t know much about duck, judging from Kendrick’s fine showing, this entrée was to her liking. For more on the dish, contact Kendrick Campbell, either on Facebook, in her dorm room in Gifford, or on the dance floor this Saturday night. Think of it as the opening you’ve always dreamed of.

Now to the desserts. As I already mentioned, the mix-up with Devin’s meal provided us the ideal cap to an already yummalicious meal. Café Provence offers a standard dessert menu, but truth be told, I didn’t even look at it. Dessert menus in my mind, are typically filled with delectable offerings that range from $6 to $12. While I’m never one to turn down anything chocolate, Devin’s misfortune turned out to be our gain. Having lost half of her burger, Devin was offered two choices from the refrigerated case that greets diners upon their entry. At just $2.50 a piece, this case is filled with all of the desserts that I could ever dream of. I for one went with the chocolate mouse and the chocolate bombe, both above average interpretations of these frequently done desserts. Devin opted for the chocolate bomb and the mixed-nut bar. Heaven. (Also, visit Gourmet Provence, Cafe Provence's Bakery/ Wine Shop annex located just 1 block north of Cafe Provence)

Cafe Provence also boasts a delicious brunch and very affordable lunch options. There is no doubt that this Brandon eatery is a must for anyone who enjoys truly delicious food.