Since their soft opening few weeks ago, we have been going to this lovely café almost every weekend. (You can read about my first visit here: http://www.foodlovergirl.com/rue-la-rue-cafe/). Instead of having so many updates, I decided to combine the last several visits into one. It has constantly being really busy, with its fun theme, good food and coffee. The only time it was not full was the day of snow storm. When most businesses and schools were closed for the day due to the severe weather, Rue La Rue Café was open! Thank you for being a dedicated café…!
When there is only handful of people in the café, you can really walk around and appreciate the interior and everything in it a bit better. I especially love looking at each photos on the walls, which is not easy to do when the café is packed with eager customers. But, with so many photos and memorabilia everywhere, it will take hours to really look at everything. Which makes it fun to visit again and again, because at each visit, you will find something else you didn’t notice before.
One of the things that I haven’t noticed before was this strange looking sculpture (?) placed high up by the window. It has several hands stretching out, and is used as a purse hanger. I also liked all the personal photos on top of the piano. Sweet and lovely.
We have been there for several Saturdays now, and it is constantly busy. Also, they have had musicians there on every Saturdays so far, which is really cool. They always have a pianist, and one accompanying string musician like a cellist or a guitarist. Nice to have a live music while you are enjoying a brunch.
They have some glasses with Golden Girls design in gold (of course), I believe for sale. I don’t think they serve their coffee or any drinks in it, since I haven’t seen it used inside the café for customers. it would be fun, yes, but it probably is more cost effective to NOT use fancy glasses like that, as the design can fade faster in a commercial grade, powerful dish washer.
And their artistic side shows on the outside signage. They were promoting one of their coffee, Sophia’s Sicilian coffee “Picture It” with Sophia’s face drawn next to a map of Italy. Good job for whoever made the sign!
They do have all sorts of goodies to choose from. And they all have cute tag. The cupcake states “moist & delicious” seal of approval from Dorothy. We haven’t had the pleasure of trying them, but we will get to it sooner of later for sure.
They also have Sophia’s “Cure for Depression” Cookies, and Rose’s “Proposal Scones.” How cute are they???
They also have some other baked goods like croissant and brownies. The only one we’ve had from this section is Aunt Fran’s Chocolate Loaf at our first visit. It was moist and rich, very chocolate-y and really yummy!
In our last several visits, we had plenty of sweets from there. We started off with their mini cheesecakes, made for each characters of the Golden Girls (I know, brilliant!). On this day, we figured we will try two of them, but we should have had all four… Ever since this day, every time we’ve been back, they have been completely out (sold out) of them!!! We learned it the hard way… Anyways, we tried Blanche’s Raspberry Cheesecake ($6) and Sophia’s Amaretto Cheesecake ($6). They are created by a local pastry shop, ChocNYC, which we enjoyed visiting a few times as well (you can read my read my review here: http://www.foodlovergirl.com/chocnyc/ and here: http://www.foodlovergirl.com/chocnyc-2/).
The Blanche’s Raspberry Cheesecake has three layers. The crust on the bottom, cheesecake in the middle, and raspberry cheesecake and drizzle on top. It was really rich and decadent. It is small but heavy. The raspberry had great flavor, I liked how it was not just some cheesecake with raspberry jam or topping on it. This one was different from the ordinary raspberry cheesecake out there.
Sophia’s Amaretto Cheesecake was really rich and decadent too, It had crushed caramel (?) on top, and one toasted almond on top. The cheesecake (and possibly the carmel also) had a really nice amaretto falvor. I could really taste the sweet, almond-flavored Italian liqueur in it. They were a bit pricey, but ChocNYC items comes with price tag…but it also comes with their high quality.
Another one of their sort of signature dessert is the Betty White Cake ($4.50/slice), also known as Coconut Cake. It is a thing of beauty! I am not a big fan of coconut, but I am a HUGE fan of this cake. Betty White had me after just one bite. The cake is as charming as Betty, and just like you can’t get enough of Betty, I could not get enough of the Betty White cake! It was so fluffy but moist, sweet without being overly sweet, coconut-y without being too overwhelming. LOVE IT!!!
They also offer different kinds of cheesecakes, made by other chefs. We tried Chocolate Cheesecake ($6/slice). This one is made by another local pastry, Carrot Top Pastries. This pastry shop has been in business for over 30 years, and I could see the reason why they stayed in the business for so long after having their cheesecake. It was so creamy, velvety, super delicious. Even thought it was rich, it was not heavy, which was nice. I really enjoyed it.
The last dessert (so far) is the Strawberry Cheesecake ($6/slice). I think I am safe to assume all of their cheesecakes are $6 each. This ones came on a warm plate, which was not good, but with their popularity, maybe they can’t turn around the dishes quick enough… The cheesecake was fluffy and airy, moist and velvety. I didn’t ask who made the cheesecake, but maybe it was also made by Carrot Top Pastries? The strawberries were fresh and sweet, really nice piece of cheesecake.
As for drinks, we had their drip coffees (Sophia and Rose) before, so we tried out their Cappuccino ($3.75). It came in a tall glass, nice gradation of color, and very good coffee. As you can see, the glass does not have any design or logo on it, but if that is what you are after, there is a way to get it… by getting the coffee in a paper cup!
We got a coffee in a paper cup once, just so that we can have the sleeve with their logo on it. We had Rose’s St. Olaf Blend ($2.25/small). Look at the customized sleeve, isn’t it adorable? It is a light roast blend, which I prefer than a dark roast. Great accompaniment to any dessert or food.
And yes, they certainly do have more than just coffee and sweets. They have real food as well, with pretty good selection. When we went there one morning (during the snow storm), they were not ready for non-breakfast items yet, so we decided to go with simple Waffle ($6.50). The waffle comes with strawberry butter. I love the little extra effort and creativity that they add, like the strawberry butter, to make a simple waffle into a special waffle. I really liked the strawberry butter, it added that little fruity flavor, perfect for a nice hot waffle.
Another item we had was Tomato Mishmash in a Bread Bowl ($11.50).
It is a tomato bisque in a bread bowl, with a lid that is converted into a huge grilled cheese. I know, I know. The tomato bisque was nice and thick, I don’t really like watery soup, unless they are supposed to be watery. It was nice and thick, more like dipping sauce, which was perfect for this dish.
The grilled cheese lid was soooo cheesy, It was a food porn moment when we tore apart the lid. We so enjoyed dipping the grilled cheese pieces into the tomato bisque. The grilled cheese itself was really tasty, grilled to perfection, and lots and lots of cheese… It was heavenly. The bread bowl was a nice size, and with it being mainly bread and cheese, it was very, very filling.
We were thinking we won’t be able to eat them all, but then, it was so delicious that we devoured them all… A perfect dish on a cold day!
We also had one of their sandwiches, Mrs. Naugatuck’s Curry Chicken ($7.75), and Adult Mac & Cheese with Bacon and Panko ($6.50)
The curry chicken sandwich comes with a pickle and a choice of Lay’s chips or Doritos. I chose Doritos (the choice of chips does not change the price). It is a pretty good size, enough to share unless you are super hungry. The bread was grilled perfectly, they must have a really good grill, and know how to use it right!!!
The curry chicken was great, generous amount of filling, and very meaty without being heavy. The curry flavor was not too overpowering, not spicy, but still have a good flavor. The tomato and lettuce were really fresh, and bread held all the massive filling in tact. I was afraid the bread would be way too hard, but it wasn’t. It had really nice crunchy-ness to it, but not too hard. Filling, tasty, good sandwich, especially at this price, it is a steal!
Mac & Cheese came in a bowl, possibly the same bowl they serve the Clam Chowder in. The staff who brought it out to us asked if we wanted some fresh ground pepper, and we said yes. So these photos have pepper on top.
The bowl is not big, but deep, so it is not a small portion. I would say medium size. It was really creamy, and had good amount of bacon in it. The panko added some crunchy texture. It was very comforting, and well made with care and love. And again, the price point is really good. It was a great side dish to the sandwich.
So, these are all the items we have tried so far, over several visits. We have not come across anything that we didn’t like. Everything was tasty, and I can see that they are all crafted with care. This also means that food does not come out right away, but I prefer them to make the food to order, and with love. I saw a customer who was so impatient and kind of rude, because they ordered a hot dish and it didn’t come out within few minutes… If it came out so fast, that meant it was already made, and sitting there for a while. Here, the food might take a bit longer you’d like, but you are getting something that is made for you, and only you. So, please come with a little more patience.
The staffs here are nice, not all “friendly” but most of them are very nice and attentive. One of the staffs took a really good care of the demanding customers I mentioned above, with great patience and poise. Needless to say, we will be going back again and again… What a wonderful addition to the neighborhood, we love spending our time there. It has such warm atmosphere and allow us to have a relaxing time. The owner, Micheal is there all the time, greeting customers with smile, making everything feels special. Thank you for being a friend!
One last note, they have extended their hours to 7:30AM to 7:30PM, so now you can visit them in the evenings if you can’t make it during the day time!
Rue La Rue Café – 4394 Broadway, New York, NY 10040