Out to Lunch

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Latest Additions:

10/5/07:		AmerAisa & Sumo Sushi
1/31/07:		Slate Street Cafe
1/29/07:		Yanni's Mediterranean Bar
1/21/06:		2000 Vietnam
1/21/06:		Siam Cafe
11/21/05:		Bun Huggers
10/4/05:		Cafe Miche
10/4/05:		Socorro Springs
9/24/05:		Sammy's Deli
9/24/05:		Acosta's Mexican Restaurant

Highest Rated:

	Cafe Miche:	4.2
	I Love Sushi:	4.1
	India Kitchen:	4.0
	Siam Cafe:	3.8
	Socorro Springs:	3.8

Lowest Rated:

K-Bob's Steakhouse:

1.6

Latest Comments:

5/15/08:	Best Burgers
10/4/07:	Slate Street
1/29/07:	We haven't been back.
11/30/06:	hi jp
11/30/06:	hi
10/16/06:	Wow!
8/8/06:	good home cooking
8/8/06:	I think the Manny's Buckhorn the best
8/8/06:	good food
8/8/06:	THE BEST EVER

Cafe Miche

(Download a vCard for this restaurant.)

Review:

Café Miche is another great Albuquerque restaurant that seems a little out of place, stuck into the side of strip mall. The prices are high, but the food is absolutely excellent, the service shining, and the experience is wonderful -- well worth every dollar.

We originally found this place after watching an Iron Chef marathon. After watching Saki kick butt for several hours, we became aware that we had never been to a French restaurant. Wondering what exactly made French food deserving of its own category, I did some quick Googles on Albuquerque and Café Miche was at the top of the list and they had their own website (see above).

The pictures, awards, and menu we found on their site were quite impressive, as were the prices. We cataloged it away for a “special occasion”, however the next time we were up in Albuquerque we happened to drive past it just before 9pm and decided to try it out.

Upon entering, we were greeted by a very friendly hostess who asked us if we had reservations. Immediately, we started to worry. While she went to check if there were any tables available, we poked our heads around the corner and looked into the dining room. Hmm... Now we were feeling acutely under-dressed. I was making plans for where we were going to eat after they threw us out when the hostess returned and cheerfully led us to our table. Now, I might be reading too much into this, but they put us at a small table right next to the kitchen. I’ve seen movies like this.

After giving us our menus, they immediately dropped off a goose-liver pate appetizer and an aperitif to start us off. I was never a liver fan, and we were both worried when we saw it, however this was our latest adventure-dining experience, so we bellied up and dove in. Immediately, neither of us could believe what we had been missing all these years! It was really delicious and disappeared almost as fast as it had been served it. Afterwards, I remarked that I could have the pate and toast as my meal.

The aperitif made a good first-impression, too. It was a small, decorative glass filled with a sweet vermouth and a twist of lemon peel. I nursed it for a good 10 minutes while we looked over the menu.

I ordered the Atlantic salmon, and Heidi had the Veal Piccata. For an appetizer, we ordered the Duck Confit Crepe with Dried Cherry Sauce. The Duck Confit melted in our mouths and was bursting with flavor. They also served our appetizers with some well-crafted dinner rolls that were crusty, soft, and tasty.

Dinner was excellent. The salmon was cooked to perfection, being soft, tender, and flaky, and was paired well with the tea and citrus zest crust on it. Heidi’s piccata was terrific, too. Everything was expertly blended and controlled, and the portions were perfect.

For dessert, we both had the crème brule. Again, another great dish that was smooth and creamy, and with a hint of vanilla.

We’ve been back twice more since then, remembering to dress nicely during later visits. It’s certainly not a black-tie affair, but you don’t want to wander in wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt. Each time, the very friendly and helpful staff treated us wonderfully and they had no problem dealing with our stupid questions.

Their wine list is easily the most impressive one I have seen. Café Miche prides itself on its wines, and the list was several times thicker than the menu, ranging from cheap $10 bottles to wines upwards of 4-digit pricing. The menu even details the wines with maps of the locations where the grapes are grown along with rainfall!

On our subsequent visits we also tried out some of their after-dinner liqueurs. I had a very potent cream sherry that Heidi had to drive me home after, and she, remembering her Poe, had a very delicious Amontillado.

We also took my parents out to dinner when they were in town (Heidi’s mother, unfortunately, couldn’t attend). Even my picky father really liked it, although he stayed away from a couple of the appetizers. My mother, always ready to try new things, was going to order the escargot, but backed out at the last minute. We couldn’t blame her. Some things you just have to take in slowly, and that one is still something we haven’t been able to bring ourselves to try.

Every time we’ve been to Café Miche, we’ve had an excellent, if pricey, meal, however I can’t fault them on that. Once you sit down and eat, you know where every single cent is going, and it’s a perfect restaurant for special occasions.

For a real treat, grab their listing of upcoming events or check their website. The chef always has something special going one. There are weekly events like wine tastings, cooking classes, themed meals, just about anything! For example, on Valentine’s Day, if you made the appropriate reservations (and, I believe, about $180), you would get your complete meal -- appetizers, dinner, dessert, wine, and live music in addition to being chauffeured to the Marriot where they would set the two of you up with a suite for the night, Champaign, and late-checkout. Woof! Another special was a weeklong Greek cruise with the chef.

I should point out that calling Café Miche a French restaurant is a bit of a misnomer. While it obviously has wonderful French cuisine, Chef Claus is Danish and his specialty menus cover a variety of European and Mediterranean foods (Danish, German, Greek, just to name a few).

It’s difficult to put into words just how good this restaurant is, although I’ve managed to stumble through it. I highly recommend Café Miche for a special occasion, especially when price isn’t your main concern.

Note: Now would be a good time to point out that the Price ratings on this site are relative to what you would expect to pay for quality of the food you get; high-priced food does not get a low rating, but overpriced food does!