Lunch Specials for the week of November 27, 2017

Lunch Specials For the week of November 27, 2017
*some changes may occur due to availability

As always, our Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies are baked throughout the day!

Monday
Kale and farro soup
Crunchy salad with cabbage, arugula, fennel, carrots, walnuts, toasted breadcrumbs, and hard-cooked egg
Spaghetti with pancetta, tomato, red onions, and Calabrian chili

Tuesday
Minestrone soup with chickpeas
Pastrami “reuben” with potato salad

Wednesday
White bean and kale soup with tomato
Arugula salad with roasted carrots, butternut squash, baby turnips, and chimichurri
Baby spinach and endive salad with roasted pepper, fennel, hard-cooked egg, and toasted breadcrumbs
Caffe 817 meatballs: Meatballs braised in tomato sauce over polenta with Parmesan and arugula

Thursday
Roasted tomato soup
Arugula, endive, and chicken salad with pears, farro, Parmesan, and walnuts
Risotto with pork ragu

Friday
Butternut squash and white bean soup with spinach
Arugula salad with roasted carrots, butternut squash, baby turnips, and chimichurri
Slow-cooked chicken with kale, chickpeas, mushrooms, and tomato

Lunch Specials for the week of November 13, 2017

Lunch Specials For the week of November 13, 2017
*some changes may occur due to availability

As always, our Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies are baked throughout the day!

Monday
Potato, cabbage, and tomato soup
Arugula and endive salad with chicken, grapes, pecans, Gruyere, and shallot vinaigrette
Spaghetti with pancetta, tomato, and red onion

Tuesday
Onion and dandelion green soup
Baby spinach salad with red peppers, red onions, hard-cooked egg, and torn croutons
Pastrami “reuben” with potato salad

Wednesday
Lentil soup
Arugula salad with farro, cucumber, kalamata olives, almonds, and pickled onion
Caffe 817 meatballs: Meatballs braised in tomato sauce over polenta with Parmesan and arugula

Thursday
Chicken and rice soup
Arugula and endive salad with pears, fennel, walnuts, Parmesan, and balsamic
Risotto with baby turnips and pancetta

Friday
Potato-parsley soup
Arugula and chicken salad with couscous, curried carrots, spiced raisins, and almonds
Pulled pork sandwich with skillet onions and roasted potatoes

Lunch Specials for the week of October 30, 2017

Lunch Specials For the week of Oct 30, 2017
*some changes may occur due to availability

As always, our Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies are baked throughout the day!

Monday
Butternut squash and white bean soup
Arugula and chicken salad with green olives, carrots, and cilantro
Pasta al forno: penne with eggplant, tomato, chickpeas, and feta

Tuesday
Sorry, no specials today- Happy Halloween!

Wednesday
Potato, squash, and cilantro soup
Arugula and chicken salad with Corno di Toro peppers, fennel, croutons, and olives
Caffe 817 meatball SUB: Meatballs braised in tomato sauce on a deli roll with mozzarella and arugula

Thursday
Fennel, onion, and white bean soup with spinach
Arugula and chicken salad with couscous, curried carrots, spiced raisins, and almonds
Risotto with butternut squash and sage

Friday
Cream of celery soup
Arugula and endive salad with butternut squash, farro, walnuts, and balsamic
Slow-cooked chicken with roasted mushrooms, chickpeas, tomato, and greens

Lunch Specials for the week of October 23, 2017

Lunch Specials For the week of Oct 23, 2017
*some changes may occur due to availability

As always, our Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies are baked throughout the day!

Monday
Curried carrot soup
Arugula and farro salad with persimmons, walnuts, Parmesan, and fennel
Penne with butternut squash, pancetta, sage, and toasted breadcrumbs

Tuesday
White bean, butternut squash, and spinach soup
Arugula and farro salad with corn di torro peppers, almonds, blue cheese, and fennel
House made pastrami “reuben” with potato salad

Wednesday
Potato and winter squash soup with cilantro
Arugula and lentil salad with roasted vegetables and chimichurri
Caffe 817 meatball SUB: pork meatballs braised in tomato sauce on a deli roll; arugula salad

Thursday

Friday

Lunch Specials for the week of October 16, 2017

Lunch Specials For the week of Oct 16, 2017
*some changes may occur due to availability

As always, our Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies are baked throughout the day!

Monday
Lentil and red pepper soup
Arugula and farro salad with cucumber, feta, almonds, and red onions
Pasta al forno: penne with chickpeas, tomato, and eggplant

Tuesday
House made pastrami “reuben” with potato salad

Wednesday
Caffe 817 meatball SUB: pork meatballs braised in tomato sauce on a deli roll; arugula salad

Thursday

Friday

Lunch Specials for the week of Sept 25-29, 2017

Lunch Specials For the week of Sept 25-29, 2017
*some changes may occur due to availability

As always, our Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies are baked throughout the day!

Monday

Tuesday
House made pastrami “reuben” with potato salad

Wednesday
Roasted tomato soup
Arugula and chicken salad with roasted carrots, green olives, and cilantro
Caffe 817 meatball SUB: pork meatballs braised in tomato sauce on a deli roll; arugula salad

Thursday
Eggplant, tomato, and onion soup with Parmesan broth
Baby spinach salad with red peppers, hard-cooked egg, and croutons, and olive vinaigrette
Risotto with summer squash, Parmesan, and black pepper

Friday
Curried carrot soup
Arugula and chicken salad with cucumber, fennel, croutons, and mustard vinaigrette
Spaghetti with ricotta, mint, and lemon zest

First Annual Caffe 817 Party

We’ve been wanting to throw an Annual Bash and this year we’ve done it!

SO……

We’re having a PARTY!

Caffe 817′s First Annual Caffe 817 Party on…

Saturday August 17 (get it?…8/17)

1pm-5pm

There will be an Outdoor Grill, Lots-a food, Music, Prosecco Cocktails, and Summer Drinks.

We’ll also have a wine-tasting station set up inside featuring 4 different wines from Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant.

The menu will include: Grilled Woodleaf Farm Peaches, House-made Pancetta and chicken skewers, Panzanella, Crumb-topped Roasted Tomatoes, and more.

Space is limited! Advance tickets $15 per person (beverages not included)

Stop in to purchase your tickets, or call (510)271-7965 or visit https://caffe817party.eventbrite.com/

Black truffles in da house?

Would ya like to know what the heck a black truffle is? Well, I can tell you for sure that we’re not slicing little chocolate confections over our fettuccine.

Not as pungent as white truffles, black truffles have a lovely earthy aroma that is not over-powering but still remains distinct.

This week, we’ve got Italian black Summer truffles in house and are looking forward to treating everybody with a little bit of special-ness. You’ll find them on our Specials Menu this week until we run out, so keep your eyes peeled for some tasty treats.

Here’s a little YouTube blurb about truffles.

Wanna get in while the gettin’s good? Check ‘em out today and hopefully Thursday and Friday while they last!

Homemade Chicken Stock is good for my soul

Whenever Scott and I move into a new home, the first thing we do is put on a pot of chicken stock. I consider it a “sage burning” of sorts. To me, there’s nothing that says “home” like the smell of chicken stock wafting into every nook and cranny of the house. It makes the house ours. Chicken stock is one of those things that is really not difficult to make, but it does take time to perk along on the stovetop. It’s a job for a stay-at-home kind of day, when you’re puttering around the house, tying up loose ends, and doing chores. But no, the chicken stock is not a chore. It’s a pleasure! Growing up, my dad would always make chicken soup with dumplings on the nights when we had a fresh batch of chicken stock. We’d mix up the dumpling batter and drop it by the spoonful into the simmering broth until they bobbed back up to the surface, indicating that they were done. Yes, chicken stock holds a special, romantic place in my kitchen.

At the restaurant, we make chicken stock regularly to be used in our soups and stews, and it occurred to us one day that some of you might like some of our homemade stock to take home! We’ve all got busy lives…I can tell you that I rarely have those stay-at-home-all day kinda days where I can tend my simmering pot of love. I’m usually paying more attention to keeping our toddler from standing on the coffee table! So to make things a little easier for everybody, I’ve started making extra chicken stock at the restaurant. We pour our hearts into it and then freeze it as soon as it’s cool, so that you can buy it mid-day and have plenty of time to get it into the fridge. Then you can enjoy a little homemade stock at your own house! $4 per quart.

Jam for Breakfast

There’s something about jam that just makes a person happy. Good jam. Homemade jam. Seasonally made jam. Lick-your-knife jam. And I’m part of that crowd. Wholeheartedly!

I’ve started making jam for the Caffe from scratch. I love the sight of empty mason jars waiting to be filled. It is their destiny. And who knew we’d plow through it so fast? The jam pot seems to have a permanent spot on the stove now just so I can keep up. Strawberry is the flavor of the moment and so far the berries have come from Swanton Berry Farm, Tomatero, Rodriguez Farms, and Rio de Parras.

And you know what I’m so happy about? I’m happy that you’ve noticed! Our Saturday brunch crowd comes back for seconds and thirds, and I love watching toddler-sized fingers swiping the jam-dishes clean. With toast, with ham, with a croissant, with a spoon.

So if my jam starts your day off with a burst of sunshine, then I’ve done my job. And that is what fulfills me.

~Emily