A few weeks ago, The Ranger recommended a place: Roman's Catering and Bakery (and Liquor Store) 71 Washington Street Santa Clara, CA 95050 408-296-3864 Ranger's post was long and so is mine. It's a lot of reading, but this is truly a special place. My friends and I couldn't figure out where to have dinner last Saturday night, but Ranger's post was enticing, so we ended up deciding to give Roman's a shot. It was very lucky that we did. As R. wrote, the place is basically a wine shop and deli that's more oriented to serving lunch and, well, selling wine. When you walk in at night, the tables for dinner are located in the back corner of the place, past the closed-down deli section. If this sounds unpromising, you'll feel different once you meet Tony. Tony is the elderly Italian gent who owns the place. He asked us if it was our first time there; we told him it was. He immediately lit up and insisted we go with him so he could show him the kitchen. Then he quizzed us, rapid-fire, as to whether we liked spicy stuff, whether we'd eat something if he just made it up, whether we liked chicken, veal, beef, or fish. We all opted for the beef. He then sent us over to the wine shelves to pick out some bottles. As he informed us, he charges dinner guests the regular price of the wine, plus $3 (a total bargain, insofar as drinking wine in a restaurant goes and insofar as corkage fees go). We emerged with a Kunde Merlot and a Schug Pinot Noir (might have been the other way around), which both turned out to be marvelous. As we returned bearing our goodies for his perusal (he said our choices would help determine what he'd serve us), he directed us to the back, to the tables. There was only one other group there--a table of regulars to whom he proudly exclaimed our virginal status. They oohed and aahed and asked how we found the place. I told them I found it through this newsgroup (actually, I gave Tony a printout of Ranger's post, which he was totally delighted by--hope you don't mind Ranger...). Somehow the conversation turned to how I had gone to junior-high and high-school in the immediate area but somehow had never known about the place until I read about it in ba.food. Turns out, priests from my high-school alma mater are known to drop in for an occasional meal. It also turns out that two of the folks at the other table are good friends of the parents of a good friend of mine who grew up within walking distance of Roman's. This obviously doesn't have anything to do with the food. My point is simply that Roman's has a very neighborhoodish feel to it. Okay, as for the actual food: - To start out, Tony brought out small plates of fettucine with a bit of olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, a light dusting of chili flakes, and--I think--fennel. Light but aromatic and full of flavor, with perfectly-cooked noodles. - Then we were brought bowls of white bean and barley. Simple and hearty--a totally fantastic soup. - Next was a green salad with a rasberry vinaigrette. Never enjoyed a vinaigrette as much as I did that night--a very apt mix of the sweet and tart. - Our main course choice of beef came out as portions of filet in a marsala-ish sauce and some chopped porcini mushrooms. I'm actually not a very big fan of filet, but this one was as good as any I've had. Dessert was Tony's own gelato. My two friends and myself went behind the counter with the other table and were told to try out the different flavors and furnished with a basket full of spoons. I ended up with the pistachio, which I loved, but I was sorely tempted by several other flavors: white chocolate & coconut, tiramisu, orange with little bits of zest...all were yummy. After we polished off our cups of gelato, Tony brought by glasses of port for everyone to toast best wishes with. After that, we ended things with cups of espresso. Throughout the meal, Tony was always around, being as gracious as only people of a certain age seem to be capable of. All in all, the feeling we had was that Tony doesn't normally serve dinner but that he was making an exception because he really wanted to make dinner for us. I think the best way to describe the vibe is: Tony is the sort of person who is most happy when making other people happy, which he is impossibly good at. A few light caveats: As Ranger noted, Tony was everywhere, which I didn't find distracting or annoying in the slightest bit--I just felt bad that I couldn't decipher many things he said. I don't know if he's as good at being in the background--I'd be too scared of hurting his feelings to find out. Anyway, I think his attention is half the reason to go. Still, if you want to be left alone and don't want a grandfatherly presence around, be forewarned. Another thing is, there is no menu. Everything he served us was great, but nobody I was with is a picky eater. If you're really picky, you should know that your meal will be sort of a mystery till you get it. Probably someone with specific dislikes can let Tony know and he'd steer around them. With him, there certainly is no lack of will to accomodate. And while it's not an expensive place with all things considered, it's not cheap (it is, IMO, a bargain though). For three of us, the bill came out to be around $150, including tax and tip. I have no idea how the bill was itemized, but I didn't find this at all unreasonable as we had a five-course meal, a glass of port, a cup of espresso, and split two bottles of wine (prices in the $teens). I don't know if Tony does less distending meals, but I wouldn't be afraid to ask. Finally, this is not the place to go for a quick dinner before a show. The pace is relaxed and unburdened. Tony repeatedly urged us to take our time and enjoy ourselves. Ranger wrote that his dinner clocked in at 3 hours, which I'm not really surprised at, though we only stayed for 2 hours. But what a fantastic 2 hours they were. An absolutely wonderful dinner at a very special place. I actually pondered not writing this, but decided to not be greedy. But don't everyone all bum-rush the place--Tony himself was talking about how he enjoys not having too many people over for dinner at any one time. Anyway, for the rest of the night, the three of us couldn't stop babbling like half-wits about how great a dinner experience we had. Chester (Despite risking the ire of Meg, I'm bottom-quoting so that folks need not head to Deja in search of Ranger's original post...) The R. wrote: >Decided to go out to dinner for a relaxing evening with SWMBO (sans kids.) >Little did we know that the majority of the Valley would be watching the >Olympics; all three places we went were virtually empty (it was awesome!) > >Started off with dinner at _Roman's_Bakery_and_Deli_(and Liquor Store) in >Santa Clara, in the same strip mall as Merry Mart -- opposite end of the >mall. Roman's is a walk-in deli and liquor store where the owner (Tony) has >been making prix fixe dinners for "several years." There are no menus, the >dining is very casual, and the deli is open during dinner. These aren't >detractions -- they actually help make the dining more enjoyable. The >patrons that were coming in and ordering from the deli were apparently >regulars because Tony would greet each person like they were family. The >tables were set with linen and silverware for each course so you would never >have to worry about asking for clean utensils. The wine list is across the >store (the liquor store) and you get to pick your own poison. We chose a >1997 Phillippe-Lorraine Merlot -- I now have a case of this wine for future >consumption. Tony, the chef-waiter-owner-maître-d', was awesome; he helped >make the evening truly enjoyable and helped promote the informality of the >experience. > >He took our order after asking us if we liked veal, chicken, fish, or beef >(filet mignon). Having been told about the ambrosia-like salmon, I asked for >that. SWMBO also requested salmon. Since I prefer a little kick to any >sauces, I also asked for a little heat to be added. No problem; the spice >was complimentary -- not overwhelming. We had an appetizer and bread, soup, >salad, more bread (damn, the stuff was good!), the main course, coffee and >dessert. The appetizer was angel pasta with a red meat-based sauce on one >portion and a soft lemon-based cream sauce on the other portion. The salad >was mixed greens with a basalmic raspberry dressing. The soup was a >creamy<!> clam chowder with enough clams to make it a main course. The main >course was salmon (my Italian is non-existent so the titles that Tony spent >15 minutes trying to teach me is sadly gone.) My salmon had a tomato-based >sauce, again enjoyably spicy, while SWMBO's salmon was lemon white sauce >with capers. The salmon was juicy (and nicely cooked) -- huge filets! I >ended up finishing off her salmon because her portion was too big. > >After each course, Tony would check in on us and talk a little about >anything. A perfect host. I'm just as sure that if a couple wanted to be >"left alone," he'd've been invisible. > >When we were ready for our dessert, he showed us the fresh-made gelato >selections -- and then scooped a portion that would make someone with a >lesser stomach blanch. It was perfect for me. I enjoyed the tiramisu and >SWMBO enjoyed the peach gelato. Peach pulp (and a balance of sweetness) >cleaned the palate with each spoonful (I helped finish off her dessert, >too.) > >We were not rushed at any point. We blew three hours there. We plan on going >back (and I'll work on my Italian). Total bill was no more expensive than >any other mid-range restaurant. Since I didn't ask, I'm not really sure when >his "restaurant" is open... I'm pretty sure it's Wednesday, Thursday, Friday >(duh!), and Saturday. Well-worth a trip; we'll be going back soon... So much >to try and so little room in the stomach. > >The Ranger
San Francisco Bay Area, CA