Date Nite with Chet

Restaurant review
by Chet Groskreutz

I read about this Caffe Gazelle in Huntington Beach and decided that we’d give it a try…and we were pleasantly surprised. You’d never expect to find gourmet cuisine in a strip mall atmosphere but… When we got there, I was a little concerned because it was so small and the décor somewhat understated…a few pictures on the walls and yet there was a man playing softly on a black keyboard (didn’t stop once while we were eating our dinner)! I choose the small round table near the keyboard player.

The thing that I noticed right away was that the place was full…a good sign.
Once you sit down, you get a torpedo of hot white bread, seemingly just out of the oven…crusty on the outside and gossamer on the inside…really good. For our starter, we order a baked artichoke –scallop dish that had a white sauce that was to die for….a great beginning. The sauces the chef uses in all his dishes are what really makes the food stand out at the Gazelle. We split a pear salad that had walnuts and fresh greens that was a perfect set-up for our main courses. Don’t know what the dressing was…but it tasted like a light olive oil with a hint of vinegar…simple and worked well with the pears and greens.

My main course…a simple veal dish with mushrooms, and a white cream Sauce that is hard to beat…a wonderful marriage of sweet spices that blended well together and tasted fantastic. Vickie had a filet mignon tornedos style which was fork tender and perfectly cooked, bathed in another white sauce that was awesome. Both dishes are presented simply with a light pasta spaghetti with a garnish of grilled broccoli. Vicki says to tell the girls they have a lot of chicken dishes too.

Dinner entrees are $10-$15, salads $6-$8…. Portions are nice…not too large but filling…probably why the prices are so fair. The service a bit slow…but the piano player is great and the food well worth the wait. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being best….this well priced find scores a strong 9…wish we’d found this place years ago! Enjoy!

CAFFE GAZELLE
16041 BOLSA CHICA ST .
H.B. 714-846-2694