Satsuma

I talked all about Maple Street in my previous post, as you should remember. And I mentioned Satsuma in my list of visited restaurants. Since I have not reviewed it, I will now. 

The day I went to Satsuma had not been a good one. I had gotten five horrible cases of hiccups and a bad stomachache at lunchtime, so that I couldn't eat a thing. I had been worked hard at school all day, and by the time school was finally over I was exhausted and famished. Madame La Bouffe pulled up in her car to pick me up. She suggested going to Satsuma, as though she had read my mind. I agreed at once, and we drove off to Maple Street. 

Satsuma is located down Maple Street a bit, and I had never been there. Madame La Bouffe told me she was fond of it, and I thought it wouldn't be so bad. So we parked and went inside.

First impressions for me: it was a nice place to work on your computer, with a scone or some drink beside you, just like Rue de la Course on Oak Street. It was quiet yet cheery, and the sound of the cooks working in the kitchen added a relaxing note. For our orders, Madame La Bouffe chose a calcium-injected green vegetable drink, and I chose a turkey sandwich from the appealing lunch menu. Right now, you might think, "Look here. I thought this girl was the adventurous type. She eats octopus and stuff. Why is she eating turkey sandwiches all of a sudden! I mean, come on! A turkey sandwich?" Well, for all you skeptics, one look at the menu told me that this wasn't your yucky Bunny Bread, mayo, and Oscar Mayor Turkey sandwich. Let me explain. 

First, the bottom slice of toasted ciabatta was spread with basil pesto. Then, that was topped with lots of sliced turkey. On that, there were a couple of slices of lettuce, and then, on top of that, there was a delicious thick layer of goat cheese. Finally, pickled onions topped the cheese, and a second slice of ciabatta was placed on top. Sounds amazing, right? At first I thought that the flavors were not going to mingle. But after the first bite, I at once changed my mind.

The bread was crusty and comfortably warm, and the pesto, goat cheese, and all the other components' flavors were melded beautifully. In my opinion, this curious yet delicious turkey sandwich would be perfect for any meal, even a huge 3 o'clock snack! 

An "Mmm!" Meal on Maple

Maple Street is a very popular place, for locals and tourists alike. Swap Boutique, P. J.'s Coffee, and Maple Street Bookshop are all there, as well as a couple of especially delicious eateries, spread all about the long street. I, myself, have been to a few of them, The Chill Out Cafe, Le Cote Sud, Satsuma (next post), and Fresco. One of the restaurants I had never ventured into is the Maple Street Cafe. This restaurant had seemed more of an "old people" place to me, and I was never really interested. But one day, I took a walk down Maple Street around lunchtime, and suddenly a wave of hunger washed over me like a tsunami. I'm the kind of person who likes to try new things, in life as well as culinarily speaking. So as I had eaten at mostly all of the Maple Street restaurants, and there were only a couple I had not stopped into, I decided to try out the Maple Street Cafe. So after a quick glance at the menu taped outside, I opened the door and stepped inside.

After I was seated, and was provided with a drink and menu, I took a good look around. It did not look at all bad. On the contrary, it looked quite cheerful, and since it was Lundi Gras, it was decorated with purple, green, and gold lights and baubles. The feel of the place was very nice, and the cheerful chatter of everyone added a nice note. A waitress came over and took my orders. I say "orders" because I ordered a couple of things. You mustn't think I was going to eat everything. A tip I got from a source told me to taste a lot of things, not just eat one or two substantial courses. So I ordered a few things that looked especially appealing. 

After I ordered, my waitress brought me a basket of warm, crusty bread, and a small bowl of flavored butter. The butter was delicious; it had herbs and some kind of spicy thing in it. Spread liberally on a piece of the yummy bread, it was the perfect way to begin a meal. Just as I finished my bread, my appetizers came. I decided to taste the "Mezes," a very delicious dish, I found. It was a platter of hummus, baba ghanoush, and tabouleh, with wedges of warm pita to eat the dips with. There was also a curious vegetable on the plate. It was a yellow pepper sort of thing, with crinkled edges and no center. When I tasted one, I found it quite delicious, with some tart and spice and sweet all at the same time. Then I got down to business. The hummus tasted very good when piled on a pita slice, and it had a nice flavor of chickpeas and tahini. The baba ghanoush was what I really liked. It had a wonderful roast-y flavor, and I enjoyed it immensely. The tabouleh had a proper parsley content, and was nice and flavorful.

The second appetizer I tested was a browned eggplant cake, dowsed in a crabmeat cream sauce. This dish was my favorite out of the whole meal. It had a delicious, almost indescribable flavor, and the pasty texture was somehow wonderful. The sauce was creamy and yummy, and it paired perfectly with the cake.

The entree I chose was called Penne Sui Sui (Pen-a SHWEY-SHWEY). It sounded very simple on the menu; just penne pasta with roasted garlic, butter, Parmesan, tomatoes, and basil. It sounded great, though, and I favored it over the other fancy pastas on the menu. It came with all the roasted garlic, butter, etc. incorporated in a tomato sauce. The pasta was perfectly al dente, and the sauce was simple yet bright and fresh. After the waitress gave me extra Parmesan, and it melted creamily into the sauce, I was in Mediterranean heaven.

In my opinion, a good meal cannot be complete without something deliciously sweet. Like my rhyme? Anyway, after the waitress rattled off the selection of desserts at my request, I considered for a minute, then settled upon the key lime pie, one of my all-time favorite desserts. The slice was a long, thin one, and it was dusted with powdered sugar and had a sprig of mint stuck into the top. It looked good, it smelled good....now it was time to see if it tasted good. Indeed it did. The lime custard was sweet, creamy, and lovely, and the crust was also very sweet and delectable. The filling was a little bit grainy, but the lime flavor tasted authentic and marvelous. 

The check at MSC was modest for all my food, and the service was great, too. All in all, my meal was worth coming miles for.