Recently my girlfriend and I were out and about in Carmel, IN when we decided to find a restaurant. Blessings to the age of the smart phone for allowing us a limitless resource in such times of need. We found a quaint and classy tapas restaurant located in the Carmel Arts District called the Sonata Cafe. We were welcomed by a friendly host who led us upstairs to an intimate and tasteful dining room. We then ordered their Carpaccio as an appetizer. It was delicious. The tender and flavorful sirloin combined with the unison of flavors from the cheese and oils created a phenomenal appetizer as well as an overture to what was to become an amazing meal.
For our entree we both chose the Dedo de pollo which is four tender chunks of chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese, wrapped in bacon, and drizzled in glazed apple & spicy apricot sauce. One has to admit that even the description of this dish is mouth watering. The description however, would do a great injustice to the actual experience of this course. I say experience because it transcends flavor and presentation when a dish so brilliantly combines these flavors to create an aria of such magnitude. Attempting to avoid being redundant, we both enjoyed this dish immensely and for the first time in quite a while I was excited and poised for a dessert.
The prior two courses had created quite a story from the palate prepping Carpaccio to the climactic Dedo de pollo. The server (who is also the host by the way) suggested a couple desserts that are made in house. The one that stood out and frankly the only one I can remember is the Rum Cake. Needless to say, that's what we had. It was like the beautifully sad ending to a movie. But it wasn't sad like when the lead character dies. It was sad like when the movie is over and you're left so desperately wanting more that it nearly breaks your heart. The Rum Cake was incredible and did the exact two things that a dessert should do which is 1) bring a punctuation to your meal and 2) leave the flavors of the evening lingering in your taste buds so that you'll never forget the experience.
This was a pleasantly surprising, spur of the moment decision that we enjoyed prodigiously and would be quick to refer this business to anyone looking for somewhere to dine in the Carmel area. I've attached a link to their website below though I would add that the website does a disservice to the truly incredible experience of going there in person.
http://sonatacafebarart.com/
