Woodlands Cafe

It’s been close to a year since Woodlands Cafe opened adjacent to Woodlands Market, and dinner service began this summer. A casual yet well-appointed eatery, it features a walk-up counter as well as table service, with indoor or outdoor seating complete with a fountain and a two-sided fireplace with plush couches. Fresh flowers and salt candles adorn the stainless steel-topped tables. There’s a little something for everyone to eat, whether you’re looking for a quick bite, some thin-crust Italian pizza or a more substantial meal, and the menu features local, organic products served in generous portions.

Some panko-crusted prawns (with a hint of pepper) with a mildly hot orange-cayenne dipping sauce started our meal. The five prawns were cooked perfect and sweet. While we were enjoying them, we experienced what we called a “random drive-by ice cream tasting” by one of the employees, who tempted us with samples of the restaurant’s creations made with Straus organic products (yes, she had us hooked).

Next we savored the hot, very flavorful French onion soup, which had quite a lot of cheese melted on top with big croutons and a generous amount of onions. We tried to figure out how to eat it gracefully (due to all the cheese), but I’m not sure we were successful. That didn’t hinder our enjoyment, though. Two baked cheese/bread crostinis were served along with it for dipping, which was fun as well.

The ruby red special salad had a base of mixed greens, with a generous amount of roasted beets, plump and perfectly ripe strawberries, huge chunks of creamy goat cheese and some red onions. A bite with a bit of everything was the way to go with that one.

The huge North Beach calzone was stuffed with fresh tomatoes, melted mozzarella, Applegate ham, pesto sauce and arugula. The golden-baked crust was thin and the calzone was cut into fourths, with fresh greens, tomatoes and sweet orange slices on the plate. Our second entrée was the New York steak, which was cut into strips and served with blanched fresh squash, broccoli and green beans, pickled onions and golden-crisp truffle oil fries.

For dessert we still had ice cream on the mind, and we chose the salted caramel (it was supreme) and Sophia’s Sicilian, which was chocolate ice cream topped with citrus olive oil and sea salt. Both were a delight of sweet and salty flavors combined. We also tried the butterscotch bread pudding, which came out in a large slice, served hot with crème fraîche and fresh strawberries drizzled with chocolate.

Thanks to Woodlands Cafe and our server, Michael, who did a fantastic job making our night an enjoyable (and very filling) one. The place is off to a great start.