Cafe Dufrain
3 stars
707 Harbour Post Drive, Tampa, 813-275-9701 or cafedufrain.com
One glance at Cafe Dufrain’s new menu — which is still evolving — and you can see where new chef Ferrell Alvarez has come from. Alvarez spent the last seven years next to Marty Blitz in the kitchens of Mise En Place, Chef de Cuisine in Tampa’s grande dame of modern American dining. He moved over the bridge to Harbour Island this summer to serve his own brand of cuisine in the casually elegant restaurant with expansive views across the water, at prices that are much more comfortable to the pocketbook than his former home.
I can recognize Blitz’s influence, though, just by reading Alvarez’s entree list, each entry topped by a bland protein — veal flank steak, Korean short ribs — followed by a procession of fabulous sounding concoctions that always seem more interesting than the headliner. Polenta sandwich, duo of kimchi, “loaded” frites. Ordering becomes a gut-wrenching choice between groups of side dishes you don’t want to miss. Can I order several plates of accompaniments, hold the protein?
Those sides, which list ingredients and techniques that range from North African preserved lemon to the aforementioned kimchi, illustrate Alavarez’s excitement and vision. It’s modern food that flirts with trends without being trendy, unique enough to stand out in Tampa’s stifled dining scene, with a flair for gorgeous presentation on the table. All of that sets the bar rather high, however, for when you finally put fork to mouth.
This article appears in Oct 22-28, 2009.