Klime, Hugette,

Thank you for a great evening,

Rachel and I would like to thank you for a wonderful evening. The food was amazingly *great*.  The duck medallions were tender, juicy and extremely flavorful.  I thought the lamb was terrific, but must concede that I had a few bites of the duck and it was great.  And before we dove into our entrees, we tried the escargot and scallops.  Once again, superb. I am lucky that Hugette mentioned your email address; I must confess I "Googled" you and learned about your work at Crystal Café.

See you soon!
 
Stan and Rachel

Best Kept Secrect in Miami

My wife and I made reservations at this and several other more famous restaurants while we were visiting Miami during Valentine’s Day weekend 2005. The Crystal Cafe was easily the BEST of them all. The food was excellent, the service great and the staff very attentive and it was a very pleasant ambience. The only difficulty we had was with the taxi driver locating the Crystal Café. Needless to say we HIGHLY recommend this restaurant and will be returning again this year.

Pros: Excellent Food, Great Service, Pleasant Atmosphere
Cons: None
Overall user rating: Highly Recommended

Your old haunts 

Klime,

Well I hope all is well with you.  Last night I went to Crystal cafe.  It has not changed much inside.  He has changed the flower display and I think the lighting a little.  The food is still very good and I left full.  
When I got home my wife, (yes we finally got married) asked me how it was.  I said it missed something.  It missed you and your touches.  It missed personality.  I said it was like getting into the old car but it did not drive like it use to.  

She said it will take time for me to get used to it.  I said every restaurant has a personality.  This one lost it.  

So I guess I am in mourning of the cafe losing its personality.

Charles 

Klime,

We just happened to pass your restaurant on Saturday the 19th of this month and said let's try it. Once we opened the door I thought I was under-dressed as your restaurant is much much more than I expected but was made to feel very comfortable by your staff.

The meal and service was much more than I can express, thank you.

My wife did get a little cool just sitting while your staff is going full steam and am sure they are very very warm.

Once again thanks for a nice night, I rate it as first class.

Mel Clancey

Sunday night's dinner

It was a pleasure dining with you last night. Liz and I truly enjoyed our evening. Huguette was so sweet, shared some of your history in the business and was interested in making sure we knew you were available to talk. I'm glad we had a moment to share our thoughts. We tend to come on Sunday or Monday because of the wine policy and because we always get more chances to engage the staff and share our wines. The duck two ways was excellent. We brought a little home to share with our daughter and told her of the latest changes at Horseshoe Bar as it is one of her favorite restaurants as it is ours.

The stuffing in the duck leg was especially interesting. What type of mushrooms were in it? I know Autumn said "wild" but I'd like to find some for myself and I'm not sure where I could obtain some. Did you marinate them in something first or were they just fresh? The spinach and bacon are a classic combination but the mushrooms really made the taste exceptional. The breast had a smokey flavor to it. Was it smoked or did that come through the smoked bacon? The orange sauce was a plesant suprise. So often many of the other offerings can be too salty or over powering and can distract from the flavor of the meat. It was done to the perfect temperature and was truly of great quality.

In case your interested, the wine we shared with you last night was a 2001 Fiddlehead Cellars, Santa Inez Valley Pinot Noir from the Lollapalooza Vineyard. The central coast of California is truly the "Gran Cru" area of California Pinot Noir. There are several great Pinots being produced in the region. Most of which are highly allocated small production releases. As a collector for personal consumption of a few premium Pinots, the Santa Inez Valley and the Santa Maria area are producing great wines. I have been purchasing Pinot from the area for many years when it was $15.00 to $25.00 a bottle but now that Pinot has been "discovered" by more of the masses the prices reflect the greater interest. Of course the quality has gone up as well so I really have no complaints.

I'm sure we will see you again soon.

Sincerely,

Jim and Liz McGaughy

Dear Klime,

I just wanted to tell you what a great time my wife and I had Friday at the Horseshoe Bar and Grill. First off, I love the place. My wife and I have been several times, and think it's one of the best kept secrets in this area. While expensive for this area, the restaurant more than makes up for it with caliber
of food served. We had escargot, table side ceasar, I had the veal, and my wife had beef wellington. Everything was great, and even the service has seemed
to improve ( that was a big problem before ). We had a nice talk with your wife Huguette, when we heard that you were new to the town and restaurant. We both just wanted to tell you that we really enjoyed our night out and you are doing a wonderful job.

Sincerely,

Shannon

Mr. Kovaceski,

I just visited your web site and wanted to drop you a note to say that my wife and I are so sad to hear you have sold Crystal Cafe. We had many great meals there. I wish you well in your new endeavors and if I may make a small request...I would hope that one day you would put the recipe to your Lamb Chops on your website. They are without a doubt the best I have ever had and now I don't know where I will go for more!

Good luck in California!

Robert

Recipes

My husband and I have enjoyed several special dinners at the Horseshoe Bar Grill.  We use to live in France and have not found fresh foie gras here before...
 
I have been chosen to make Christmas dinner for my husbands family.  I am very excited about hosting this and would love to serve seared foie gras and perhaps some escargot.  Can you tell me where to buy fresh foie gras?  Can you give me the recipes for the fresh foie gras and your delicious Escargot?  Also, do you know where I can purchase sauterne jelly?
 
Thank you for your help.  
 
And my husband and I are looking forward to our next visit very soon.
 
Regards,
Kate and Ignacio Cantu

Horse shoe bar grill

Klime,

Chef Lorenzo here, I went to the horse shoe bar and grill Saturday night and me and my wife had diner. I got to talk to your wife and she was telling us about your story. Welcome to the area and good like with the horse shoe bar and grill it has been a good place to eat and I am sure you will make some positive changes to the operation and make it better. I have been chefing in the reno area for the last twenty years and we move to auburn three years ago. I am opening a new restaurant in auburn call Steve's Place we are going to have a lunch and up scale diner menu, we are in the construction time and hope to open the first part of December. Like to have you and your wife come on up when we open. Stay in touch.

Thanks, Chef Lorenzo Cloutier

TheZahr

Citysearch, User Reviews
 
on 03/28/2004

Well, well, well...thought you could hide from me? I can't believe it took so long before I tried your food, Chef Klime. What a well kept secret!. The food is so original and superb. I go as often as I can now! It's hard to find a place that you are greeted by the actual owner and then fed by him! I love it! 2 thumbs way up! The grilled calamari is outstanding (especially if you are counting carbs!) So long as you cook it, I will eat it!

Pros: easy parking
Cons: Nothing
Overall user rating: Highly Recommended

Well kept secret

Citysearch, User Reviews
Posted on 01/17/2003

I took my husband to the Crystal Cafe to celebrate his 40th birthday. We had a wonderful time. The service was superb and their 4 course dinner for two special was delicious and great value. We will definitely return. We got what we wanted, attention to detail, spectacular service, romantic atmosphere and exquisite food. I would recommend it to any of my friends.

Outstanding

Citysearch, User Reviews
Posted on 01/13/2003

My evening at the Crystal Cafe surpassed all my expectations. We were greeted at the door by the owners and everything about the restaurant stayed on that level. The service, food, ambience and wines were all outstanding. I tell all my friends going to Miami that the Crystal Cafe is an absolute must.

Pros: Everything
Cons: Nothing
Overall user rating: Highly Recommended