Ravin’ About Raven Cafe

I was in Yellowstone Art Museum the other day on business and happened to notice that the delightful Art Beyond the Palette restaurant had been replaced by a darling little dining opportunity called Raven Café.  I couldn’t wait to try it, but I also couldn’t help but wonder if it would offer fare that could compete with ABTP’s crab soup.  I consider myself an equal opportunity eater, so I thought I’d give it a try.

I met my 19 year old son there, and the first thing he commented on was that he had no clue Raven Café existed.  This upped my cool factor in a college student’s eyes (which is incredibly difficult to).  The atmosphere is small, but cozy, funky and cool.  We settled in our chic lime green chairs and scanned the menu.

Did I want the Southwestern Grilled Cheese (with green chilies, 2 kinds of cheese and bacon) OR the Roasted Veggie Panini (with all sorts of roasted goodness AND feta cheese).  I had all but decided on the Roasted Veggie Panini when I scanned the Hawaiian Pork Sliders.  The description read, and I quote:  “tender pork tenderloins with grilled pineapple on toasted ciabatta squares topped with a tangy BBQ sauce.”  I didn’t even know what ciabatta squares were.  And I didn’t really care.  I ordered one of those up and my son ordered the Southwestern Grilled Cheese.

When our food hit the table, our stomachs were eating our back bones because we had been smelling freshly baked and grilled cuisine (I make it sound like we waited a long time. Our wait was probably about 10 minutes.  It just seemed longer because of the heavenly scents wafting in the air!).  This is the kind of food that you stop and stare at in awe before you eat.  You can’t help it.  You take in a big whiff, and marvel at the culinary masterpiece in front of you.  And then you snarf like it’s your last meal.

It’s hard to make a grilled cheese glamorous, but my son’s sandwich was just that.  Gorgeous toasted bread, thick cheese (not that fakey kind), and real bacon.  My sliders you ask?  Oh my.  I love me some pork and pineapple, and I’m sure I did not look very attractive ingesting it (as the picture my smart aleck son took suggests).  There were just 3 little sliders; I almost panicked thinking it may not be enough, but I could only eat 2!  My son graciously finished the last one for me.

The next time you are drawing a blank on where to meet your friends for lunch, give Raven Café a try.  You might see me there as I am determined to make my way through the rest of the menu, starting with the Roasted Veggie Panini.  Every girl has to have a goal.

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