Cafe Zalute

Nice place... Good bread... Tasty salad... Atmosphere is cool...Entrees meh... Pizza, less than meh...

I have dined here twice this holiday season and was happy with both meals.  My first was with a group of friends for Christmas.  I had the tilapia verde which was excellent, although quite rich.  We also ordered an assorted dessert platter which had excellent tiramisu, warm bread pudding and cannoli.  The second visit was with a group of friends for New Year's Eve.  All the meals were enjoyed...I had the broiled salmon with a champagne dill sauce over smashed potatoes and vegetables.  It was perfectly cooked and a large portion.  Other dishes included lobster ravioli, vesusio pork chops, veal parmesan, and seared tuna.  Everyone loved their dinners and we ordered the medium assorted appetizer platter which was quite generous and was plenty for all eight of us.  The service was excellent, the wine reasonably priced and the entrees weer all $20 or less.  I have dined here before and will definitely be back!  Oh...the breads were also excellent and served with freshly coarsely shredded parmesan and oli...Yum!

I have lunched here with work before and had the pepper egg sandwhich.
This time I had a social deal for a prixe fixe menu with my honey.
Atmosphere:
Arrived to a mixed crowd, a couple of 'first daters', some senior, and a 'housewives' table.
The most disturbing thing in my opinion, was the entertainment. A fellow singing along with recorded songs. But worry not, a wireless mic was indeed in play and he worked the ladies in the room fo sure. Nothing like having dinner with your sig nif and having the love boat cruise up to your table and flirt.
He could carry a tune though, I will at least give him that.
The point is, I found it more of a distraction than anything. A piano player would have been much more apropos.
The deal:
What you come to learn upon arrival is that the social deal was VERY specific. A choice of two appetizers - toasted raviolis or bruschetta
Salad or soup.
Glass of wine.
Entree choices were slim:
eggplant
sausage/pepper
ravioli
lemon chicken
There was a lot more going on the menu for sure.
Food Impressions:
Neither my wife or I would have picked toasted ravioli for an appetizer, but we were both pleasantly surprised by it and would say that it is the best toasted ravioli that we have ever had, simply because the cheese in the middle is more like a crab ragoon.
Salad was nothing special at all.
My wife chose the soup, lobster bisque. I have had it before. SUPER rich and nothing that you should finish entirely.
The funny thing is that I had commented to my wife when we were eating the raviolis that the sauce they served with them was the lobster bisque without the lobster. It turns out that I could not have possibly been MORE right.
For my wife's side of pasta, she paid a dollar extra to get the vodka sauce on rotini. Guess what? The vodka sauce was same base sauce as the lobster bisque and the toasted ravioli dipping sauce. To reference an old SNL skit, "Yes folks it's a floor wax AND a cereal topping!"
My sausage pepper was ok, but tasted like it was half salt.
My wife's lemon chicken was just that, LEMON chicken. Too much so, and the same salt problem.
The merlot we had was decent.
Service we had was ok.
I hate to say it, but we probably would not return. Not because it was god awful, but simply because there was not enough to warrant us to come back.