Elf Cafe

Lovah and I have been to Elf Cafe twice, which says a lot because we don't usually go to the same restaurant twice. Elf Cafe's hook is that their Lebanese-Mediterranean/Greek, etc. meals are made with organic ingredients. But their real hook should be their waitresses who are the hipster versions of the Stepford wives. Can someone please write a second review to verify this fact? Seriously, they're all tall, dark-haired beauties who have broken, I'm sure, a few generic indie rockers' hearts. But I ain't jealous. I'm totally not down with generic indie rockers.

As for the organic schtuff, who can verify such things? But their food is incredibly tasty and delicious. I had the Moroccan vegetable tagine, which is a dish of pure deliciousness over a bed of couscous, and the citrus kale salad, which has an unexpected dressing the color of blood in '70s slasher movies. Lovah had an eggplant tart on our first visit and it was good, but it paled in comparison to my Moroccan vegetable tagine. For our second visit, he made up for it with the Greek lasagna, which was a towering heap of good, old comfort food -- at least, I imagine. I was too engrossed in my bright red dressing to pay attention to lovah's meal.

One thing: this place is TINY. And it doesn't help that the chefs share your dining space. Those afraid of small, tight spaces should dine at Elf Cafe after seeing their therapists.

If you're totally into drinking, they have a BYOB policy with corkage fee. I think it's $5. I'm not sure since we're not big drinkers, but apparently we're the minority because nearly every table is almost always drinking the night away.

And how could I almost forget? Your meal starts off with a pre-appetizer (is there a term for that?) that consists of cinnamon-powdered almonds and olives, a dangerous combination in your mouth since the olives aren't pitted. But it makes for good competition with your fellow diner.

Posted 03/18/08 | Report Abuse

Was this review helpful to you?