Vicki Lee’s Café, Superb food on a small scale
Vicki Lee’s Café, bakeshop, catering service, and takeaway service
105 Trapelo Road
Belmont, MA 02478
617-489-5007
Open Tuesday - Saturday 8:00 am - 7 pm, Sunday 9 am - 3pm, Closed Mondays
http://www.vickilees.com
A visit to Vicki Lee’s Café in Belmont transforms eating into a religious experience. There are no candles, religious icons, or stained glass windows in sight but plenty of hosannas can be heard coming from the lips of the diners. Vicki Lee Boyajian was put on earth to bless foodies and even subsistence grazers like ptatlarge with the metaphorical incense and myrrh of the food kingdom. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a star visible in the west pointing the way for food pilgrims to find her newest shop in Cushing Square on Trapelo Road.
In over 20 years that she’s operated her specialty stores, Boyajian has been on a peripatetic pilgrimage to find the finest ingredients on the planet and then infuse them into her offerings. Her newest café, open from 8 am till 7 pm serves light breakfasts and lunches, and the pastries, tortes, muffins, cakes, and croissants that have earned her a reputation as a perfectionist who can deliver on the promise.
Some signature pastries are served only Thursdays through Sundays because it takes time to achieve perfection. Case in point - croissants. One day before croissants sit temptingly at eye level at the order counter on Thursday, they’ve been started from scratch in the spotless stainless steel and glass open kitchen visible from the front. They’re hand rolled and punched down twice in 24 hours, placed in a climate controlled proof box, then baked to a light and finely textured perfection. This process continues till Saturday, when Sunday’s croissants are being created. The Danish pastries are made in similar fashion. The café is closed Mondays.
The breakfast menu is rather continental, offering pastries, the aforementioned croissants in plain, almond and chocolate varieties. A substantial plain croissant filled with Black Forest ham and cheese should tide most patrons over till lunch. A slick coffee machine can steam or condense coffee the way you like it. The house coffee is Intelligensia Coffee, which Vicki sniffed out in Chicago and has ground to her specs and delivered aromatically fresh. “Better than across the street,” said a patron, nodding to a nearby Starbucks. The tea menu is quite muscular and features black, green, white, herbal, and chai varieties.
Lunch, served between 11:30 am and 2:30 pm, marries familiar food with Vicki Lee originals and has choices of salads, sandwiches, and daily specials. Even the bowls and dishes in which they’re served give a visual lift to food that’s artfully presented. The goldenrod napkins match the awnings that shade the café ‘s nearly floor to ceiling windows that flood the café with light. The seating is limited and there can be a wait to sit at the noon hour, although the take out business is brisk. The interior design is filled with clean lines and imaginative curves, but it can be a bit clattery. “We’re working on softening the acoustics,” Vicki says. She needs to work out the service line as well, since patience can wear thin even when waiting for high quality food.
The soups change daily. A shrimp and corn chowder in a creamy fish stock had a slightly spicy accent. The white bean and pancetta soup, carefully balancing the gentle tastes of both, was just right on a recent rainy day. The roasted tomato soup laden with bits of tomato and onion with fresh basil and mint made one think of the promise of tastes to come in the summer.
On any given day, there are about four choices of pressed and traditional sandwiches. The Aram sandwich (display case, lower right) is a Vicki Lee original. Long rectangular pieces of dry Armenian cracker bread are covered with a moist towel to soften them. Then herbed cream cheese, romaine lettuce, plum tomato and fillings are laid on. The whole piece is then rolled and sliced. Fillings include roast beef, turkey, Black Forest ham, Norwegian smoked salmon, and BLT with applewood bacon, basil mayo, tomato and bib lettuce. You could buy a whole Aram yielding from 16 to 18 slices for between $32 and $35 or buy an individual roll-up from the case for $3.50. The Aram I devoured recently was filled with melt-in-your-mouth tender roast beef and served with Vicki’s tasty “Trapelo Slaw,” jeeped up with fennel, lime juice, and spicy jalapeno bits.
The pressed sandwiches include “Nora’s Cubano” on a ciabatta roll. Filled with tender center cut pork, chipotle mayo, layers of fontina cheese and tiny spicy cornichons, it was gently pressed and browned. The bread had good ‘tooth”, was not dry or crumbly, and held up till the last bite. A chicken piccata sandwich was divine. Sliced skinless chicken breast that had been cooked with an egg lemon batter and drizzled with lemon garlic butter and parsley was served on a chewy baguette with lemon aioli and arugula. All sandwiches are served on Iggy’s bread and are accompanied by a small mesclin or arugula salad drizzled with lemon and lime juice, mustard, and olive oil.
Vicki Lee does a major take out and catering business. One look at the pastry counter with her specialty tortes and cakes is all you need to know about the care with which these rich creations have been produced. The same goes for the companion case filled with hors d’oeuvres, salads, pastas, and specially cooked chicken, lamb, and fish dishes sold by the pound. It’s pricey and worth it.
Over all of this, Vicki Lee is a presence. If you dine there, chances are the energetic, intense entrepreneur who strives for perfection will ask you if everything is done to your satisfaction. Ask her about the food and be ready for a passionate response about the provenance of the ingredients on your plate and why it belongs there. Rest assured it’s the best Boyajian could find.
delicious i reccomend highly!
Posted by: dannica adamio | August 01, 2006 at 12:34 PM