EAL Fall 2023

Photos courtesy of Cafe 123
authentic Caesar salad you will ever have,”
Chef says. “Nobody else in town does this
tableside.”
While choosing an entrée can be a difficult
choice, he likes the fresh catch that rotates
weekly. It is his creation using seasonal and
local ingredients to accent the freshest fish.
The menu staples are also great choices,
including the café filet mignon Oscar. The 8
oz. grilled beef filet is topped with sauce bearnaise
and jumbo lump crab. The pork chop is
also succulent served with a crispy fried grit
cake, bacon braised carrots and arugula, finished
with a pepper jelly glaze. “It is the best
pork chop, and regular customers who order
it almost never veer from it.”
The desserts also rotate. Three yummy
staples are their famous bread pudding with
sweet amaretto sauce, house cheesecakes and
tableside bananas foster. “The bananas foster
would be great before the show,” he says.
For wine, Chef Bass suggests pairing the
fresh catch with a nice crisp pinot gris. For the
pork chop, he prefers a light pinot noir and
recommends an Orin Swift red blend for the
filet Oscar.
Whichever wine you select, be sure to toast
to a wonderful evening as it continues at the
Performing Arts Center with an outstanding
production.
Chef Bass is a native Opelikan and knew
after graduating high school that he wanted
to go into the culinary field. His father advised
him to work at a restaurant first to be sure that
was what he wanted to do before beginning a
culinary program.
EAST ALABAMA LIVING 23