Last fall, I took a lunchtime walk in Larchmere, and passed Felice’s Urban Cafe.  It looked so nice on the outside, in a beautiful old Craftsman-style house with a huge front porch and a hand-painted sign, in a section of town that has been trying to become regentrified for 15 years at least.  Last night I finally had the chance to go.  Felice’s did not disappoint.  

We arrived in Larchmere as evening fell, and walked on the path alongside the house to a partially enclosed, outdoor patio behind the restaurant to await our friends.  Right away I knew I’d come to the right place.  How?  The restaurant’s owners had planted a large garden right alongside the house!  Many empty beds were covered in mulch, and paths of stepping stones were set between the beds to keep gardeners’ feet from compressing the rich dirt.  

Except for the beautiful stone paths, the garden doesn’t look like much right now, but pretty soon tiny green stalks will begin to poke their little heads up from the dirt.  By late summer there will be an abundance of fresh vegetables and herbs!!  I expect that the menu will begin to include loads of mixed greens from the restaurant garden any time now.  

The website metromix.com described Felice’s cuisine as “Mediterranean-inspired in a homey atmosphere.”  Okay, whatever.  What captured me was that everything was made from scratch and the chef uses tons of local ingredients.  That’s what I want no matter where I go.  I don’t remember what everyone ordered because I was so interested in my own plate that I didn’t think to look around.  The food was wonderful.  

Here’s what I had:  My appetizer consisted of a beautiful pottery cup filled with small chickpeas sauteed until dry and then sprinkled with crystals of sea salt.  They were an exquisite accompaniment to the glass of prosecco I was drinking.

My entree was grilled polenta (my favorite!), served on a bed of wild mushrooms and slivers of sauteed onion, and topped with a flavorful sauce of red pepper and ground almonds.  It was a little bit sweet from the onions, red pepper and corn meal.  It was a little bit earthy from the mushrooms.  It was a little bit salty, and nutty.  It had a little bit of a bite, so there was probably some hot pepper, maybe jalapeno or chipotle, in there, too.  Every bite was a little bit wonderful.

Today, in response to my question about what he ordered, Eddie reminded me that he had eaten an appetizer of four perfect asparagus spears, crisp and scrumptious, and then a fresh, green salad, and then salmon tacos, which looked to be homemade and came adorned with jalapeno peppers and limes.  He ate every last crumb.  I do remember having taken a quick glance at his plate last night when it arrived, and I can only say that his dinner looked really tasty.  

We finished our meals with cups of fragrant coffee and rich cream.  The company was fun, the food was divine, and I was so happy. 

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