Irises Cafe and Wine Bar

The drinks are incredible :)

Irises Cafe was delightful. We had read the many favorable reviews and were hoping for a dinner that would be a highlight of our road trip. Irises did not disappoint.

I should say that my only apprehension going in was that I was not sure how our 7-year-old son would be accommodated, as the foods described in the reviews were quite "gourmet." When we entered and the host offered a kids' menu to us, I was relieved. Our son could choose from an upscale macaroni and cheese (three-cheese sauce on penne), and other kid-friendly choices. He opted for grilled jumbo shrimp (also a kids' option) with french fries, which came with a choice of two sides, grilled asparagus, which he devoured, and an ice cream sundae.

The house salads were very fresh; we had two different vinaigrette dressings and both were quite tasty. My Mediterranean pasta with fresh spinach, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, and feta cheese was marvelous. My husband enjoyed moules et frites (mussels and fries) in buerre blanc (the chefs removed the "special" pineapple from the buerre blanc). We each ordered a wine sampler: three very generous 4-ounce glasses for $10.50 (a single glass of wine was $8). My only complaint is that sometimes our food and drink did not come quite when they should have. The wine samplers arrived at the *end* of the salad course, our son's main dish came well before mine and my husband's. One of my son's side dishes was forgotten and, come to think of it, our server nearly skipped our son (forgetting one person at a party of three)? When taking orders. We heard a couple at another table remark to their servers that it was "busy for a Monday night," so I would forgive the shortcomings of the service and visit again if Irises' Yelp ratings stay consistently stellar.

*** This just in: Hungry couple arrive at Irises Cafe and Wine Bar and leave incredibly satisfied ***

No joke.

Yes, I reviewed this restaurant earlier this year, but given some of the reviews, I wanted to make sure our first experience wasn't a fluke.

Spoiler: It wasn't!

So that was a bonus, right? We also had Jennifer for our server again, which made the whole experience that much better. It was like a family reunion. Only we're not family. So, in hindsight, the hugs were probably over the top.

Unlike the food, which was per-fect.

Again, I had the Cajun blackened shrimp because, even though I wanted to try something else, I just couldn't. I mean, these things are fantastic, and if you've had them once you want to have them a thousand times. Just not in one sitting. My wife had the nachos. Now, I'm pretty picky about nachos, and have been sorely disappointed in the past by establishments who call their nachos "loaded". Mostly because they obviously have no idea what the word loaded means. Irises on the other hand DO, and it's not just loaded with sour cream as a cheapo way of making nachos look cool. In fact, they serve the sour cream on the side, in a dish.

Damn, why y'all gotta be so fancy?

My wife had the margherita pizza for lunch, and I had the salmon special which was to die for. In fact, oddly enough - the salmon did. Sorry salmon... but thanks. The pizza was super delicious. How super? Well, let's just say my tastebuds were flying around the inside of my mouth with capes on. Up, up, and tastyyy.

(sorry)

When it comes to dessert, I always end up with the trio. Only because it's the best value way of eating three different desserts without actually purchasing three different desserts.

Now, if your dining experience was based on the food alone, you'd be nodding your head in approval. But it's not. Many a time, a fantastic meal has been ruined by terrible service. But not here. Again, Jennifer proved that personality is the magic ingredient, and even Colonel Sanders would be hard pressed with his seven secret herbs and spices to even come close to matching the personal touch she provides. Here's a tip Colonel... you can't.

So, there you have it. Fantastic food + fantastic staff = fantastically fantastic meal.