Skip to main content

Early Anniversary Dinner at Café Maddalena


Years ago, a friend asked if I had ever been to Café Maddalena in Dunsmuir. Nope. I filed it away as a 'must try' if we ever came close. And, last night, we were only six miles away; well, truth be told, I booked our hotel for this leg of the trip based on going to this restaurant!

When we rolled into town, I called, made a reservation for dinner, loaded up the boys back up in the car, and headed out in the pouring rain. I'm so glad we did...you know it's going to be good when they have a display of Edibles at the front door!!


I always love seeing the waitstaff's dubiousness about two kids in their restaurant dissolve as soon as my boys open their mouths. "Mom, they have tripe! I have to try the tripe," gushed R, when he saw the Special board. Back, when he was in 5th grade, and they were studying the human body, his teacher - our beloved Mr. Spedding! - brought a cleaned cow's stomach, and they cooked and ate tripe. It's been one of R's favorites ever since. And, whenever he sees it, he orders it.


Their homemade focaccia was pillowy soft with just the right amount of flavor from fresh rosemary and salt. I tasted one piece. The boys polished off two plates' worth.


They had two kinds of San Pellegrino which made the boys happy. And Jake and I ordered a single varietal red wine by the glass. We picked a Mourvèdre. Like R with tripe, whenever I see that on the wine menu - and not part of a red wine blend - I order it. We were celebrating an early anniversary, but with the crazy storm, neither of us wanted to be out driving after wine. So, I had two sips and he enjoyed the rest. Their pour was generous!


Here's my Precise Kitchen Elf and his tripe. Our server placed it in front of him and he was in heaven. He did share a few bites with all of us.


Though the seasonal menu looked amazing, the evening's specials were too good to resist. So, literally, we ordered one of everything. That included a Meyer lemon soup, in the style of Greek Avgolemono; the tripe; and roasted duck over sweet and sour red cabbage with green beans. And off the regular menu, Jake also ordered their grilled beef tenderloin with salmorejo sauce, crispy potatoes  and chorizo stuffed piquillo pepper. Dylan had to get their red onion and olive pizza with housemade sausages and mozzarella di bufala.


I don't typically order dessert - I just steal bites from theirs - because I don't have a very robust sweet tooth. But they couldn't decide on which three desserts to get. All four it was! Chocolate marquise with raspberry sauce; pistachio cake with cardamom ice cream; mixed citrus tart with almond cream; and caramelized honey cheesecake with apple compote.


What a dinner! What a restaurant! Thank you, Cat, for the recommendation. We had a fabulous early anniversary dinner. Seventeen years with this man. 

photo by D
Well, seventeen years of being married to him and nineteen years of being in love with him. What a life.

photo by R
Jake looked at the empty plates and asked, "Well, this was a great meal to kick-off our vacation. How do you plan to top it?" I guess I'll be cooking for the rest of the week because we aren't going to find many restaurant meals to to this.


We don't often find ourselves in this part of the state. But, when we do, we'll definitely be back. And, should you ever find yourself in Dunsmuir, Café Maddalena is worth it!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Meyer Lemon Custard-Filled Matcha Turtles #BreadBakers

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our  Pinterest board  right here. Links are also updated after each event on the  Bread Bakers home page .  We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month Stacy of Food Lust People Love  is hosting and she wrote: "Your bread can be large, as in one big animal, or small - animal-shaped rolls. Use your imagination! Points for flavor and shape!" If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. Here's the animal-shaped bread basket from the #BreadBakers... Beef and Sweet Onion Dim Sum Pandas from Karen's Kitchen Stories Bird Bread Rolls from Ambrosia Easter Bunny Buns from Cook with Renu Ham and Cheese Elephant Rolls from Food Lust People Love Hedgehog Bread from Making Mir

Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé #Winophiles

This month the French Winophiles group is looking at affordable wines from Burgundy.  Host Cindy of Grape Experiences wrote: "Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is known for its wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir... as well as Aligote, Gamay, Sauvignon, César, Pinot Beurot, Sacy, Melon in lesser quantities. Many of the well-known wines are quite expensive, but there are plenty of values to be found." Read her invitation here. And there won't be a Twitter chat for this event, so you will have to dive into the articles themselves to read about our pairings and findings. Here's the line-up... Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken . Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé. Jeff Burrows of FoodWineClick! explains why we should Look t

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients  makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce