Black Dog Cafe is a sleeper cell in lowertown St. Paul. This weekend I needed a coffee shop that would caffeinate, feed, and relax me as I trudged through a backlog of laptop work. Black Dog was like (wo)man's best friend in delivering all of that and inspiring me to power through my backlog. Another added perk, day long parking is available for $1 or $2 on Saturdays by the building and the farmer's market is happening every weekend (in Golden's Deli during these chilly months.)
Arriving in the morning, I wanted a jolt of caffeine and an enjoyable breakfast to set me off on my productive path. The coffee was suitable, not outstanding. The breakfast quesadilla, well, that was the stuff of memories. The tortilla was crispy, airy, yet somehow still also soft. The scrambled eggs and cheese were fluffy and cooked perfectly. The black beans, so deceptively simple yet just the right texture. Now the salsa took this exceptional quesadilla to another stratosphere for me. It's March and Minnesota is emerging from the dulldrums of winter to the slushy drear of early spring, yet this salsa sang of summer freshness. Each bite was like eating summer clouds in the muddy chill of March. While this quesadilla wasn't packing the big flavors tex-mex can, it was so good in its simple and perfect execution I had to give my regards to the cook. Thanks to that quesadilla I was off and running because as soon as I got my work done that salsa was screaming to me that good weather was waiting.
For lunch, I ordered the special - a cubano sandwich with pulled pork, ham, cheese, pickles, peppers, and mustard/mayo on ciabatta. It was a great sandwich. While I'm a fan of big and bold flavors, again, Black Dog's delivery is more subtle but right on the notes it does hit.
We ended up finishing slightly ahead of schedule and decided not to partake in the beer/wine menu, but having it there in case things weren't going so well was comforting and a draw.
The cafe/coffeeshop is pretty spacious as places like this go and there were open seats the whole time I was there. The one complaint is that there is VERY limited access to outlets for the working crowd.
No comments:
Post a Comment