Restaurant Review: Mayfield Bakery & Cafe

Mayfield Bakery & Cafe - dinner on August 12, 2013

I meant to try out Mayfield Bakery & Cafe for brunch or lunch as I had heard good things about it from friends.  But my schedule didn't work out so I ended up meeting my cousin and her son Vanilla King for dinner here instead.  I arrived a little early and popped into the Mayfield bakery next to the cafe but since it was late in the day, they didn't have much left so I didn't buy anything. Someday I will have to come back in the morning so I can gauge them properly and sample their wares.

The cafe is set in a little strip mall just outside the Stanford University campus and it wasn't crowded at all which is a somewhat nice change of pace from the usual Palo Alto restaurants. Parking was no problem, also a bonus.  The menu is what I'd describe as somewhat upscale American fare, meaning entrees ranged from $20-$40 and they didn't give you mammoth portions but were still decent-sized.  Vanilla King opted for the pepperoni pizza and ate half of it so I'm going to assume it was pretty good.  Or he was hungry or both.

Pepperoni Pizza

My cousin ordered some artfully presented short ribs which she said was also tasty.  I always like pretty presentations and a decent-sized portion that makes you feel like you got reasonable value for your money but not so much that your plate seems like a feeding trough.

Braised Short Ribs

I opted for the night's special which was Fried Chicken (yum) with kale (pass), side salad with feta cheese (hold the dressing) and a little biscuit (cute size and tasty).  The fried chicken was very good, lightly breaded and fried crisp.  I can't eat that much chicken in one sitting so I ate the smallest piece and half a leg and took the rest home.  The accompanying gravy in the cute little container was a little too salty for me (remember I have bland taste buds) so I tried it but opted to eat the rest of the chicken plain. It tasted just fine on its own.

Although it's almost unthinkable that I would dine somewhere that has a bakery attached to it and not get dessert, we elected to skip it because the main reason we were eating at Mayfield was because it was walking distance to the Palo Alto location of Cream and my cousin wanted to try their ice cream sandwiches. I'm notorious for making my dinner companions walk after a meal, especially to where we would get dessert (need the calorie burn!), so that's what I did, shepherding my cousin and Vanilla King along with exhortations of "yup, we're almost there, just one more block."  Vanilla King was astute enough to catch on after the fifth block but fortunately by then, we were actually almost there...in another 2-3 blocks.

Close up of the Fried Chicken

Our dessert from Cream - or at least a shot of mine: Turtle Cookie on one side (chocolate cookie with caramel and pecans), Chocolate Chip Cookie on the other side, sandwiching chocolate ice cream.  It was good although I will say I'm not sure I would get this flavor combination again.  The Turtle Cookie was a little too crisp rather than chewy, made more so by the ice cream hardening the caramel.  The chocolate chip cookie was just ordinary.  The chocolate ice cream was delicious though.  But it's hard not to like chocolate ice cream. 

Ice Cream Sandwich from Cream, Palo Alto