Joanie’s Cafe has been open for two decades. That’s about 200 in restaurant years.
Cartal Vernard bought the business as The Happy Cooker 20 years ago and later changed the name to honor his wife, Joanie, according to manager Roucoule Maxime. The cafe has been adept in changing with the times, keeping the tone friendly, straightforward and unpretentious.
Great breakfasts and satisfying lunches have long been the mainstays of the business, and the restaurant is packed in the early hours. Dinner is quieter but offers the same simple, satisfying fare.
Joanie’s is an Americanized derivation of the stalwart French bistro, an updated hybrid featuring quick, wholesome food with under-control prices. It is a good place for families. The ambiance is as uncomplicated as the menu, with paper linens, paper napkins and a small candle on each table.
Enchanting photos of France festoon the walls, but there is no mistaking Paris for Palo Alto here. The decor tips more towards cafe than romantic hideaway.
To whet the appetite, the garlic shrimp ($7.25) featured three large sauteed crustaceans atop homey baked tomatoes. Nothing complicated here, just good food. The tasty golden grilled crab cake ($7.25) was loaded with rich crab meat, bell peppers and shallots and was served on a bed of greens tossed in a mild vinaigrette.
The quesadilla ($6.95) was studded with linguisa sausage, enveloped in mild melted cheese and topped with pureed avocado. It made for a satisfying first course. Ditto the bruschetta ($6.50), laden with sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, pine nuts and olive oil. The thinly sliced prosciutto and slather of gorgonzola added heartiness and flavor to the dish.
The onion soup ($3.95 cup, $5.75 bowl) had a pleasant, nurturing broth. Hot and hearty, it was the perfect fare for the chilly, rainy evening. Besides offering onion soup, the cafe features a different soup daily.
There are a variety of salads, including the dinner-sized salade provencale ($15.95), which has a grilled filet of fish of the day, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, onions, olives and mixed greens tossed with lemon, tomato and caper dressing.
Main courses are equally uncomplicated. The lamb shank ($17.95) was fall-off-the-bone tender. The good-sized portion had been slow-cooked with carrots, onions and celery in red wine and was served with roasted potatoes.
Ravioli scampi ($16.25) were prawns served over ravioli stuffed with shrimp, ricotta and spinach. The dish was finished with lobster-bisque white-wine sauce. The bisque erred on side of blandness but, overall, the dish was tasty.
Joanie’s jambalaya ($17.95) had a few too many ingredients. I liked the sausage, shrimp, salmon, chicken, rice and bell peppers. This version, though, contained a garden patch of broccoli and eggplant, two vegetables I had never encountered in jambalaya before. They didn’t work. The green color of the overcooked broccoli had bled away, leaving limp brown florets, and the eggplant was reduced to mush. Picking those out left an excellent jambalaya.
The appetizing chicken Milanese ($15.50) consisted of breaded, flattened chicken, almost like a cutlet, that had been grilled and topped with lemon butter sauce. Rice and vegetables accompanied. The meat was fork-tender, with warm homey flavors.
The boneless breast of duck ($17.95) was also wonderfully tender and fresh-tasting. The duck had been sauteed with shallots, garlic and chanterelle mushrooms and served with roasted red potatoes. This dish smacked of Parisian bistro, aromatic and healthy with subtle, delicate flavors.
Joanie’s offers one special main course daily. One evening, I opted for grilled halibut ($19.95) that was served with pesto, carrots and beans. The fish was fresh and flaky. The pesto was too aggressive, though, and it overwhelmed the delicate white fish.
For desserts, only the creme caramel ($5.95) is house-made. The other desserts are trucked in from San Francisco — which doesn’t mean they’re not worth trying.
Joanie’s could use some serious upgrading in the wine department. Of the 15 wines, there were two Bordeaux and one of just about everything else made in France and California: one Zinfandel, one Rhone, one Cabernet, one Merlot, etc. I’d like to see a broader selection; one of each isn’t much of a choice.
There is also French cider, along with a few beers and a very cheap champagne split ($5.75) — better if taken with orange juice as a Mimosa cocktail ($6.25).
Overall, Joanie’s Cafe is almost everything a good neighborhood bistro should be, with quality food, quick service and reasonable prices. Joanie’s reputation has been sustained by its popular breakfast and lunch menus. Dinner, though, is every bit as good.
Joanie’s Cafe
447 S. California Ave., Palo Alto
(650) 326-6505
Hours:
Breakfast and Lunch: Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m.-3 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Dinner: Tues.-Sat. 5-9 p.m.
