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Kokopelli marries country, contemporary
The Dade City restaurant's whimsical decor and small-town warmth aren't the only attractions. From gourmet specials to fresh gator with kumquat relish, the food is fine.
By CHRIS SHERMAN
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 31, 2000
[Times photo: Douglas R. Clifford]
Kafe Kokopelli’s fried green tomatoes are coated with a Cantonese enhanced batter.
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DADE CITY -- I'm sure there are times locals wish the interstate were closer, but that'd mean chain restaurants, too. Right now, despite a small fast food gang, a Golden Corral and a Village Inn on the edge of town, Dade City is blessedly free of chain dinner houses; chains are for tires, groceries, banks and gas. You have to drive to Zephyrhills for Sonny's and Wesley Chapel to reach Applebee's.
That leaves a big opportunity -- and obligation -- for independent restaurants like Kafe Kokopelli. When it opened three years ago, its owners had the wit and enterprise to turn a couple of vacant buildings into a cornerstone of downtown social life.
Yes, Williams Lunch on Limoges did that 10 years ago and still does for decorous ladies who lunch in a lovely old dry goods store amid resort wear, fine stationery, notions and gifts.
Kokopelli's is different. It has mixed drinks, lower prices and dinner hours, so it can serve many functions: a courthouse restaurant, an ersatz Bennigan's, a big night out for family celebration, a place for a too-tired-to-cook weeknight supper or a date with bananas Foster and a live combo. It doesn't deliver them all perfectly, but it tries hard.
The quaint old building with exposed brick that Kokopelli occupies is the former garage of a small-town Ford dealer that sold Model T's and worked on them here. No garden-party paper lanterns or long white retro uniforms on waitresses here; the inspiration is somehow more modern, Southwestern and pure whimsy.
The servers wear black T-shirts, and the furnishings are from a failed sash and door company. Tables are made from old windows filled with tile surrounded by mismatched chairs. More than 20 French doors frame unceilinged "rooms" under exposed rafters hung with dried vines, old Christmas ornaments and the remains of the garage's pulley system. It's like a barn Martha Stewart hasn't quite finished with. But you don't mind; it's still a comfy place to hang out, cool and shady in the summer, warm and homey when life gets bitter.
The menu is just as happily schizophrenic. Friends here take the most delight in Kokopelli's contemporary offerings. You can get steamed mussels, gourmet greens, that newfangled "white" chili, planked salmon, nightly specials of quail or beer-can chicken and special considerations for Dr. Atkins' adherents.
I applaud that effort, but as a visitor I appreciated more the country flavors, like an old-fashioned luncheonette-style chicken salad in a tomato that was both big and ripe.
The best choices, however, came from a no-fear fryer with perfect crispness. Fried green tomatoes are more tender and flaky than the movie, and zucchini is sliced almost thinner than the batter.
There's gator, too, the best I've had, and it doesn't taste like chicken. It tastes like fresh chicken -- fresher than you can get chicken anymore. It should. This gator isn't just a frozen novelty, it's butchered right here. This fresh, it's close to veal, and I'd like to see Kokopelli try it in stews or medallions with lemon or Marsala (hold the tomato and parm).
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Kokopelli serves its gator with a kumquat relish, another local delicacy the restaurant should have more fun with. Since the world kumquat capital is in St. Joseph, six miles out of town, I'd like to smell those odd little fruits in syrups and pastries or as a sauce or glaze on Kokopelli's hefty pork chops.
There's steak aplenty, of course, for the countryside is full of more cattle than gators and kumquats. The surprise is the amount of seafood, from good-sized shrimp in scampi and shish kebab to finfish beyond catfish.
Salmon planked on cedar is a clever dish, a little dry for me, but the bourbon vinaigrette is a good touch and the presentation always a kick ("My own piece of wood!"). Mussels were overcooked, but the buttery broth of onions and white wine and a crisply finished baguette were an unexpected hint of France.
Kokopelli is still rural Florida in its brief and bland wine list and the pace of service. Plenty of staff are on hand, right friendly and enthusiastic, but not in a hurry even on slow nights.
But who is? The joys of a small town are the quirks that haven't been obliterated by corporate sameness. Kokopelli's is a place to take time to enjoy them.
RESTAURANT REVIEW
Kafe Kokopelli
- 37940 Live Oak Ave., Dade City; (352) 523-0055
- Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday, Saturday.
- Reservations: Accepted.
- Credit cards: D, MC, V
- Details: Full bar, non-smoking section provided.
- Wheelchair access: Good
- Prices: Lunch, $4.99 to $6.99; dinner, $9.99 to $20.99
- Special features: Private room available, live music Saturday night.
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