Farm-to-Table Dinner at The Cafe at Books & Books
A meal isn’t a meal to me unless there’s some type of meat in it. With that being said… I was a bit hesitant to try this full on vegetarian Farm-to-table dinner being hosted by Chef Allen Susser at The Cafe at Books & Books. I decided to step out of my comfort zone and give it a try. Boy was I was pleasantly surprised! The fresh ingredients, literally brought straight from a farm in Homestead, is what makes this concept successful. On a Monday night the tablets were full with people that had to RSVP to get into Chef Allen’s dinner! Not only did I love every dish that was served, I was also pretty full by the end of dinner. Chef Allen Susser is honestly a genius and I give him full credit for making my belly happy.
We started off the farm-to-table dinner at The Cafe at Books & Books with a salad of arugula, golden fennel, watermelon radishes, and edible flowers. It was lightly tossed in a champagne vinaigrette. The dressing was not too overpowering, perfectly complimenting the greens. Although I wasn’t a huge fan of the golden fennel, everyone else seemed to only want to eat them! So it was a win-win for everyone!
Next was the ‘oysters’ Rockefeller. This was probably my favorite dish! It consisted of a bed of organic spinach, purple potatoes, and scarlet begonias. There was a touch of shredded cheese on top that just heightened the dish as a whole. Everything was perfectly seasoned and cooked. My mouth is actually watering thinking about this dish. Who would’ve thought I’d be drooling over a vegetarian plate! this Farm-to-Table dinner at The Cafe at Books & Books absolutely did everything right!
My next favorite dish was the grilled eggplant po boy. Just the name itself is enough to make you want to drive over to The Cafe at Books & Books! I love eggplant so this dish made it to the top with me. It had smoked ratatouille and hibiscus petals as well. The hibiscus was stuffed with delicious, gooey cheese and that made all the difference! These two dishes would have me converting into a vegetarian.
Of course we ended the farm-to-table dinner with dessert! A Florida strawberry shortcake with wild petunias. This shortcake was more reminiscent of a buttery biscuit filled with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. It was also topped of with a salty chocolate sauce that gave the sweet dessert it’s balance. I loved this dessert! There was not one piece left on that plate!
This dinner was an overall amazing experience. The ambience was relaxing with live music, hanging lights, and let’s not forget to mention seating on the outside of the Adrienne Arsht Center’s own The Cafe at Books & Books. I was so glad I made it to Chef Allen’s event. Thank you Chef Allen for the amazing vegetarian creations you’ve brought to The Cafe at Books & Books! Judging by the looks of Monday’s dinner, it looks like Chef Allen is going to have very busy Mondays from now on.