Volunteer Park Cafe & marketplace

[richards1052]

I'm happy to report (unless someone's done it here before me) that Volunteer Park Cafe is a lovely new addition to the north Capitol Hill eating scene. It used to be Cafe Europa. The new place serves mainly breakfast and lunch with once a month dinnners. They currently offer one dinner takeout item daily though they'll be expanding their offerings soon. Last night I brought home the braised short rib pot pie & it was dee-licious. Moist crust, melt in yr mouth ribs, & veggies braised-in-wine flavor. The desserts are fairly typical (brownies, cookies, cakes) but wonderful.

They also offer a large wine selection for retail purchase.

The new owners made the room open, light & welcoming. There's a nice, friendly, neighborhood spirit about the place. They take well to kids too. I say: welcome to the neighborhood. Read my food blog for an expanded version of this post.

Edited February 3, 2007 by richards1052 (log)

[scrat68]

Short rib pot pie??? YUM!

[richards1052]

Short rib pot pie???  YUM!

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Yeah, isn't that a great idea? I'd never heard of it before myself.

[pgoodman]

Thanks for the mention on the new eatery! I was on a run last week and came by this new cafe and it looked very appealing. I hope to try it for lunch (solo) sometime next week. Looks like reasonable prices as well. I will report back...

[scarlett]

My friend and I stopped at the Volunteer Park Cafe yesterday for lunch. I think this is my new favorite spot! I loved the bright and airy room.

We ordered up a couple sandwiches...the herb roasted mushroom panini and the roast beef with caramelized onions and gorgonzola panini. WOW. I'm already plotting my return!

While we were there, someone ordered the pot pie. It's a big serving with a puff pastry crust. If I can get past all the delicious sandwiches, I'd love to try that next.

All I can say is...thank God I don't live closer to this place! I'd be there all the time.

If you want to see photos, I've got a few loaded up here..

Edited February 7, 2007 by scarlett (log)

[dandelion]

I definitely agree with the reviews above. I stopped in for a cappuccino (which was good and perfectly dry) before a walk through the park on Sunday. The new owners have really done a great job on the space -- the old Cafe Europa was always so dark and weird. I might even say I felt the spirit of the Surrogate Hostess (sans communal tables) in here, everyone was so nice and cheery and the food looked creative and delicious.

The wine dinners sound great too -- I look forward to checking them out.

[scarlett]

Another fabulous lunch today at VPC. Today we tried the Italian Proscuitto with Mozzarella and Fig Jam. The perfect salty sweet panini. Also had the Herb Roasted Chicken with Arugula and Slow Roasted Tomato Panini. The chicken was so incredibly tender and the slow roasted tomatoes were amazing. Today's sandwich special was Slow Roasted Pork with Slaw. YUM.

We got a chance to meet one of the owners, Ericka. The place is definitely a reflection of her...fun, funky and charming.

Apparently the cafe has only been open a month. I commented on the brisk lunch business and she said that breakfast on the weekends is even more busy. Be prepared to wait...but it's worth it. Out of everything we've had, nothing has been short of amazing. I can't wait to come back and try the Brioche French Toast with Caramelized Bananas.

I posted a few more pictures from today. Outside a nearby bunch of kids were on a field trip to mail Valentines. Inside, the cafe had a few Valentine's day touches as well....

Edited February 9, 2007 by scarlett (log)

[richards1052]

Such lovely replies to my original post. Thanks so much everyone for trusting my advice & checking out the Café. Scarlett, I haven't looked at the pix yet but would you mind terribly if I uploaded a copy of one of them for the post at my blog. I'll give you credit by name & link, if you want me to feature yr Flickr site.

The one weakness of their website is they have no food pictures up yet (they're workin' on it they told me). That's why I'd like to feature a picture for my blog review.

Edited February 10, 2007 by richards1052 (log)

[scarlett]

Such lovely replies to my original post.  Thanks so much everyone for trusting my advice & checking out the Café.  Scarlett, I haven't looked at the pix yet but would you mind terribly if I uploaded a copy of one of them for the post at my blog.  I'll give you credit by name & link, if you want me to feature yr Flickr site.

The one weakness of their website is they have no food pictures up yet (they're workin' on it they told me).  That's why I'd like to feature a picture for my blog review.

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Sure! Use whatever you like....Thanks for tipping me off to my new favorite restaurant!