BRADENTON -- Ezra a Cafe has been open for six years, and it’s that time of year again when they flip their lunch and dinner menus from summer to fall, adding a touch of squash and brewing up some hearty stews.
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| Ezra's ribeye steak is cut to order and served with crispy spinach and smoked butternut squash, just in time for the summer to fall menu transition. |
Christopher Kromer is one of five chefs on staff at Ezra and said he couldn’t be happier with being a local chef in the area where he learned the art of food and where he has access to the local ingredients.
It need not be mentioned that he loves food, as evident in his job description, but he adapts his favorites for the season.
”I really love squash,“ he said. ”Lamb and stews with different types of squashes -- rustic foods.“
He said that in the fall Ezra’s menu goes towards the heartier stuff and something that is filling.
Kromer has a favorite dish and, of course, it’s local. He has no problem reflecting on his perfected recipe for Ezra’s crab cakes.
”I’ve been making these crab cakes for couple of years now and I have a good recipe down now,“ Kromer said.
He said a good crab cake is all about having hearty amounts of crab meat worked into the recipe.
Ezra’s uses a lot of local fresh fish when it is available, and Kromer enjoys adapting the area’s locally caught and grown foods and developing dishes for the restaurant.
Stone crabs are up right now, he said.
Are you hungry yet?
If the answer is yes, then feast your imagination on their grilled filet mignon with garlic mash potatoes and crispy spinach or seared Dover sole with goat cheese-tomato risotto, asparagus, toasted pine nuts and key lime.
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Christopher Kromer is a chef at Ezra a Cafe, left, and presents a new fall dish of stone crab claw with crispy fried shrimp chips and a tuna roll. Charlotte Mansor, left, Jennifer Glenfield, center, and Luke King, right, who is the manager of the cafe, look on with great pleasure. |
By the way, those favorite crab cakes of Kromer’s are the jumbo lump crab cakes flattop seared with basil and potatoes with a vegetable slaw.
But first start with a curried Florida lobster bisque. The chefs agree it’s a local favorite.
Luke King is the manager of Ezra, and he stands in front of four prepared dishes created for the upcoming fall season.
King said they have updated their 2009 fall menu for a few things that people want to eat in the season and they took a few things off from the summer.
A rosemary sprig decorates a bone ribeye steak, and he points proudly towards the dish on a white-clothed table.
”We hand-cut our steaks here,“ he said.
So any requested filet size can be cut and prepared on the spot, as all the food on the menu is made in-house.
He’s looking forward to the holiday and especially enjoys Thanksgiving, as Ezra’s will be preparing turkey and sides for their customers to stop in and pick up for their home tabletops and guests.
But customers who come in and dine are there for the chocolate chip cookies they make homemade. These arrive conveniently at the end of the meal.
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Every meal is finished off at Ezra's with a plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies. |
”We are casual fine dining,“ he said, then points to a plate of rounded-off cookies. ”They come for the cookies, the great food, for the ambiance and because we are locally owned.“
In addition, a lot of their clientele are foodies and enjoy seeing people they know while at the restaurant, and the list of fine wines that can’t always be found at the stores.
Ezra a Cafe is owned by Donna Eason and everyone agrees the establishment attracts great customers.
”I am just a local guy, happy to be in a local restaurant,“ Kromer said. "It's cool to be a part of this."
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