Yes, but No - Lunch at Cafe Dufrain - Tampa

Hello Lily On The Lam Readers!


I've been neglectful with the blog lately, so it's time to turn that around!  Today's blog post is about JWS and my lunch at Cafe Dufrain on Harbour Island next to downtown Tampa.  When Cafe Dufrain first opened, I had visited several times.  I liked the menu selection, decor and water view at Cafe Dufrain.  However, it's been several years since I have eaten there.  So when JWS and I were looking for a place to do a mid-week lunch, we decided to head over to Cafe Dufrain.


The lunch menu is not as robust as I remember in the past, but I thought there was a nice variety of selections.  JWS and I were both contemplating the "Hot Brown" - pulled chicken and gravy on white bread topped with shoestring potatoes ($9.50).  It sounded great.  I decided to try something different.  I spotted on the menu something that brought out the Midwestern eater in me ... a Sloppy Joe!  Cafe Dufrain's menu had "Pasture Prime Sloppy Joe" listed.  It was house ground pork topped with salt and vinegar onion rings ($9).  The menu did not list that it came with a side, so JWS and I decided to up the carb/starch quotient.  JWS ordered the Anson Mills corn pudding ($6) and I ordered the Anson Mills Grits with tasso and smoked cheddar ($6).  I thought the pricing on the sides were quite expensive in comparison to our lunch entrees.  


The food arrived and the entrees looked pretty good.  However if I knew potato chips came with the entree, I would not have ordered the grits.  

The Hot Brown

Prime Pasture Sloppy Joe

 I am from Minnesota, so I never acquired a taste for grits.  However, one sunny Sunday I had brunch with LM and LBB at my local comfort food restaurant Bailey's.  LBB ordered their Southern Gentleman grits and said that we absolutely had to try them because they were THAT good.  LBB was right.  The grits at Sunday Brunch at Bailey's are by far the best grits I have ever eaten.  If you like excellent grits and you're in Tampa, Florida - check out Bailey's for Sunday brunch.  You will not be disappointed! 


I wish I could say I was not disappointed with the grits from Cafe Dufrain.  JWS' corn pudding and my order of grits with tasso and smoked cheddar were placed on the table.  Can you tell which is which?

    
Neither could we.  Both of our sides looked incredibly unappetizing.  We kept holding up the sides and looking at it if it was some alien goo that had arrived on Earth.  We finally figured out that the two sides were not the same when JWS spotted a little fleck in my grits that appeared to be tasso.  I could not taste the tasso or the smoked cheddar at all.  The grits were pretty much inedible.  JWS felt the same about the corn pudding.  She and I both took 1-2 bites of our sides and that was all we could take.  What a waste of $6 each.  


We then moved on to our entrees.  The pork in my Prime Pasture Sloppy Joe was delicious - flavorful, moist and on a soft bun.  It was like your best childhood dining experience kicked up several notches.  However the salt and vinegar onion rings that were on the Sloppy Joe were way too salty.  It completed overpowered the meat.  I felt like I was eating a salt lick.  I would definitely order this again, but I would ask for no onion rings.  It would have been perfect.  The accompanying chips were decent.  Nothing to rave about.


So the grits were a complete fail, but the Sloppy Joe would have had top marks if not for the salt lick salt and vinegar onion rings.  1-1 score.  However JWS' "Hot Brown" was a hot mess.  Inedible.  JWS was not a happy camper.  Her lunch was a big zero.  


I had great memories of lunches and dinners at Cafe Dufrain from several years ago.  I thought this lunch would be another great meal.  Sadly, the majority of it was a disappointment.


If you're looking for a good gourmet Sloppy Joe in a restaurant with good decor and a water view, definitely check out Cafe Dufrain.  But get the onion rings on the side and stay away from the overpriced, inedible corn-based sides!