Boston Restaurant Reviews, Providence Restaurant Reviews

	I n today's restaurant business, restaurants burst into life as fully formed entities. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent creating authentic looking themes to dazzle diners with artifacts from some Italian village or Canadian hunting lodge. Very few restaurants manage to
survive long enough to develop a natural ambiance gathered over the years, rather than collected by a fashion conscious designer. Located in the heart of Hyannis is one of Cape Cod's most familiar landmarks, The Roadhouse Café. This superb restaurant, was started 25 years ago by David Columbo the current owner. As a bright eyed and optimistic chef, he took care of a tiny 26 seat restaurant. Growing steadily over the last 25 years David has now hung up his chef's hat and now works front of the house. During that time, the restaurant has grown and grown. Over the course of four major renovations, it now seats 200 guests.



What's so different about The Roadhouse Café is the remarkable warm and clubby atmosphere that is tastefully created with the use of rich dark mahogany wood, plush carpets and a myriad of antiques and memorabilia. We all expect our restaurants to be clean and look nice. David either suffers from an extreme case of obsessive compulsive disorder or sets a standard of cleanliness and upkeep that that is so high, that it leaves the majority of the gleaming new theme restaurants well behind.



The Roadhouse Café is a rambling building, as befits a property that has undergone as many renovations. Each of the dining areas has its own personality and feel. Warm wood and white table linens make the restaurant feel upscale, but the atmosphere is generally relaxed and welcoming. One of the great features is the large bar area which has a number of booths to one side and a terrific fireplace that is kept stocked with blazing logs in the winter.


Ken Van Buren, Chef - At The Roadhouse he specializes in seafood and Italian cuisine with Asian and Middle Eastern influences. His passion for food shines through every dish.
As if a great atmosphere, good food and comfortable surroundings were not enough, the restaurant features live entertainment several times a week. There's nothing quite like a good meal and wine together with the sound of mellow jazz or soft blues to make you feel you're enjoying something just a little bit special.
Entertainment:
The Roadhouse offers jazz on Monday nights and Piano Bar on Fridays and Saturdays. We got to enjoy the Artie Shaw jazz band featuring Lou Columbo (David's father) on trumpet and their lead vocalist, Lori (David's sister). The music was a great way to end a delicious meal.


Lisa, our waitress - was a friendly and knowledgeable guide to the menu, wines and the evenings proceedings.
Wines:


The Roadhouse offers over 20 different wines by the glass ranging from $6.50 to $12. Their wine list is very accessibly priced with many selections beginning at $26. They also have more than 25 special cellar selections ranging from $34 to $175. We sampled the Simi Chadonnay with dinner and found it most enjoyable.

Beef carpaccio with shaved grana. The meat was super thin and tender, and went well with the cheese and garnishes.

Tuna sashimi with an oriental slaw, pickled ginger and wasabi. The tuna was ultra fresh and the pepper crust gave it a nice flavor and texture. The pickled ginger was incredible. The oriental slaw was crunchy, fresh and a bit spicy - a nice combination of flavors.

Cajun mussels with braised linguica, mushrooms, onions and peppers. A nice spicy sauce, classic jambalya like ingredients including okra, onions and linguica.
Quite tasty!

Spinach salad with sunflower seeds, Bermuda onions, sun-dried cranberries, gorgonzola and tossed with an aged balsamic reduction. A great blend of flavors. The cheese and dried cranberries added a nice flavor and texture. The dressing was light, a nice accent to the fresh spinach.

Caesar salad. A very traditional salad served with a tasty dressing.

Cioppino - seven types of fresh seafood simmered with julienne vegetables in a light seafood annis broth. The lobster was so sweet and there was so much fresh seafood. The broth had a rich and delicious flavor bringing a freshness to the dish. Flavor! Flavor!

Filet au Poivre - served with a wild mushroom, peppercorn, cognac sauce, as well as garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. What a great pepper taste. The filet was cooked perfect and the sauce fantastic. The best interpretation of this French classic we've had in years.

Chocolate cake with butterscotch chips and vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Apple cake with vanilla ice cream. Delicious!

Artie Shaw jazz band featuring Lou Columbo (David's father) on trumpet and their lead vocalist, Lori (David's sister). A nice way to finish off our meal!