Caffee’s Jazz Club & Restaurant
Main Street at Fillmore Ave., Buffalo

Sometimes the road is long and hard, but never fail, every month the city of Buffalo provides us with another restaurant we feel good about recommending to that ever-growing circle of Gazette readers. Face it, this town is a great place for eating — we can and will go on indefinitely having new culinary adventures, finding great food at good prices in fun friendly restaurants.

Right now we’re excited about Caffee’s Jazz Club & Restaurant on Main Street near Fillmore Avenue. This is the site of what, for years, was The Stuffed Mushroom. But with new ownership came a new staff and menu and a noticeable improvement in both food and service.

Caffee’s, which opened in December of ‘99, is owned by Liz and Hank Caffee. Ray Reed, a seasoned restauranteur manages the day to day operations. Together they’ve created a first rate class venue with a southern/soul menu that sports a distinct N’Orleans flair. And in true Buffalo fashion, they did it all while keeping prices in line with neighborhood takeout restaurants. What you’ve got here is excellent food for a reasonable price.

We started off with a generous bowl of New England style Clam Chowder ($2.25). They’re rumored to fix a kick’n Gumbo, but it’s quite popular and they often run out. So we settled for the Chowder. "Settled," however, turned out to be the wrong word as it proved to be one of the best soups we’ve had in a long while. It’s quite creamy with lots of clams and young potatoes. It’s presented with a dusting of paprika and fresh parsley and cooked just right - no doubt in small amounts. The potatoes are firm and flavorful, not mushy. The flavors come together delicately in your mouth for a true gourmet experience. In summation, this is a class bowl of soup.

The House Salad (free with "dinners") was also a surprise. It included a generous portion of croutons, tomatoes, red onions and cucumbers served over a bed of crisp romaine and iceberg lettuce.

For an entree, we tried the Cajun Chicken Stir Fry over Rice ($7.95 w/salad). Let us tell you -- these folks can cook veggies. We know they’re good for us — god put them here to keep us healthy. But so often they’re overcooked and mushy, so folks often avoid them. Not the case here! Each ingredient was added to the dish at just the right moment so that everything was served hot, but still crisp and bursting with sweet flavors. Obviously there’s an artist at work in the kitchen!

Oftentimes "stir fry" translates into veggies spiced with a hint of meat. That’s not the case with the Cajun Stir Fry. The folks at Caffee’s provide a generous portion of tender Cajun spiced (hot but not too hot) bits of boneless chicken cooked up with crisp yellow squash, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet red pepper and zucchini. Despite the term, "fried," there seemed to be little if any oil associated with this dish. We’d even suspect that it could pass for "low fat."

All dinners come with two sides. We tried a few of them. The Mac and Cheese is excellent. It’s got a hint of pepper and an unusually generous serving of that top cheesy layer we usually savor. The greens start out fresh and retain their crispy edge as they pick up a delicate smoke and pepper flavor during cooking. The red beans and rice could pass as an appetizer — a large bowl of juicy stewed beans served mixed with short grain rice.

Dinners also come with a serving of corn bread. Caffee’s corn bread is so moist and sweet, that it can pass for a desert.

We also tried the BBQ Chicken Sandwich ($4.95 w/fries). The chicken was cooked just right, but the BBQ sauce was a bit of a let down. This is not to say that it’s bad. It’s just not up to par with the rest of Caffee’s otherwise excellent offerings. The French Fries were also nothing special. They’re not bad and certainly not greasy like fast food fries — but they’re just not fantastic like the rest of the menu. We recommend you try the Cajun Chicken Sandwich (spiced to your preference) and one of Caffee’s other sides such as potato salad, Mac & Cheese, Greens, etc.

It’s always a rare treat to find healthy restaurant food. It’s even more of a treat when it’s tasty and reasonably priced. In this vein Caffee’s wins lots of points with us, providing a good choice of healthy dishes in the form of dinner sized salads such as their Greek Salad ($5.95) and their Grilled Chicken Salad ($6.95). Combine this with their top shelf bar and high class wait staff and you get a unique eating experience. But don’t fret — If fat’s still your trip you can also order up a portion of Wings and Blue Cheese Dressing.

We like this place. It’s a suit and tie establishment with blue jeans pricing. It’s elegant in a comfy sort of way. It’s also got the best service we’ve seen in a long time! We came in just as they were finishing one private party in their banquet room and preparing for another. Yet, despite all the activity, they didn’t miss a beat.

Caffee’s provides a scrumptious Sunday buffet for $11.95 with a variety of meats, veggies and salads. They’ll also cater for parties. Saturday nights there’s live music and occasionally a DJ or open mic night. There’s no cover charge - so enjoy yourself and treat a friend or family member to a classy night out at Caffee’s.