Café Parizade is a long time staple in Durham, NC. Six years
ago my mother, sister, and I hosted my father’s 70th Birthday dinner
celebration for fifty persons in their private dining room. From start to
finish the staff went above and beyond our expectations. Since then I have been
promising to return but just never got there. But I love the atmosphere and
have never been disappointed by the food.
Recently Big Daddy and I were given a gift certificate to Café
Parizade and l was over the moon excited! It was an opportunity to dress up and
rub elbows with a sophisticated, trendy crowd. At least that was my plan. But this
week we happened to be in the area mid-afternoon and decided to pop in for
lunch since we didn’t know when we’d get another chance. The lunch rush was
done and finished and there wasn’t a crowd so the wait staff were exceptionally
attentive.
Everything about Café Parizade feels like a Mediterranean excursion.
The décor is whimsical and inviting. The staff hail from all over the world and
the food tastes out of this world!
The meal started with a beautiful basket of whole grain focaccia
bread. Big Daddy balked at the bread at first because it was “chilled” and he
likes warm bread when it comes to olive oil and dipping. Our waiter, a young
man from Kenya studying dentistry, said the bread is served at room
temperature. Of course, Big Daddy joked about the room being a refrigerator!
But the bread was fresh and spattered with olives. The dipping oil was a
flavorful olive oil atop red pepper flakes and grated parmesan cheese. I could
have made an entire meal off the bread. It was that good.
For his appetizer Big Daddy ordered the seasonal soup of the
day. It was a healthy bowl of creamy goodness; a delightful melding of chicken
and scallions in a rich cream sauce. This needs to be on the menu every day. On
a day like today, I’d give anything for a big bowl to offset the cold and rain.
For his entrée Big Daddy ordered the CHICKEN SOUVLAKI KABOB.
It was a kabob of grilled chicken atop a bed of chopped Greek salad and arugula
with tzatziki sauce and pita triangles on the side. The portion was modest but
more than enough for a full meal. The chicken was melt in your mouth tender and
so flavorful. Surprisingly, Big Daddy liked the cold focaccia bread more than
the pita but it was all good.
I started with the PARIZADE SALAD,
a pretty dish of mixed greens, strawberries, bleu cheese, and almonds in a
raspberry vinaigrette. It was like eating spring time, bright and fresh! Everything
about it made me feel good. It looked pretty and tasted great. For my entrée I
went for the pasta and ordered the FETTUCCINE CARBONARA. It was delicate
noodles in a parmesan cream sauce topped with Applewood bacon, hardboiled egg, and
green onions. The sauce was a little bland for my liking. It really could have
used just a smidgen of salt to accent the flavors. I also found the chopped egg
a little off putting. For me, it just seemed out of place. And it did nothing
to enhance the taste. 
We ended the meal with their BLACK VELVET PRALINE TORTE. It was three layers consisting of a velvety smooth blend of milk and Gianduja chocolate, caramel praline, blanket chiffon cake and topped with a warm chocolate praline sauce. It tasted much better than it looked. The flowers dusted on the plate were pretty but the warm sauce dumped on top of the torte was not appealing to the eye and I won't even repeat what Big Daddy thought it looked like.
On a scale of one through ten I’d
give the meal a solid eight. Neither one of us was really disappointed. We would go
back in a heartbeat. I’m actually looking forward to summer and their infamous
Prixe Fix Friday menus. The Prixe Fix Friday menus, with five courses for a
nominal price, focus each month on one of the Mediterranean countries, with
inspiration coming from Spain, Morocco, Italy, and Greece, culminating with
their Greek festival at the end of the summer.
Café Parizade was a win-win for us
both! I absolutely LOVE this place!
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