Cafe Kranzler - A Favorite Dining Choice!

When "the ladies who lunch" start looking for where to go next, Cafe Kranzler pops into all of our minds.  It never fails to be delicious, and the atmosphere is that of a fine dining experience in a comfortably casual environment.  Anyone who can blend all that with top notch personalized service has found the key to making me a happy patron!

Friday's lunch was no exception.  Good coffee in a wonderfully big cup helps our coffee-only lunching member.  She saves her calories for dinner and snacking.  Whatever she does, it works because she looks fabulous.  My other friend and I, however, find joy in indulging in one of the many delicious lunch offerings from the Cafe Kranzler menu.  I was waffling between the Steak Martini Salad and the Chicken Muffaletta...and the sandwich won.  I was starved and wanted something quite filling.  All sandwiches come with a side of sliced and fried rounds of potatoes - yum!  My friend knew going in that she wanted the Crab Macaroni and Cheese with a side salad.

Cell phone photos not the best - but I had to have a pic of all the goodies we got!

When we were served I looked over at my friend and my eyes popped wide.  The salad was meal size (which I love) and the organic greens were freshly picked from Acacia Farms in Bayview, just around the corner.  The tomatoes (although I don't care for tomatoes) were beautiful and perfectly ripe.  Nice to see in a time that we are starting to see anemic tomatoes served.  Her salad had a balsamic vinaigrette which was reportedly "the bomb".  The true gem of her meal though...that big bowl of OMG eye-rolling delicious Crab Mac and Cheese.  I immediately grabbed my cell phone and told her not to touch it, I needed photos.  All of us had our forks at the ready to taste it.  I tasted her meal before I tasted mine!  BEST MAC AND CHEESE EVER!!!

If you want a real South Padre Island seafood meal - come to Cafe Kranzler's and get your crab wrapped in the arms of an awesome cheesy bechamel sauce and pasta - served steaming hot!  Two pieces of crostini sat perched on the edge of the plate.  Very nice!  She said a friend of hers had told her to try it.  That friend was spot on!

I really wasn't sure if my Muffaletta was a "eat with a fork" sandwich or not.  It wasn't what I expected (my mind was picturing a more traditional New Orleans style round Muffaletta on thick rustic bread).  It was, instead, a beautiful sandwich - filled with boiled egg, avocado, bacon, grilled chicken, and bleu cheese dressing on toasted sour dough bread (hold the tomato - I'm not a fresh tomato fan sadly enough).  It was served with the top pieces of toasted bread cut at an angle and criss-crossed.  Pretty presentation but I had to think about how I was going to eat it.  Maybe a fork and knife?  Nah, I wanted to re-arrange it, cut the whole thing on the bias and pick it up with my hands.  I got it set up the way I wanted and cut it in half, hitting the edge of the plate and my knife popped up into the air with a resounding clang (oh dear, how embarrassing).  Oh well...it was replaced immediately and I finished my "set up".  It was so generously stuffed that I could barely get my mouth around it, but I did prevail!  It was outstandingly delicious.   Almost more of a Cobb Salad Sandwich though than a Muffaletta.  That's okay - they can call it whatever they want, I'll just call it delicious!

We stayed and talked for 2 1/2 hours.  At the 1 1/2 hour mark, the owner brought a sample of her new pastry chef's apple empanada to the table for us to try.  I love a dessert unexpectedly showing up with 3 forks!  The crust was so buttery flaky I was immediately jealous (I suck at making pie crust).  The apple filling was delicious but not overly sweet.  A perfect ending to our meal.  We were all so stuffed that we were forcing ourselves to finish the entire thing (yeah, such a sacrifice).  Even the friend who doesn't eat lunch ate a few bites of that luscious little treat!  It was also mentioned that they were working on their wine menu and were going to soon offer wine flights.  YAY, no better way to try different wines than a flight.  She showed us the cute little boards she bought for service - can't wait!  Also said she's working on pairing cheeses for a cheese board.  Love everything they are doing at Cafe Kranzler!

Inside the delicious Apple Empenadas

Saturday morning when I logged onto Facebook I saw that a newsletter was posted to the Cafe Kranzler wall.  You can view it here and you can Like them on Facebook and get updates from time to time about what's going on at one of the island's best restaurants!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!