It’s not just a clever name. The Olde House Cafe;, nestled on Lake Street in Dallas, is indeed in an old house. It’s almost safe to say that this quaint little house with its inviting front porch belongs not on this busy thoroughfare but out in the countryside.
Walking inside the bright and airy dining room with its rustic charming decor, we were handed menus and referred upstairs because the lower dining room was full. Intrigued, my companion Vivian and I headed up the steep narrow stairs wondering what we’d find. The first room was also full, so we settled in the “library,” with its leather couch and book border lining the walls. Liking the Olde House already, we turned our attention to the menu.
The possibilities were endless and certainly not easy to make, what with choices like the ham strudel with Swiss cheese and lettuce topped with sweet and spicy honey mustard ($7.25) or the via Italiano, with Genoa salami, pepperoni, ham, bacon, provolone, lettuce and sweet peppers with homemade Italian dressing ($7.50). Feel like grilled cheese? How about a variation on the standard — which Olde House does offer — with grilled provolone and tomatoes with Italian spices on white or wheat ($5.95)? For vegetarians, there’s the Cafe; Crunch: a mix of lettuce, red onion, cucumber, sprouts, roasted red peppers, tomato, Munster cheese and a special mustard sauce on rye or in a wrap ($7.25).
Vivian was in a soup mood, and the Olde House offers two homemade soups every day. On this particular day, her choices were minestrone and chili so she went with a cup of the former ($3). She also chose to have the Oriental sesame salad for $8.95.
My decision making was pretty easy. As soon as I saw the Bistro Beef Special ($7.50), I was sold. Adding a house salad for $3.50, I was set.
Vivian and I settled back in our seats as the lively conversations rose up from downstairs. Seemingly within minutes, our server came up those stairs with our soup and salad.
The minestrone was served in a clear mug and was chockfull of beans, carrots, cabbage and confetti pasta and had a hearty flavor that left no doubt it was homemade.
My salad had fresh tossed greens, red cabbage, and cucumbers and sweet peppers marinated in balsamic vinegar that went surprisingly well with my parmesan peppercorn dressing which had an equally strong representation of both pepper and parmesan. A healthy handful of crusty croutons topped off the scrumptious salad.
Our entrees came out a little too soon for our tastes — we were about halfway through the soup and salad — but once we finished those, we dug in with relish.
My roast beef sandwich was large with cheddar cheese, lettuce and sweet peppers and what the menu described as “our secret recipe horseradish sauce.” The sweet peppers — and the Mouth does love the fact the Old House Cafe; uses them in such abundance — added a wonderful flavor. The heaping portion of roast beef was tender with the perfect amount of rareness to it but it definitely could have used more of that zippy homemade horseradish. The sandwich was accompanied by a little ramekin of creamy pinwheel pasta salad with capers that was a little bland until dressed up with salt and pepper and three crisp crostini which offered a tasty alternative to chips.
Vivian’s colorful Oriental sesame salad consisted of mixed greens, an abundance of mandarin oranges with dried cranberries and almonds with a few large chunks of grilled chicken. A ramekin of homemade Oriental dressing was on the side, and while Vivian was expecting a soy sauce-based dressing, this smooth version, with its flecks of orange zest and creamsicle-like flavor was a unique alternative. Her entire salad was yummy indeed, but Vivian opined that for nearly $9 it would have been nice to have had just a little more chicken on the salad.
With half my roast beef wrapped for later, Vivian and I couldn’t help but indulge in a little dessert, especially after our server rattled off choices like creampuffs, assorted cookies, red velvet cupcakes and lemon bundt cake — all homemade. Though I would have loved that red velvet cupcake, that light lemon bundt ($3.50) won out.
When it was placed in front of us, I was glad. With thick frosting on top, the cake was moist and delicious with a thin layer of lemony filling in the middle. It didn’t have that fake lemon extract taste to it that other lemon cakes I’ve had did, making this an exquisite and perfect ending to our lunch.
The Mouth loved the food and the atmosphere of the Old House Cafe;. The service was very pleasant, and I loved the different dining nooks. While it is a bit pricey for lunch, it’s definitely worth it as a special treat for whenever you find yourself on the Back Mountain side of the rock cut.
• Old House Cafe;
34 Lake Street, Dallas
570.674.0336
Caf� hours:
Mon.-Sat., 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
(lunch 11 a.m.-3 p.m.)
Bistro hours:
Tues.-Thurs., 5-9 p.m.,
Saturday, 5-10 p.m.
Closed Sunday.
Visa and MasterCard accepted.