In April, things changed drastically at the Bellevue Antique Mall when Erika Woodard and her business partner, Tricia Bassow, took over the small tea room and made it their own. The newly renamed Cottage Cafe is a place where guys will be happy to order along side their wives, with hearty sandwiches and other man-friendly foods on the menu. The goal, according to Woodard, is to offer urban cuisine to suburbia.
Though set in the suburb world of Bellevue, Woodard is intrigued with the fresh, local food movement, inspired by the likes of Jeremy Barlow at Tayst and Jason McConnell at Sol and wants to bring the kind of cuisine these devoted restaurateurs provide to the area. She provides her lunch menu to Bellevue as a start, with luscious organic salads, sandwiches like the Cuban and the amazing Gooey Goodness (roasted turkey and double cream Brie with homemade apricot mustard) plus a case of items for take home.
Woodard got her training not by going to culinary school, but first by working front of house at F. Scott’s, tasting and asking a dazzling array of questions of the chefs, then by taking her knowledge home and experimenting. In the process, she developed a love of tapas and appetizer-style foods, and a real appreciation for natural ingredients. Being self-taught hasn’t limited her skill one iota.
Likewise, besides offering meals in the cafe for hungry lunchtime guests, Woodard also provides a full service catering business, Cater To You, LLC, which specializes in remarkable hors d’oeuvres. A sampler might include mini truffle burgers with caramelized onions and truffle aioli, chorizo and cheddar empanadas and fig, Brie and prosciutto tarts.
Woodard’s tastes are sophisticated, but approachable. For example, a vegetarian sandwich she recently featured offered fresh tomato, avocado, cucumber, sprouts and pepper jack topped with a truly fantastic curry mustard. She offers some impressive desserts as well.
Woodard has big plans, including more to-go options for busy gourmands who also happen to be suburban parents on the go. Catering pick-ups can be arranged by appointment, to work with a customer’s schedule, and those on the go can always grab popular standbys from the case in the shop (we’re hoping they opt to bring back the curried chicken salad previously on the menu—Woodard works wonders with curry).
If you aren’t hungry yet, you ought to be. Cater to You/The Cottage Cafe must definitely be numbered among Bellevue’s best—and worth driving out of Nashville for.
Cafe hours: 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. with catering pick up by appointment, 160 Belle Forest Circle.
Kid-Friendly Veggie Pasta Sauce
They’ll never know it’s healthy and it’s perfect for spaghetti, ravioli and lasagna. Helpful hint: I often double or even triple this recipe and freeze the sauce in pint-sized containers for fast and easy dinners (just place frozen sauce in a sauce pan on medium heat for 10-12 minutes)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or extra virgin olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and chopped in thirds
1 sweet onion, peeled and quartered
2 stalks of celery, cut in thirds
1 small-to-medium zucchini or small eggplant (Japanese eggplant is perfect), cut in thirds
1/2 pound baby portabella mushrooms (optional)
2 garlic cloves
2 28-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped finely or 1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped fine or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 bay leaves (to be removed after cooking)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons of sugar or Splenda
In a medium-to-large sauce pan melt the butter or heat the olive oil on medium heat while pureeing the onion, celery and carrots in a food processor (if you don’t have a food processor, chop all the vegetables as finely as possible.) Add the mixture to the sauce pan and saute for five minutes. Meanwhile, puree the zucchini (or eggplant), the mushrooms and garlic in the food processor and add to sauce pan. Saute for five minutes then add the crushed tomatoes, herbs, sugar, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium low and let it simmer for 30 minutes.