The Purple Café

Last night we ate at The Purple Café. We tried their Bellevue location last year and were looking forward to a “replay” at the downtown location. The dining room is large and open with a 2-story tower of wine as the central point. The wine list is set up by flights, glasses and bottles, and subdivided into reds, whites and origin. The flights are 2.5oz so you can try 4 wines in place of 1 large glass. Top of the flight menu was a flight called “Treat Yourself,” something I have no trouble with. It starts with Schramsberg’s Blanc de Blancs ’07 from California, everything I like in a bubble, not sweet, but bright and a real awakening for the taste buds. Then Pappas Wine Co Pinot Noir ’09 from Willamette Valley, Oregon: I was a goner from the first sniff. Lovely wine, note to self: “ I have to become more familiar with the Willamette Valley”. We then progress to the heavier reds, from Washington state, Waters Interlude ’09; and finally the famous Chateauneuf-du Pape, an ‘07 from Domaine Albin Jacumin . All good; but I couldn’t see past the Pinot Noir so we ordered a bottle.
The food menu at Purple Café is also delightful. They have an excellent selection of cheese plates that feature some of my favourite cheeses from all over the world; but we moved on to the $5 Tasting bar - a list of about 10 small plates excellent for sharing with the flights of wines. My absolute favourite was the Gorgonzola stuffed Dates. They make great salads and offer them in half and full sized. My favourite is the Purple Chopped with romaine, avocado, garbanzos, stilton, red peppers and balsamic vinaigrette. The kind of salad you crave. We also had the Lobster Mac and Cheese. It was too rich for me, but David ate every bite and claimed it a hit.