Tomato Cafe in Fishkill, NY - Restaurant Review!

Greetings foodies!

Today we have a blog post about actual food for a change, instead of all this alcohol.  No no, I'm still drinking, everything is okay, don't worry!  It's just that occasionally, one has line one's stomach with food to absorb the alcohol, and this was one of those times.  A delicious time for that matter.

Tomato Cafe is located on Main Street in Fishkill, NY.  I had passed there many times before finally bringing the lady and me for a bite to eat.  We've been consistently impressed by both the quality of the food and the fair value of the restaurant.

When you enter Tomato cafe, it smells like a good old fashioned Italian restaurant.  It's worth noting that while they make many "standard" Italian dishes, the chef clearly has a flair for the original and gets rather creative with the specials - to great effect!

Garlic bread bites and good Italian bread  were served hot and delicious!

We don't usually order entrees when we come here, but this time was different and they brought us a nice bread basket.  The bread came out hot.  There were garlic bread bites and sliced Italian bread.  The spread we believe to be margarine, in case that matters to you.  The bread was yummy and served as a nice lead into the meal.



On the visit in question, we started with Tomato Cafe's "Almost Famous" Eggplant cakes.  These are made of roasted eggplant, pine nuts and fine herbs, seared and served with a roasted red pepper remoulade.  The plate costs $9.
 

You simply have to try these "Almost Famous" eggplant cakes.
No amount of words can convey how tasty these were!

These were delicious!  They had a nice smooth texture without big chunks of eggplant.  The flavors of everything on the plate came together very nicely.  Go easy on the remoulade, because it will overshadow the delicate flavors of the eggplant.  The greens had their own dressing, different from the remoulade, which was also delicious.  As you can see, the portion is not huge, and $9 is a little bit pricey for these.  That being said - you get what you pay for in this life.  They are ABSOLUTELY worth trying and deciding for yourself if they are worth the price.  They were super delicious!  Thinking about them right now, I could go for 3 or 4 orders!

The greens that came with the Eggplant Cakes had their own delicious dressing!

Scratch that, just go order them.  You won't be disappointed.  But have an entire order for yourself!

The lady ordered Steak Frites.  This is a flatiron steak and french fries.  It's good to be with a woman who likes to eat meat & steak :)  The lady had this cooked medium rather than the medium rare suggested on the menu.  It had a beautiful flavor and texture and cut like butter.  They cooked it perfectly medium to order, which is nice - nothing worse than asking for a piece of meat cooked a certain way and they do it too rare or too well done.  The fries were crisp without being crunchy.  If you look at the picture, it's a pretty decent amount of food, and this was the half order!

 This was the half portion of the flatiron steak.  I can't imagine the full portion!

The whole order of the Steak Frites goes for $22 and the half, for $11.50.  A very fair value - the chef was wise to choose this cut of meat - it provides good value and great flavor.

They cooked it medium, just like it was requested.  

For myself, I ordered the intriguing-sounding Pesto Pizza, which was described as "Mozzarella covering our house made pesto sauce and finished with diced tomato."  Like many of the pizzas I have ordered at Tomato Cafe, I wasn't really sure what to expect - and I was a bit surprised when it came.  The surprise was on my end however - the description was quite apt, and the results were excellent!

This was the small size Pesto Pizza.  Seriously.

The flavors were subtle and balanced.  There was enough pesto to keep it interesting but it wasn't overpowering.  The basil / pesto flavor was rather nice.  I was expecting something more along the lines of just a regular pie with pesto sauce, but this surpassed my expectations.  The crust was good, the cheese tasty, and the overall taste and presentation was excellent!  I ordered the middle size, the "small" ($16.50), which as you can see is a decent size - and was plenty of food.  We even took a slice or two home :)

Wouldn't you like to try a slice of this?  It was awesome!

The wait staff at Tomato Cafe are always helpful, friendly and attentive, and the clientele it draws tend to be friendly as well.

The decor is simple and clean.  Nothing too fancy, but you're not there for the decor.  You're there to enjoy family style dining with flair!

Although we don't have pictures of previous or subsequent visits, we can absolutely recommend the Chicken Paillard $15 (half portion for $8), which is a chicken breast marinated with fresh herbs, grilled and served with roasted potatoes and your choice of sautéed spinach or green beans.

The grilled vegetable pizza is also divine.  Really, try anything you see on the menu, and don't ignore the specials board - the chef at Tomato Cafe is talented and we're confident that you'll enjoy anything you order off of the menu :)

Oh, we almost forgot - the Gazpacho they make it absolutely incredible - the best I've ever had.  It was a special the day we were there, so no promises as to if they'll have it when YOU come - but it's worth stalking.  The best gazpacho ever.  Seriously - I don't like the stuff usually.  This was wonderful.

We'll be sure to go back soon - we really like this place.

Tomato Cafe is located at
1123 Main street in Fishkill, NY 12524
(845)896-7779.

We hope to see you there soon!  

Cheers!