Sabrina's Café
Without having any intention of being amazed by a breakfast during our weekend stay in
Seating 70, the café is capable of handling small parties of up to 35 people. They do not permit smoking, making for a very comfortable dining experience. Catering is available, so you can always enjoy their eclectic American cuisine with a flair and a twist at your private gatherings.
Sabrina’s Café is a family business, owned by Robert DeAbreu, his wife Raquel, daughter Sabrina, and son Spencer. Robert is a native of 
his way to
Opening in 2001, Sabrina’s Café finds its kitchen run by Executive Chefs Chris Laskowicz and Lance Silverman. Together with Raquel DeAbreu, these two design the very creative menu, keeping the café’s clientele coming back for new and exciting dishes on a daily basis. “Their approach is innovation, creativity, taste, and not being too eccentric or too off the wall. They consult other menus, books, magazines, the Foodnetwork, online (resources,) and play around with ideas,” Robert points out. “You won’t find any traditional family recipes here, other than the occasional soup, like chicken noodle, vegetable, or lentil.”
All of Sabrina’s Café’s desserts are prepared by Raquel’s mother. One must wonder where she gets the time to create so many delectable selections.
I asked Robert about Sabrina’s Café’s approach to hospitality. “It started growing up with my parents. Dad was a bank manager who had parties, so I had to help entertain his friends and associates growing up. When I graduated high school, I started working hotels. I was always interested in talking to people. You either have it in you or don’t have it in you. My workers are friendly and genuine. This is a very big part of it,” he explains to me.
I suggest that you arrive early for breakfast, especially on the weekends, since you are almost sure to find a line. The tantalizing menu items, the enormous portion sizes, and the wonderful atmosphere combine to draw breakfast crowds like no other restaurant that I have recently experienced.
Sabrina’s Café also serves lunch and dinner, two meals that I cannot wait to try.
The Experience
When we arrive, the al fresco seating is packed, so we navigate our way into the first dining room. This is quite empty, but beautifully decorated with large tables, wooden cupboards, coffee machines, and colorful artwork. A waitress directs us around the corner to another dining room where we are greeted by an even larger room filled with customers. We are seated at a cozy table, and the hostess directs our attention to a specials menu on an enormous chalkboard on the wall. She also hands us breakfast and specials menus, the latter of which duplicates the chalkboard, and lets us know that our waitress will be with us shortly.
Our waitress arrives, introduces herself with a huge smile, and asks what we would like to drink. We both order coffee and water.
The waitress returns with our drinks--the coffee served in a cup the size of a small bucket-- and asks if we have any questions about the menu. We have only a few, which she answers quite completely. When my girlfriend asks which item is the waitress's favorite menu item, the waitress is able to point out more than a few items that tickle her fancy more than others. This does not exactly help my girlfriend's decision given that the waitress names so many items; however, it does show that she enjoys the food at Sabrina's Café.
I glance at the menu again, and my eyes are caught by the "Mexi Scram 'Cuban Delight'" which is described as: pepper jack eggs with tri-bell peppers, red onions, roasted yucca, plantains, mexi chorizo, long hots, cumin chicken. Topped with Pico de Gallo and black bean sour cream. I enjoy all of these flavors separately, so I am very interested in discovering what they will taste like together.
The waitress returns and takes our order. In the meantime, we have tried the coffee, which is delicious black. This seems to be a rarity in restaurants these days. With the size of the cup, I expect to be awake until sometime next week.
Two women took the table next to us while we were ordering and begin talking about restaurants. This opening is too hard to resist, so I introduce my girlfriend and myself and we speak to them about Culinary Quest. I believe that the atmosphere here at Sabrina's makes this possible. At most restaurants where people go to eat and leave, there is no openness to other diners. Here, however, the diners feel a friendly camaraderie with one another that permits such interactions. What a marvelous place to go!
Our meals arrive in a short time. My Mexi Scram is the most gigantic omelet that I have ever seen. The roasted yucca is presented as what appears to be potatoes in large cubes. The plantains are easily identifiable. Both the yucca and the plantains are in large quantities. The black bean sour cream is served on the side, and the Pico de Gallo is atop the eggs. I cannot wait to taste everything.
First, I taste the egg mixture. Alone, this is magnificent. The pepper jack
With some of the Pico de Gallo, the omelet takes on a whole new dimension. The tomatoes in the Mexican sauce bring sweetness to the taste sensation as well as a tang. This juxtaposition of flavors melds with the egg concoction on the tongue and palate in a ballet of savory nuances and bold sensations.
By adding the black bean sour cream, I get a rich bean flavor added to the omelet. This creates fireworks in my mouth. The sour cream is an entity unto itself, but with the omelet, it is magical. It enlivens the chorizo, brings out the flavors in the vegetables, and accentuates the eggs.
I, of course, must try them all together. Wow!! The Pico de Gallo and the black bean sour cream is a great pair of flavors to combine. Add in the omelet and I can only wonder where the chef has been hiding that I have not heard of him or her all of these years. Now I know why Sabrina’s Café draws such a crowd.
I cannot forget the roasted yucca. These taste nothing like the potatoes they so resemble. They lack the typical starchiness of potatoes; and they are a bit sweeter, without having the flavor of sweet potatoes. They are quite delicious by themselves, but I want to try them with the black bean sour cream, too. What a magnificent idea this is! The sour cream complements the yucca like it would a potato perfectly. The black bean is a great addition to the yucca’s flavoring.
Now for the plantains. These have been sliced, flattened, and lightly fried. I taste one. Perfectly sweet with a flavor similar to that of a banana. I have eaten plantains prepared this way before and am very happy to have this opportunity to enjoy them again. These will make a great ending to my meal; a dessert to my breakfast, if you will.
Here is where I get to grade my dining experience. I grade on 5 factors: Atmosphere, Service, Presentation, Taste, and Value. These areas are scored on a 0 to 10 scale with 0 being the lowest and 10 being the highest.
Atmosphere: 9.5 The atmosphere at Sabrina's Cafe was, for the most part, warm, friendly, and welcoming. The decor was colorful and the windows were large, allowing plenty of natural light into the room. My only complaint is that the tables are positioned so very close together. This makes movement around what appears to be the main dining room difficult at best. The wait staff must squeeze in between tables to take orders and serve food, as well.
Service: 10 The service was top-notch. Our waitress was attentive, anticipating our needs and responding to our requests quickly. She smiled in a genuine manner and seemed truly concerned with our dining experience.
Presentation: 9 I must rate my breakfast a 9 because, although the omelet was colorful and the portions were large, there was nothing particularly eye appealing about the meal other than that. The food sold itself, though. The aromas and natural colors were enough to do that job; this left little necessary for the chef to do. Had he dressed it up a bit, I could add a point.
Taste: 10 Everything was out of this world delicious. Not only was the kitchen able to pull off one of the most creative meals I have ever had, they made it marvelously tasty, too. Using a wealth of ingredients, juxtaposing flavors and complementing others, Sabrina's Cafe created magic for breakfast. Perhaps a 10 is not high enough.
Value: 10 Sabrina's Cafe most definitely gives you your money's worth for breakfast. Everything from the moment you walk in the door to the time you exit is magnificent. This is a restaurant that I believe you will visit again, and again. I know that I will.
BUSINESS HOURS
Sunday and Monday 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Tuesday through Saturday 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM
No reservations taken except for dinner.
Sabrina’s Café does offer call-ahead seating for Saturday and Sunday.
Sabrina’s Café |
31 July 2007