Archive: Around Town

Review

The other day, racing about doing errands, I was delighted to see a new sign, new colors, and an open restaurant in the old Dempsey's building along East Shore Drive. East Shore Café is a breath of fresh air in Lansing and truly worth the wait.

For our first visit, my husband and I stopped in for a light meal in the middle of a busy week. The sun was setting over the pond in the back meadow- a beautiful sight.  The restaurant to the eye is spiffed up with newly painted trim, colorful flower pots, and crisp, elegant sign. Upon entering you notice the same layout as Dempsey's with a brighter pallet of colors in the rooms: lavender in the bar, indigo blue for the front party room and baby blue in the main dining room.

The décor is clean, simple, elegant café style, the staff were pleasant, efficient and attentive. Taking a look at the menu, you will see a wide variety of culinary offerings suitable for many palates and ages. Appetizers (5-8$), entrees (4-22$) range, salads solo (7-8$) with add-ons of meat or seafood for an additional (4-6$), Sandwiches with a side (8-10$), and a kid's menu (4-6$).

My husband ordered the Buffalo burger with fries and I ordered the Italian steak sandwich (minus the provolone -- I thought the caramelized onions would be sufficient to rev. the taste buds) with a side of onion rings. We also decided to share an appetizer of the fried calamari, always a marker for a chef with a light touch. We were not disappointed. The calamari were served piping hot, crisp, yet delicate in flavor, and respectfully guarded from too much heat. There was a chipotle dipping sauce that exceeded expectation for its genre. It was creamy, with a deep, rich, smoky flavor that floats on your palate, ascends up into your sensory glands, and finally percolates softly into the recesses of one's brain.

The Burger was generously portioned (8 oz.), lean, mounded with translucent melted cheddar, 2 slices of ripe tomato, lettuce, onion and the extra blessing of a divine home-made BBQ sauce paired with fries that were perfectly golden and crispy without any extra urging. While I enjoyed my steak sandwich on ciabatta bread, I was unable to resist pilfering my husband's extra BBQ sauce rather than dip in the respectable 'au jus'.

The sauce was redolent with faint smoked peppery note wrapped around a piquant, citrus base. The whole effect was savory and required a mesmerized repetition until it was absolutely gone. I considered asking for a bit to go, because it would have been brilliant on an omelet as well. The light battered skinny fries were reminiscent of Dano's touch at Valentine's Restaurant years ago.


"Who is East Shore Café?"  We chatted with General Manager Joy Fickeisen, and she filled us in. Coincidentally the new owner is a past favorite chef, Patrick Johnston, who we reviewed when he was cooking at The Mahogany Grill several years ago. He had been feeling a tad stifled after years of doing the same thing and decided to branch off on his own. Several other staff decided to make the move with him up the hill to Lansing, and he was joined by his younger brother Dave, and Desert Chef Evan Roberts.  As a result, there is really no learning curve. What we find is a new restaurant with a crisp, well trained, established feel.  We came back for a full review to see what the independence has done for his culinary self-expression.


We returned to East Shore Café several weeks later and sat at the bar for the exploratory event and chatted with Bartender Chris Pastorello about lessons in history.  Finishing their meal was Jamie and Melissa Ferris, who live nearby and have been here a half dozen times already.

My husband ordered a Southern Tier Pumpkin Ale that they had on draft. Although the bar was very well-appointed and the wine list diverse, I decided to stick with water so that I wouldn't fall asleep mid taste. The pumpkin ale was a deep sienna hue with strong pumpkin taste and pie spice nose. At first it seemed too heavy and sweet, but the flavor grows on you and was surprisingly complimentary with many of the dishes we tried.

For starters we tasted the 'vegetarian' French Onion Soup. It was a more sophisticated version than most of us are used to, served in a china teacup rather than the heavy brown tureen one usually finds it in. It had a thinner layer of excellent toasted provolone cheese draped over a garlic crouton in rich oniony herb broth that was neither too heavy with beef flavor, nor too salty as many bouillon soup stocks are- a gracious presentation.

Next we tried a field green salad with  Granny apple slices, candied pecans, and maple-port vinaigrette. My husband says, "The taste begins before you even take a bite."  A very balanced flavor, similar to the Antler's but a degree better, a wealth of sweet maple candied pecans and fine crumbles of a mellow gorgonzola  playing foil to the faint bitter greens and pure clear bright apple notes.

The 'sweet and spicy Thai marinated chicken', served chilled in leaf lettuce cups with sriracha aioli and Asian slaw, was surprising and fantastic. I would not have ordered it on my own, but in the spirit of adventure we try everything. The taste is hot and bright with a rich savory follow. The slaw readies your mouth for the next bite. My husband is the big chicken lover, but this is a dish that delights, invigorates, and when you are done, you are sure that you are healthier than when you started.  For a good palate cleanser try the fresh, warm fried tortilla chips with the house-made chipotle salsa.  At that point you could curl up by a fire with a beer and a good book.

The entrees are primarily American seafood and meat offerings with Johnston's fresh interpretation as well as, a sprinkling of international dishes. There is something for everyone here. Joy spoke a little about her wine list choices. They wanted the wines to be reasonably priced with a wide range of style and age and from the looks of the wine list they have at least achieved the latter. There are quite a few good wines available by the glass, both local and international, and four sparkling wines to bless any special occasion.



The first entrée we tried was the 'Wild mushroom ravioli'. This dish really highlights the difference between the older and less imaginative style of cooking and the direction Johnston is headed in now. Whereas at other restaurants this dish would have been swimming in a very rich cream sauce, here it is delicately dressed in the lightest white wine butter sauce infused with sage and garlic and gently draped with lightly seared, ripe garden tomatoes, and baby spinach. It is finished with a scattering of fine Parmesan shavings that waltz with the complex wild mushroom flavors. It seems as if it would be too complex an arrangement of tastes, but the first bite leads to a true addiction. Could something taste so good and actually be healthy too? It can.

The crab cakes had to be sampled. If you are expecting a firm almost hamburger like patty you will be disappointed. But if what you want is to close your eyes and taste the richness of the sea in every bite then you have found a dish to enjoy. Johnston chose not to dilute the crabmeat with heavy breading. Instead pure fresh crabmeat is put gently under the broiler until it has a golden skin. The inside is cooked, yet creamy, and is complemented by the crispy fries and coleslaw. The sauce has a light sour cream vinaigrette taste with undercurrents of caper and horseradish. It is very rich. If you get the full entree you will probably be too full to eat dessert, don't lose out though, bring a dessert home.

Nearing the end of our journey we agreed to try a house red wine that is frequently recommended- Silver Palm Cabernet Sauvignon. This versatile red was pleasant to drink out of hand and was well paired to the beef and pork dishes that followed. It was light in body, but had a decent acidity and clear plummy nose.

The sirloin we chose was medium-rare. It was lean, flavorful, and came well-dressed in a scampi butter sauce sided with delicate French green beans. The beans made as much contribution to the dish as the shrimp, although the shrimp were necessary to add extra richness to this cut of meat. 


The pork was incredibly moist- literally dripping in its own juices. The flavor was not hidden by the cherry-chipotle BBQ glaze at all. In fact, it simply gave the pork a faint waft of cherry scent. Anybody can eat this pork, there are no surprises- just a little twist. If you are simply reading the menu it seems as if this dish might be a noisy flavor collection. But after all is said and done, you may want to drag your last bite around the plate and gather the vestiges of the smoky faint note for a last dance on your tongue.

I know you can't believe it, but we did make it to dessert, and it was really worth it.

We tried the peach cobbler. This is a grandma's must have. Not a bite will be left on your plate. Perfectly ripe hand picked peaches are blended with a silky soft cobbler batter and served with an inspired scoop of butter pecan ice cream. And the last committed effort ended with the chocolate torte. The torte is individually baked and comes wafted with an intense raspberry reduction.   We had a few bites, pushed it away, had a few more and with a cup of coffee it was part of history. I woke up thinking about that torte. I thought I might return soon to see if it was as good as I remembered.

"My goal is to make light, flavorful, and fresh tasting food- something for everyone," Johnston  says. 

The East Shore Café is successful in this goal.

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