Tapas Menu at Anchorage Cafe!

Okay, I've been forced to keep mum about this until now, but The Anchorage Cafe now has a tapas/small plates evening menu Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. It just opened this Friday. I'm really excited about this because 1) Ryan Rogers is one of the Chefs, and I think his food is incredible and creative, and 2) it's 1 mile from my office and 3 miles from my house.

I haven't been yet due to scheduling, but I sent a foodie friend last night and received this text at 8:30pm:

OMG! Anchorage Cafe was amazing! They have wine and beer too

I'm really bummed because I'm leaving town on Wednesday, and won;t be able to go myself for a couple of weeks. But you guys should definitely go check it out.

Here's this weeks menu:
http://twitpic.com/6b5chu Sounds wonderful!

Deb

Is the Anchorage Cafe part of the Village Anchor or is it a separate entity? Not sure I know where it is, but excited Ryan Rogers is there.

Is the Anchorage Cafe part of the Village Anchor or is it a separate entity? Not sure I know where it is, but excited Ryan Rogers is there.

Not sure if it has changed or not but initially they were two completely separate entities.

Two totally different restaurants. The Anchorage Cafe is the sandwich/ panini/ bakery/ice cream place next door to the Village Anchor. They have a large open dining space downstairs. Like Red Hog/ Blue Dog- they have totally different small plates menu for dinner on Th/Fr/Sat.

Deb

So excited to hear this! I've eaten lunch there a few times and have enjoyed their food. One morning last fall, we took our kids to walk the Anchorage Trail and then had lunch at the Anchorage Cafe. It was a great family day.

So excited to hear this! I've eaten lunch there a few times and have enjoyed their food. One morning last fall, we took our kids to walk the Anchorage Trail and then had lunch at the Anchorage Cafe. It was a great family day.

Jen,

Where 's the Anchorage Trail? That could be a good walk for us too.

Thanks,
Deb

Deb,
The Anchorage Trail starts in the back corner of the parking lot behind these two restaurants (back left corner across the road). It's a very nice loop this all on property owned by Papa John, he builds and maintains it for the use of the community. It's a very nice trail for either walking or bicycles, I believe it's 1.8 miles or something close to that.

Thanks, Mark! I assume you mean the lower level parking lot?

Thanks, Mark! I assume you mean the lower level parking lot?

Correct!

Deb,

Mark replied before I saw this! I think you might have kids around the same age as mine (mine are 4) and if so, the trail might be a good place to burn some energy

I am really excited about what we are doing over at The Anchorage Cafe (right next door to the village anchor, and an entirely separate entity).
From what I understand Anchorage Cafe hired Chef Andy Myers (Former Bellini's of Lexington Chef, Chef De Cuisine at Heirloom, etc, etc) about a month and a half ago to come in and make the food they were already doing at breakfast and lunch even better while bringing in more local products.

They were also interested in starting a small plates menu Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings from 6-10. Chef Andy put the word out and I jumped at the chance to do more local food; and I signed on as their evening small plates Chef De Cuisine.

Chef Andy and I have been collaborating on the menu and working with local producers and hope to keep it around 6-8 small items a week. If you're interested in coming in and having a plate or two while relaxing with wine and beer we welcome that and we'll also be focusing on making the menu and food something that you could make a full meal out of in just a few plates.

The menu will change slightly every week as availability of products change. Most likely you'll see 2-3 dishes replaced a week as we try to keep the menu and food as seasonal and local as we can.

Chef Andy and I both understand and respect dietary restrictions/allergies and we will definitely be trying to keep at least 3 vegetarian plates on the menu at a time. We're working with limited room cooking and storage wise so if anyone is interested in coming in and is nervous about our ability to accommodate you please give us a call before hand and we will try to accommodate to the best of our abilities.

If you have any questions please feel free to post them here and I'll try to answer them fairly quickly.

Deb,

Mark replied before I saw this! I think you might have kids around the same age as mine (mine are 4) and if so, the trail might be a good place to burn some energy

Jen,

Thanks- mine is 7 now, but burning energy is always a good thing. If we don't find a sitter, we may do that ( pre-dinner) on the night we go check out the Anchorage Cafe ( But my preference will be to find a sitter ).

Deb

Ryan - are you also still with Zanzabar?

Ryan - are you also still with Zanzabar?

Zanzabar was the 1st place that gave me a chance to create my own food and I am always grateful for their continued support. We agreed, however, our visions were different going forward and I have stepped away from leading their kitchen. My sous at zbar has stepped up and should have a new menu completely rolled out there in the next few days.
I do pick up a shift or two there usually about every week, I don't really do days off well.

I've lurked on these boards for quite some time, but now feel compelled to post about Anchorage Cafe. Some friends and I stopped in for dinner here last night and loved every minute! We were all fans of Chef Ryan Rogers' food at Zanzabar and were eager to try the menu here. We began with both the Charcuterie and the Cheese and Crackers. The selection of meats was an excellent appetizer--mortadella dotted with pistachios and served with coarse mustard, salty prosciutto with a sweet bacon crumble, and pate made of rabbit's liver to smear over toasted house-made currant bread.The cheeses were just as remarkable--the star of the show was the peppery Sapori d'Italia served with sliced strawberries and a thick balsamic syrup.

The four of us decided to order a variety of small plates and share. the duck con fit with sweet potato hash was hearty and delicious, topped with a poached duck egg that was so perfectly cooked--the yolk spread like soft butter. The cuban panino--though I did not get a taste--looked delicious, and was made with their addictively snackable house-pickled carrots. My favorite dish had to be the rabbit served with gnudi, which are similar to gnocchi but made with ricotta rather than potato. Think of the filling of cheese ravioli or manicotti turned into a dumpling. They were absolutely divine. The outside was like an al dente pasta, the inside a pillowy decadence of ricotta.

Our waitress was funny and helpful, and we received some special treatment since there were not many others there (which I find to be inexplicable, since the food is some of the best I've had in quite some time!). We were able to sample a pizza topped with duck con fit, arugula and another one of those sexy poached duck eggs--amazing. We also finished the night with some nicely strong coffee and complimentary pawpaw ice cream, fragrant with nutmeg and accompanied with a crisp walnut topping.

Chef Andy Myers was kind enough to come visit our table and make sure everything was delicious (it was). This was a great experience, and totally worth the drive to Anchorage. Seriously, GO.