Renaissance Cafe in the former 1919 Assaria High School Searching for restaurants for KansasTravel.org I find many in unusual locations. I find far fewer that provide unique fine dining at a reasonable price. Renaissance Cafe does both of those things and is located in Assaria, Kansas (south of Salina) a town of less than 500 people.
Renaissance Cafe surrounds a sunken gymnasium in an 89 year old high school building. The lower level is filled with games, and during week day morning coffee and lunch, they can be played. During the day, the Renaissance Cafe serves the kind of food you would expect to fine in a rural Kansas restaurant, but on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, the Cafe becomes a reasonably priced, fine Italian restaurant and the games are off limits. They are too noisy for the atmosphere.
I have only dined at Renaissance Cafe during the evening, but I intend to find a way to get there for a weekday lunch sometime in the next year. Renaissance Cafe serves northern Italian influence food, House specialties include Cardamom Crusted Duck Breast, Steak Venato, and Pan Fried Beef Liver. Entrees range $14-19 and come with a choice of salad or soup, a vegetable and starch of the day. Pastas range from $11-14 ala carte. Half orders of pasta are available. The menu changes every few months. When I visited Renaissance Cafe, only 10 entrees and a daily special were offered,. but that was plenty of choice. Everything sounded good and making a selection was a real chore. After a bit of a private debate (I still want to go back and try the liver and onions), I ordered Steak Venato: grilled ribeye dredged in seasoned bread crumbs and smothered in a savory sauce of brown mustard, shallots, mushrooms, cognac and cream. I couldn't decide between the soup of the day (roasted onion) or the salad (romaine hearts topped with spiced pecans, dried cranberries and homemade gorgonzola blue cheese dressing). So I ordered both. The soup was good, but the salad was spectacular. I can't imagine visiting the Renaissance Cafe and not having the gorgonzola salad.
The steak is one of the best I have ever had! Lightly charred on the outside and perfect on the inside. I don't usually eat deserts, but I couldn't resist trying a selection from the desert menu. Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding with A bourbon vanilla sauce is the most popular desert, but I couldn't resist the "Cookies, Cream and Coffee," homemade vanilla bean gelato with amaretti cookies and the chef's own espresso habanero sauce. This one isn't for everyone, but I thought it was the perfect conclusion to the meal. The Italian macaroons were a nice counterpoint to the hot sauce.
Renaissance Cafe serves no liquor but does offer domestic & imported beers, as well as a modest wine list starting from $4.50 a glass or $20 a bottle.
copyright 2008 by Keith Stokes |
