Come on in, the casual dining at Rhythm Café is fine!   But, have an open mind about what the place looks like from the outside, as well as inside.  It was a drug store in the 50's and the chef/owner has very faithfully kept the retro, funky, and very kitschy (much of it for sale) atmosphere throughout the room, including the original counter. Do you remember plastic covered revolving stools, tuna on white, and filling your prescription all at the same time?

The menu opens with a full page of do's and don'ts for their diners.  You're never quite sure how much are just a tad "tongue-in-cheek".  Do read them, have a chuckle, but, for everybody's sake, you should probably take them seriously. The menu is actually quite extensive, and quite eclectic. There will be, almost certainly, something for everyone, from the very picky to the "whatever you got" kinda guy. They offer a great selection of appetizers, correction, tapas-tizers.  Our table of six chose to share two for starters.  First was the cheese on fire, a.k.a. Saganaki, a dish of Greek origin with Kasseri cheese, set on fire with brandy, then extinguished with lemon, and served hot and bubbly with little warm, fresh pita bread wedges.  I almost died and went to heaven with that alone.  Good thing I didn't, because there was much more heaven-sent food to come. What was billed as "The Best Tuna Tartar Ever" really could have been.  Finely chopped meltingly smooth raw tuna was lovingly tossed with a ginger-y lime-y dressing, a perfect foil for the very fresh tuna, and was served with crispy little French bread crostinis.   There were other tapa-tizers that could have been ordered as tapas sized or entrée sized.  (I wish I could have tried them all!)  That night's fresh fish included hog snapper, swordfish, and steelhead salmon.  L. and I both ordered the hog snapper but with different preparations, six different treatments and all of them sounding very interesting.  I am one of those no-garlic-within-five-miles-please kinds of people, so my hog snapper was prepared with an herb bread crumb crust. It was baked just right for that kind of fish, moist and tender. Each mouthful was soft and sweet on the inside and slightly crispy-crunchy on the outside at the same time. It was accompanied by a lemon beurre blanc sauce, a perfect counterpoint to the fish, and a choice of wonderful vegetable sides, the lightly glazed carrots being my personal favorite. YUM!  H. had the hog snapper also, but treated in a Mediterranean way called "Arti Heart".  The fish of his choice was oven roasted and strewn with a sauté of artichoke hearts, scallions, and sun dried tomatoes. Then it was topped with a lemony butter sauce, and served with his choice of side dishes of the day.  Oh joy! D. and E. had blackened salmon with string beans and spinach, over which the two of them swooned.  R., the meat eater, had the filet mignon, a gorgeous center cut of tenderloin perfectly prepared medium rare with a silky sauce au poivre.  Despite the fact that I am not much of a carnivore, I could not resist his generous offer of a taste. It was amazing.  (I am the reviewer after all.)

On to desserts.  We all shared: key lime pie that was a perfect balance of sweet and tart, so incredibly smooth in my mouth, and the crust was as flaky as it could be. There was a warm apple crisp with homemade cinnamon ice cream.  Sorry, my words cannot describe it!  There was a peanut butter pie with chocolate sauce.  Not my thing so I will quote the menu on this one: "a light peanut butter mooseyish filling in a fan-freaking-tastic crust of chopped peanuts and chocolate chips".  The Rhythm Café also makes an interesting array of homemade ice creams and they even have real hot fudge!

Beverages include all manner of good things with the exception of hard liquor.  Soft drinks, several waters, beers, wines for the start, wines for the middle, and for the end, and wines such as ports and dessert wines are offered.  Bob, our waiter and a thirteen year veteran of the restaurant, was very helpful, very patient in response to all our requests, and pleasant throughout the entire meal.  Here is another restaurant to try!