“This place has improved greatly from 3 years ago. I had previously given 3 stars, but have visited twice in the past month and the food was so amazing. The service was wonderful. This is a regular date night spot for us now. Keep up the great work!Vegetarian options: Spanakopita, Lebanese salad and more“
“Cedars Cafe- Lake Washington-5-Stars Quickly becoming a local favorite, this gem of an eatery is beginning to make a huge splash in the local culinary scene. As with most fine dining joints (Cedar's is more casual, but the food is not), Chef Toni changes her menu with the seasonal availability of the freshest ingredients. As we have cruised on past summer and are now in the fall months, I thought it would be a good time to revisit a new favorite and see what Chef Toni did with her traditional, yet eclectically mixed menu. After being seated, I hungrily listened to my server rattle off the seasonal specials and began to drool. This should be extraordinary based on what my ears were telling my palate. After a few moments taking it all in, I asked for an order of Artichoke Shawarma, Fennel Apple salad, White Yam fries, Beat salad with goat cheese, Haloumi cheese, some kafta and an order of chicken thighs in a shiitake mushroom sauce. Relaxing in the pleasant atmosphere it seemed only a moment had passed when my server was soon approaching with my food. Setting it down before me, I drank in the beautiful artistry and scintillating aromas spiraling towards the ceiling as I reached for my tools of gastronomical destruction and got to work. After one bite of the Artichoke Shawarma I knew that once again, Chef Toni has hit a home run. After using the outside of the Artichoke for another dish and wanting to be a zero-waste kitchen, Chef Toni took the artichoke hearts, through some shawarma spice on them, and plopped them on some freshly made hummus. The tastes were extraordinary. The Fennel Apple salad is a misnomer as it should read Fennel and Shaved Apple salad. With thin shavings of apple over fresh greens, fennel, fresh mint and a "secret" ingredient of orange blossom water, this salad was out of this world. Used to cleanse the palate between courses, it more than served its purpose In pursuing the freshest ingredients, Chef Toni often comes upon once in a blue moon opportunities from her local sources. Case in point, white yams. Obtaining just a few of them from a local farmer, Chef Toni worked her magic and turned them into fresh white yam fries served with an herbed, homemade tahini sauce that was a sheer delight on the palate. They were like no fries I have ever tasted before. Moving on to the most pedestrian dish, if one can call a goat cheese feta and fresh beet salad with homemade pomegranate vinaigrette drizzled over it, pedestrian. With farm-fresh beets and real honest to Athens goat cheese feta this was amazing as well. It seems that Chef Toni never misses. She must, she is only human, but I have yet to catch her off her game. After a few bites of the salad, just to make sure I had the taste down, I turned my attention to the grilled Haloumi cheese. While this is a traditional middle eastern dish, Chef Toni took traditional and turned it on its ear. With some almond dukkah seasoning and fresh local honey drizzled over it, this cheese was a far cry from the stuff I grew up on. Talk about scrumptious! While the Houlomi cheese was a far cry from my childhood, Chef Toni's take on kafta brought me right back to it. Grilled in the oven, topped with fresh hummus with tomato and onions and topping a freshly made pita, this went straight to the little boy inside the Big Boy and made him very happy. With a delicate blend of herbs and spices, this dish alone was worth the visit. Sadly, this brings me to the last item up for review, the Chicken thighs in a shiitake mushroom sauce. What can I say about this without sounding like the proverbial broken record? Using locally farmed mushrooms and chicken, this dish taste farm-fresh and danced across my taste buds. The sauce was delicate, subtle and full of flavor while the chicken was tender, juicy and had to have been alive just a few hours earlier, it tasted that fresh. This place is 5 stars all day, every day. The Big Boy says, "Just go already!"“