white maple cafe: where dreams come true
am i the only person that fabricates a restaurant/cafe in my head and then hopes to one day stumble across it?
for many moons, my favorite place to order food was a little cafe was found upstate in speculator, new york called timberline cafe.
it was a DREAM. all sorts of drinks, pastries and the BEST summer sandwiches a girl could ask for (my favorite: fresh arugula, grape tomatoes, mozzarella and basil with a pesto mayo the staff could make a killer vietnamese iced coffee. (it was sold and is now under new management and now i think they're just sub-par. #sorry #notsorry)
i have been hoping and praying and wishing for a nice little cafe/restaurant to take root in ridgewood, with a homey atmosphere and delicious cafe food, with good hours and a pleasant staff.
and guess what. DREAMS COME TRUE.
i've tried almost every other place in ridgewood:
ridgewood coffee company (meh),
starbucks (for the basics),
dunkin donuts (doesn't count),
american bulldog (good atmosphere, but way overpriced and the seats are so not comfortable).
white maple, you precious, precious establishment. i love you and it's only been two weeks.
my order
+chicken salad sandwich with goffle road farm roasted chicken, leafy romaine, avocado & spicy mayo on sourdough bread
+some dang good french fries
the staff
since i ordered my first meal their during their first week, you would have thought the staff would be overly accommodating and annoying. but to my pleasant surprise, they were SO CHILL.
i called in my order, then got super busy at work and couldn't go pick it up until 40 minutes after i was suppose to get it. they called me 15 minutes later just to check and make sure i hadn't forgotten AND they asked if i wanted them to deliver it to me instead. THAT IS NICE. (i said no because i wanted to see what it looked like inside.) upon my arrival, a very tall gentleman rang me up and we exchanged some small talk. he was normal.
my two cents
white maple cafe is a place you want to be. its clean. its crisp. its casual. or its formal. its whatever you want it to be. did i mention its clean? my dad always says "cleanliness is next to godliness" and BY GEORGE, HE'S RIGHT. this place is heaven sent. simple decor but it all goes together so well to make the visual aesthetics so pleasing to the eye.
that sandwich made my mouth water when i first saw it and again when i thought about it later. the chicken salad was in no way overly mayo-ed (which can totally make or break a chicken salad, am i right?). the bread was soft with a super crunchy crust, just like sourdough should be..
and the FRIES! let me just remind you: i had these fries 45 minutes after they were intended to be eaten. most of the time, fries are old news after being almost an hour old. and yes, these fries were slightly soggy (my fault, not theirs), but despite their sogginess, they were DANG GOOD. perfectly potatoey, just enough salt and no excess oil or grease. i ate most of them without ketchup. then i felt bad for the container of ketchup.
i paid $13 for a sandwich and a buttload of french fries. in my opinion, that's the expensive side of average for a sandwich and fries. but it is ridgewood after all and they're a new business, so i can't really complain.
altogether, i give this place two thumbs up. maybe more. if i had more thumbs.