Cafe fivethirtyfour

Kit has been having health problems for a few years, so I was sad but not surprised recently to learn that she had sold the Chocolate Moose Café to a new owner. The result is Café fivethirtyfour.
I wasn’t sure quite what to expect when my parents and I made a lunch date to try the new café. After all, Kit is a pretty hard act to follow.
The café has been remodeled for a more modern look, with lighter walls and wood floors. Like the Chocolate Moose, it offers coffee, baked goods, and light breakfast fare in the mornings, and sandwiches, salads, and soups for lunch. It also serves dinner Friday and Saturday nights, with a menu that the waitress told us changes frequently.
We tried the Oven Roasted Beef, the Grilled Cheese, and the House Brined Turkey and enjoyed all of them. The ingredients were good quality and the flavors blended well. I also appreciated the sides, which were fresh and attractively presented. One was a salad of mixed greens and shallot dressing, the other a fruit cup with sliced apples, strawberries, and bananas. (Major props for choice of fruit — I hate cantaloupe and pineapple, so fruit cups are usually a no-​go for me, but this one was perfect.)
We were less impressed by the desserts. It’s not that they were bad. On the contrary, they were delicious. But, as I said, Kit is a hard act to follow. In particular, the cheesecake didn’t attain the smooth, rich creaminess of hers. However, I hasten to add that this isn’t so much a knock against the new owners as an appreciation of the former. It’s no great shame to lose to the best and Kit’s cheesecake was a perfect 10.
I’m not sure if I can really judge the service, since our waitress was a friend of my mother (she worked for the Moose years ago and Mom was a regular there). I do want to give major props to the cook for sending my daughter’s grilled cheese out first, though. She’s a slow eater, so it made her feel special while sparing us adults the long wait for her to finish.
In short, a solid and worthy effort and I wish the new owners many successful years. I hope to make it back sooner rather than later to try the breakfast and dinner menus.