[My ongoing series for 2016 continues ... with the EIGHTEENTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA (coming to you on sequential Thursdays. All. Year. Long.)!]
Establishment: Sage French Cafe
Location: Ft. Lauderdale
Meal: Sunday Brunch
Drink: (Complimentary!) Mimosa
Appetizer: Fresh Croissant
Main 1: Le Steak Anglais
Grilled tenderloin, grilled tomato, mushrooms, poached eggs, potatoes
Main 2: Crepe Languedoc
Sausage, garlic, apples, tomatoes, cheese
Side(s): n/a
Dessert: n/a
Server: Gregory B (but I will think of him as French Iain [sorry Iain M ... I didn't get a photo of him], because he looked like a former co-worker of mine)
Website: http://www.sagecafe.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sagecafe.fortlauderdale
I know it's not usual to have multiple main dishes (although I did it recently for the Italian feast a few weeks ago), but at Sunday brunch, the rules can be loosened, aided on by the free mimosa -- which is good, because I actually liked the dish I'm calling the first main (and giving the primary photo slot) better even though I had officially ordered the second one. Halfway through the meal, we switched plates so that I got a chance to taste half of each. 'Cause teamwork ... and Sunday brunch ... (and mimosas) ...
AMBIANCE: 9/10 (I do like a place with the option for outdoor seating, but I also got a peek at the inside and this one [in a strip mall, as so many restaurants are in Florida] was very cute, with a piano in the corner inside that I'm sure adds a nice touch during the times when it is played ... and it was good for people watching, including an elderly gentleman customer who started doing tableside magic tricks for the staff ... however, a point has to be deducted for not changing out the dead potted plant that sat next to my seat during the whole meal [see photo below])
FOOD: 9/10 (the croissant was extremely flaky [although not quite as hot as I was warned it would be] ... and the crepe was clearly quality with a beefy tomato sauce that had a spicy kick as an aftertaste [which was excellent in its own right but not quite breakfasty enough for my taste] ... the steak and eggs dish was delicious and the roma tomato with pesto on top was deserving of high praise ... plus -- fresh fruit on the side ... there was not a doubt that care and pride went into each creation, and there's just one point lost for a lack of seasoning on the steak)
SERVICE: 8/10 (I often wonder if the servers at a restaurant of a certain cuisine are acting the accent the customers expect ... but this one seemed French enough, whether authentic or not ... that being said, a point is lost because I had to grab my own salt and pepper for the outside table midway through the meal [they didn't have enough for all of them], and because the server delivering the food asked our party if we were table five and, after all, as the customer, I had no way to answer her)
BACON: 3/10 (for a series of mine, you would think I'd be going to restaurants that featured more bacon dishes ... but this is yet another one where it was barely on the menu -- I'll give a few points for having Canadian Bacon on a dish I didn't order)
BONUS: 10/10 (+3 for having a nice quality pen to be used to sign the check, another +3 for being an establishment that, after you pay that check, you actually stop and think about how you got a really great deal when considering quality and cost, and a final +3 for the busboy who made the table stop wobbling before we even realized it was wobbly in the first place [despite me being tempted to penalize him for wearing a man-bun], and a +1 for being a place to which we would return -- if only to eat at its sister location Qbar next door, which DOES have lots of bacon on its menu)
TroyScore: 39 out of 50 -- aka 78, a high C
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