A Happy Birthday at KC's Chiffafa

Last night we met up with Mom and Dad for dinner in celebration of Mom's birthday at KC's Chiffafa in the center of Mendham. Our reservation was for 6:30pm. I'll get my complaints out of the way now - the service was friendly and knowledgeable but much too slow! We finally left at 9:30 p.m. Sylvain, starting work bright and early this morning, couldn't wait any longer for his dessert (did we really wait 40 mins.?!) and had to leave. Also, with a prix fixe of $75, it wasn't cheap for a BYO and it would have been nice to know that up front when I made the reservation.

That said, the food was excellent and the place was casual, quirky and a lot of fun. Everyone starts with a plate of bread with anise butter and a dish of warm, roasted pecans. Sylvain and Dad had the mussels which were fabulous. I don't say that lightly as for some reason, as easy as it is to prepare mussels to perfection, few pull it off. Mom and I had the gazpacho with truffles and creme fraiche. It was delicious with a taste more of smokey tomatoes than onion and peppers and a little spicy kick at the end.

For our main courses, Mom and I stayed in step with the monk fish wrapped in bacon. Dad had the Russian wild boar with mushroom risotto and Sylvain the fillet mignon with braised greens and potato puree. The monkfish was quite good and stood up well to the wide slices of lean bacon. It was served with roasted tomatoes and new potatoes.

K.C.'s is only open for dinner on the weekend and they have live music, in our case two fellows having a good time on acoustic guitar and piano regaling us with everything from Marshall Crenshaw to The Searchers. At one point two women who were clearly fans arrived rushing over to kiss them. One then came to our table and planted a big kiss on Bapu. We all scratched our heads and had a good laugh over that. Even in the dim light his blush was visible!

There was a choice of two desserts. Sylvain and Dad ordered the Tupelo Honey Souffle and Mom and I ended up eating Sylvain's. It arrived at the table hugely inflated accompanied by a smalled dish of apricots in a brandy sauce that were poured table side carefully into a slit made in the souffle. Nice!

What did Nora have? She enjoyed Lobster Macaroni and Cheese without the lobster (which she now avoids after being stared down by one on her plate last year in Maine). This was a sophisticated version with rich, more complex cheeses for adult palates. For dessert she chose the Frozen Hot Chocolate which came in a tall glass topped with whipped cream, marshmallows and sprinkles.

Overall we really enjoyed ourselves and loved the food. Clearly born of a couple's vision and their love of food, I was reminded of our own Cafe du Soleil.

http://http//events.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/16dinenj.html