My 3-year-old and I stopped by Cafe Caturra Coffee & Wine on Grove Avenue near Maple this morning to check it out.   It opened last week, and I’ve been driving by and wondering — why is it attracting so much attention. Every time I go by, it’s busy.  Really busy considering that most of the customers have found out by word of mouth and there is a Starbucks directly across the street!

My 3-year-old was immediately impressed with the “candle lights” on the stone patio. And, he’s right, the gas lamps, and the beautiful stone work really set the scene.  Every detail has been attended to. Not only does this place have gorgeous stonework everywhere, and black ironwork, it also has huge fireplaces. Instead of the tables being the standard height, the ones near the front of the patio are bar stool height so you can really see what is going on all around. The place is just beautiful. They’ve used rich wood paneling on the inside. And small architectural details like refinished antique wood doors for the bathroom, that really set it aside from its competitors.  If I had to describe the place I’d say it is a strange cross between Flemings Steakhouse, Starbucks and Panera Bread. 

Caturra is passionate about coffee. Passionate about wine. And they are passionate about the details. The workers there were very helpful and friendly — letting me take a menu and pointing out that for $4.95 they had a variety of kids meals from PB&J to a turkey sandwich.

What else makes Cafe Caturra unique? Their wines are on tap! And, they must sell alot of wine! They use Argonne gas to keep the air sealed out, and then have some sort of system that “taps” the bottle.  Red and white wines are kept in separate refrigerated compartments and are stored (as they should be) at different temperatures.  They also offer a really cool 1/2 glass of wine, most of which are $3. (a full glass is $6-8 and bottles are mostly $22-$28). The worker I spoke with explained that the 1/2 glasses are popular at lunch and also for folks who want to try several kinds of wine.  Cafe Caturra is happy to give a taste of any wine you’d like to try, and they rotate their selection so you never know what you might find there.  The barista was happy to share a few of her favorites mentioning that many of the wines they cary are unusual.

In the main area of the restaurant you will find a coffee roaster (yes, they roast their own coffee on site!) and bags of green (not roasted) coffee sitting in burlap bags on the floor.  I loved this.  I showed my son the green beans and the roasted beans side-by-side and he thought that was pretty cool.  The bathroom again features more rich wood, a lamp with olives on it, and just a touch of color with a blue ceramic hook on the door. They have not just one porch in the front but also a beautiful back porch.  Did I mention that the art is amazing? Currently they have a Rothko-esqu painter from Midlothian — Paul Germain who’s got some marvelous pieces up.  I understand the art is on rotation,  I can’t wait to see what goes up next.  

I know, I know. You want to know how the food is!  I can’t tell you. I had just eaten breakfast when I stopped by and didn’t buy anything. But the baked goods looked gorgeous. My son was trying to convince me that the huge cookies, left out in a huge pile on a plate near the register was a sample! The $2 price tag seemed a bit steep to me for a cookie, but you are paying for the atmosphere.  The menu is mostly sandwiches and salads with fresh baked bread and cheeses. Again the prices reflect the atmosphere, but are not much higher than Panera (mostly in the $10 range).  My only request for the menu is that they offer more vegetarian offerings.  There is a vegetable (humus) panini and a cheese panini, but neither appealed to me because I could make something similar at home.  I think I’ll go back and try one of their salad or the made from scratch soup, which seem to be a specialty. And definitely the wine.   The homemade egg salad sounds good, but it is made with prosciutto. Some of the really great looking offerings are the Caturra signature curry chicken (homemade chicken salad with curry, honey, romaine and tomato), the beef and horseradish panini and the raspberry walnut salad.

I’ll keep you posted on the food. My guess: it won’t be long before I’m lured back to Cafe Caturra by the wine, or dragged there by my 3-year-old who is dying to have one of those cookies.