presenting
LET THE FEAST BEGIN
By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com
To help get through the coronavirus crisis Bernice Chesi and I want to encourage you to dine out now and then in the comfort of your own social-distance observing home.
Each weekend we are going to order out dinner from an iconic local restaurant, create as much of a restaurant atmosphere as possible at home, pretend we are dining out and report on the experience!
Even though some restaurants will be re-opening soon under restricted conditions, some Tucsonans will prefer to wait awhile and see what happens. Enjoying another carryout meal or two at home may be just the ticket.
The setting, bringing a special feeling to dishes from Ghini's French Caffe.
A sampling of roast beef beside a cut sandwich of tomato and brie, while a hefty vegetable soup waits in the wings.
The mussels traveled well, with an assist from the pasta and slices of baguette.
Of course, when life gives you lemons you make lemonade. And when the coronavirus closes all the restaurants, you give your own home a touch of Paris in the afternoon by ordering out from Ghini's French Caffe (on line at ghiniscafe.com, or phone 326-9095).
No doubt you'v already had a cup of French roast coffee and a croissant for breakfast (or maybe a mushroom omelette) but that was hours ago.
Keep the Tricolore flying in your heart with a tasty fresh selection of dishes from Ghini's, where everything is naturally fresh and locally grown, straight from farm to table.
Ordering something special for carry-out calls for more scene-setting than the usual pizza or Chinese. In doing these reviews we quickly learned the benefits of adding a few extra steps to the process, retaining more of each restaurant's special magic as the food slips from those carry-put containers and into your own bowls and plates.
We began our meal with an order of mussels, then for soups we choose two, French onion and vegetable, topped off by a roast beef sandwich and another one of tomato and brie.
Ghini's also offers a remarkably long menu of coffee drinks as well as mimosa variations served in a glass, or go for more with a small or large carafe.
Even though a delivery service is available at Ghini's, it cuts restaurant costs when you pick up the order yourself. So we did, also planning some extra prep time to re-heat the mussels and soups.
For the mussels, the oven was set at 175 degrees just to keep them warm while the soups were gently stirred as they heated.
At the table, those mussels turned out to be happy travelers. They were delicious, not dried out or exhausted, but thriving in their own white wine and garlic setting.
“We should have had two orders,” said Bernice.
That pair of soups turned out to be worthy roadies, as well. The French onion doesn't get the traditional in-restaurant presentation of onion soup topped with baguette and melted Gruyere, but those ingredients are in the bowl all the same, just tossed around a bit. That famous Ghini's French onion soup flavor will still command your attention.
As for the other bowl, with hearty cuts of grilled vegetables served in a herb tomato broth, what can possibly go wrong there. Positively nothing.
Meanwhile, the two cold sandwiches on baguettes were patiently waiting to be enjoyed with a promising glass of wine – your choice of colors.
Simple pleasure defines the brie and tomato sandy enhanced with garlic and vinaigrette. A little sneakier is Le Boeuf, slices of roast beef enhanced with lettuce and onion, extra spicy dijon mustard, mayonnaise and creamy horseradish.
Every sandwich comes with a choice of side dishes (baby greens, hash browns, sliced oranges or a small bag of Kettle Chips). Just for fun we picked the Kettle Chips.
Ghini's also likes to make a special event out of Sunday brunch, and before the coronavirus struck, out of Friday and Saturday evening dinners. As restaurant life returns to normal around the city, keep in touch with your French side by checking into the website, ghiniscafe.com
Bon appetit.
Chuck Graham and Bernice Chesi.
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