Renaissance Cafe in Assaria, Kansas

On Friday night Mr. Pihl and I decided to visit the Renaissance Cafe in Assaria.  By the time we left I was mumbling about how I couldn't believe I've lived here so long and haven't tried it before now.  Oh, the wasted years!

But, really.  It was superb.


The Renaissance Cafe's chef is a chef.  Rumor has it, he's a little persnickety whenever someone tries to make a substitution or special request (because HE designed the dish how it's SUPPOSED to be, dagummit!), but for me that totally feeds into the "chef" stereotype.  And you know what?  My dinner was OUT OF THIS WORLD, just the way he designed it to be.

The restaurant is built alongside of a old school, and part of the ambiance is that it is conjoined with a century-old high school gym.

Because who DOESN'T want a puzzle table in their foyer?

Academic elements made up a large part of  the decor, adding to the school house ambiance.

And the gym.

View this-a-way.

 And that-a-way.

Now the real fun begins.

We sat down to wrapped artichoke hearts, sun dried tomato butter, and rosemary bread (at least I think that's what it was - I forgot to ask).

Und eet vhas gooooood.

We then decided to test our commitment issues by looking over the menu.  I mean, come on!  How can you choose between goodness, goodness, and more goodness?  In the end I chose the Prime Rib of Tuna (description in photo below) and Mr. Pihl chose the Steak Venato (you can see a description in their online menu here).

Entrees come with a choice of soup or salad, and I had heard wonderful things about their gorgonzola salad, so I decided to give it a go.

Oh, my.  I'm glad I did.

It was creamy and tangy without having too much bite from the strong cheese.  If I could eat this every day, I would be a happy woman.

While we were waiting for our food, we elected to reach in the small basket of trivia cards on our table and have a go at it.

Color me intrigued.

Huh.  whooda thunk it.

Soon after we started rifling through the trivia cards our dinner arrived.

Seared perfection.

Mr. Pihl's steak.  I tried it, and it blew my mind.

I couldn't recommend my prime rib of tuna enough.  It was seared to perfection and between the au jus and horseradish sauce pattern I developed, I could eat it EVERY DAY and be content.  

Try it.  Even if you don't like fish.  ESPECIALLY if you don't like fish.  There's no trademark rank fish flavor going on here.  Not at all.  It's just buttery, smooth, juicy goodness.

Oh, the goodness.

7.947326 minutes after we received our food, my plate looked like this:

And my husband scolded me for leaving vegetables behind.

But, hey.  I was prioritizing my remaining stomach room for dessert.

I'm glad I did.

Because, LOOK.

Holy, chocolate.  Chocolate Sorrento, to be exact.

Here's the menu and description:

It was dense, rich, and decadent, just like a flourless chocolate dessert with a boozy berry sauce should be.

Mr. Pihl got the baked cheesecake with caramel.

It was very good, but not the best cheesecake I've ever had.  It didn't taste as rich and creamy as a homemade cheesecake should (in my own cheesecake-snobbery of an opinion - but hey, I make cheesecakes as a personal hobby so I feel entitled to judge the world's cheesecakes).

All in all though, the Renaissance Cafe was wonderful.  Amazing.  Two thumbs waaay up!

See?

The one caveat is that they are only open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.  AND a reservation is required.  You can easily make a reservation through their website under the "Reservations" tab along the top.

Verdict?  ON a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 8.9999 ranking.  Incredible, especially considering it's in the middle of the Kansas prairie.

So, try it.

I know you'll like it.