When my guest and I hopped off the No. 40 bus and walked down to 910 Christian St., flowers painted on the sidewalk outside greeted us. Inside, the entrance featured a piano painted with the words, "Welcome to Sabrina's Cafe," and baby-pink walls.
Sabrina's has been open for only two years, but nearly every table in all three dining rooms was occupied on this Thursday morning for brunch. Patrons ranged from families with babies to pierced teenagers to elderly couples.
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For the less gastronomically adventurous, more ordinary foods were also available -- the soups of the day were chicken noodle and potato leek.
Our drinks came within minutes of ordering. My lavender chammomile iced tea was mild but subtly refreshing, and my guest's hot African autumn tea was citrusy and somewhat earthy; the exact opposite of mine but just as satisfying.
Limited by my vegetarianism and my guest's allergy to wheat, we nonetheless had plenty of options. Tempting as the specials were, we choose items off the regular menu -- a spinach salad ($8.95), coconut shrimp with soba noodles ($9.50) and a side of sweet potato fries.
We had barely ordered when the waiter surprised us with a plate of thick polenta fries. Served with a marinara sauce, the polenta crisped on the outside and was flavored with jalapeno peppers and cheddar cheese on the inside.
We chatted with the servers and discovered that Sabrina, the owner's daughter and the inspiration for the cafe's name, had turned four just the day before. "That explains the bathroom," commented my guest, which she described as "super tiny, with pink and white stripes."
The baby spinach salad featured pine nuts, blue cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and a honey mustard vinaigrette, but I could not find the candied poached pear promised by the menu. We mentioned the case of the missing pear to our server, who apologized and brought it immediately. All ingredients were extremely fresh -- Sabrina's Cafe knows how to take advantage of its location on the edge of the Italian Market -- making the salad a pleasure once all elements were present.
The enormous coconut shrimp were crispy and the plentiful soba noodles perfectly chilled, but the mango salsa topping was a bit on the tart side.
Throughout the meal, our server was extremely attentive, asking often if everything was alright. We also witnessed a server snapping a picture of the next table over at their request.
For dessert, we shared a plate of the sacher torte ($5.95), a dense, flourless chocolate cake topped with a slab of chocolate and served with two strawberries. Not overly sweet, but plenty chocolatey, the torte rounded out a very satisfying meal.
Sabrina's is Robert Deabreu's first restaurant, and he told us that while he chose the decor, he leaves the menu to the chef, Lance Silverman. Both proved to be wise decisions.
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