Coco's Retirement Lunch

Much to the chagrin of everyone at the church, our splendid secretary Ann is retiring next week. So, we took her out to lunch at Coco's, near the Oregon District. I'd had dinner there before with Beth when she was in town and was favorably impressed. Yesterday, I was even more impressed. Chris had said the burger (topped with Boursin cheese---how could that be bad?) was amazing and that's what she ordered. The bite I tried was juicy and flavorful. Ann had the crabcake sliders, which were prettily presented, and proclaimed them delicious. Brian's lunch was the blackened tilapia sandwich, which he seemed to like. I chose the BMT, which is nothing like the Subway sandwich of the same name. It's a baguette with a hefty pile of crispy bacon, fresh mozzarella and a layer of fried tomatillos, accented with basil mayonnaise. It is a truly splendid summer lunch! I stuck to the summer theme for my dessert and ordered the berry shortcake, with a gorgeous pile of mixed berries and a pouf of real whipped cream on a good, biscuity shortcake. Chris' chocolate cake, starring layers of dense mousse, was moist and good and Ann's key lime pie was the real deal, nearly impossible to find up North here. I was not remotely impressed with Brian's creme brulee, though. The creme to brulee ratio was skewed entirely too far to the creme side and the texture of the custard was unpleasantly thick and a little rough, unlike the light, silky mouth feel I prefer. It is served in a metal mug, which I think is a mistake. They need to use an oval ramekin for a better spread of the custard and more crunchy goodness to complement it. But, perhaps some folks like it as it was presented at Coco's. Oh, their iced tea? Very tasty! The busy lunchtime crowd made for a rather noisy atmosphere, but not unpleasantly so. The deep teal walls lend to the air of sophistication projected. For more info: www.228coco.com