The Chameleon Cafe

Rating: 4 stars
Price- 20-30$ an entree
Portions- Average
Parking- We parked at the Safeway, but i don't know if your supposed to. We were not towed, so i think its cool.
Seating- Medium-ish (on the smaller side) dinning room.
Website: http://www.thechameleoncafe.com/

Karma Karma Karma Karma Karma Chameleon
You do come and go, you come and GOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OK- I'm done.

In an attempt to make up for a not as trilling Valentines day, Joe and I voyaged out in search of a nice meal. The whole day had been very disorganized and it had all the makings of a horrible evening. I was in a bad stressed mood. We entered the chameleon as it was opening for the evening. We were their first table. It was odd because we entered the restaurant from the front door which appeared to be in the work station of the wait staff. Next time we know to come in the door near the Safeway. The staff seemed very nice. We happened to be so early that our waiter was not even at work yet. (we saw him come in as someone poured our water) At first i was worried that it was awkward that we came so early but within the half hour the whole restaurant was jumping and i was glad that we had gotten there early. They do take reservation, and i would recommend making them. The workers seemed to know most of the people in the restaurant. They were very personable.

The menu was limited, they only had about 10-15 things to choose from. Although limited, the menu had a variety of unique foods. I was surprised at some of the combinations of ingredients and cooking styles. I had the duck. quack. It was fantastic. It was grilled with broccolini (i think) served over risotto with sausage and cider reduction. Let me brake it down, The duck was awesome, it was a VERY generous portion and cook exactly to my liking. Some places skimp on duck, here I was served almost a large chicken breast sized portion; I was very impressed. quack. I could have sworn that the menu said it was served with squash, but it was served with what appeared to be broccolini. I honestly don't know why I didn't ask, but it was a nice restaurant and I did not want to appear stupid. (which was silly, but I'm sure most of you have been in that kind of situation) The sausage was nice but as many of you know, my friends and I make our own sausage and although there sausage was good, it was not as tasty as ours. Not to be a sausage snob, but I like ours better. The cider reduction and risotto were out of this world. I wanted to lick my plate. The way the flavors of the reduction mixed with the duck juices made the plate almost irresistible.

Joe had the salmon. It was kind of a smaller piece of fish, but I think it just looked small and was thick. You could tell by the striations of the fish that it was of nice quality. The salmon was pan seared (my favorite method of preparation when I am cooking it at home) The menu said it was pan seared with a branade crust, the crust was so minute that it was almost nonexistent. The sauce was there, and the flavors were nice, but I wouldn't call it a branade "crust". The lentils were smooth and tender. (they were by no means mushy) I was impressed how the sorrel butter really brought the whole dish together.

Atmosphere was relaxing and comfortable. It was apparent that this place is a favorite in the neighborhood. I would love to be one of the regulars here, but, alas, it is a very expensive place. It might be the nicest place on my little mission. I would recommend it for someone who wants a high dinning experience. I was impressed by how well the Chameleon combined fancy with relaxing. It was expensive, but you got alot for your money.