There’s a new café on Metropolitan
Avenue in Forest Hills with a French name of Poesie where the style of cooking
is not about the cream sauces. Owner,
Alexandra Rodionova, an entrepreneur from Russia is offering “healthy food.”
Alexandra earned her degree as a
"Specialist of Restaurant Business" in Russia, and was managing a
similar place like this café, which led to her to dreaming of having her own
here in the US. Her dream became reality
in March of 2017 as POESIE CAFE, a local and affordable place with great coffee
based drinks, delicious desserts and fresh squeezed juices. “Lately, we came up
with a full breakfast menu, including poached eggs, omelets, oatmeal and Greek
yogurt with fresh fruits and berries; along with some lunch items, like salads
and healthy French sandwiches called ‘Tartines.’”
Alexandra saw the food industry
moving forward where customers are health conscious and value good quality
food. “We brought up SOUS VIDE, a French
method of slow cooking on a low temperature, storing the food in an air
tightened vacuumed bag with spices and oil/butter into the water bath, which is
similar to steaming, but different because of its elevation in rich flavor. The
food comes out extremely juicy, tender and healthy, conserving all vitamins.”
She and her husband are mixing their
Russian and Indian cultures into cooking, experimenting with flavors. “It is
difficult to stick to a specific type of cuisine. We just cook what we like,
what is tasty and definitely healthy; that is the main criteria. Unfortunately,
many food industries are concentrated on serving cheap and often unhealthy food
with the purpose of getting maximum profit. We try to think about a healthy and
beneficial side of nutrition and provide it with an affordable price.”
Alexandra tell us that customers love
their fresh juices and protein shakes, due to the area being concentrated with
different gyms, dance/yoga studios and various sport centers. “In the morning,
fresh croissants and Danishes from famous ‘Balthazar are desirable
favorites.”
Bistro tables and chairs line the
outside along with two “Adirondack” lounge chairs facing the street. I couldn’t resist having an iced cappuccino.
Barista Nash prepared it using their signature coffee that comes from
Austria. Once inside the café, the
pastries are the obvious “greeting.” That is where I saw the macarons, not to
be mistaken for “macaroons.” I chose the
“wedding almond” for the time being. Nutella, Espresso, and Matcha Tea (made
from a strong green tea powder), later went “to go.”
Sous Vide platter of herbed chicken
breast, broccoli and roasted garlic potatoes was first sampled. Although the style of cuisine is French…do
not expect to order French Fries.
Continuing with Sous Vide, I ordered a warm salad. Veggies such as carrots, buttered corn on the
cob, and ginger beets are prepared with this slow cooking method while raw spinach,
raw arugula, feta cheese and dressing are the toppers. Veggies came out perfectly tender without
being overcooked.
One of
their best Sous Vide all day sellers is a breakfast item of 2 poached eggs,
toast and butter, asparagus spears, and
avocado topped with hummus.
“SOUS VIDE
is getting popular by its variety of seasonal veggies, soft meatloaf style
cheeseburgers, and creamy poached eggs”, says Alexandra. “We are planning to
work on more SOUS VIDE items menu and provide rich nutrition lunches and
dinners that our sports enthusiasts and families with kids – who are
focused on rich nutritional diet - will enjoy to their optimal
satisfaction. “
French Tartines are quite popular as
they use whole wheat organic Batard, similar to a baguette. Rather than lox on a bagel with cream cheese the
cold smoked salmon had “shmears” of ricotta cheese and topped with
arugula. Next time I plan to sample a
Moroccan Tartine with chicken, hummus, sunflower seeds, arugula and feta
cheese. Sounds yummy!
Certainly no room for a Flatbread Pizza, but quite curious
about the La Reine with ricotta, blueberries, blackberries, parmesan, balsamic,
and arugula. How about a plain
old-fashioned cheeseburger? With the
meatloaf style burger done Sous Vide, it came out well done, very tender and
not the least bit “chewy.” Don’t expect
it to be served on a store- bought hamburger bun.
As for liquids, the present menu has 11 different
energy drinks, 10 combos of fresh juices, 5 Tropical juices, and 5 smoothies
made with whole milk. Not satisfied?
Create your own.
Poesie Café is located at 102-10 Metropolitan
Avenue, Forest Hills. Phone 718-575-8500.
No comments:
Post a Comment