I admit a perhaps overly optimistic state in venturing to the newest outdoor oasis while an icy wind combed its claws through my hair.
I received word that a croissant bread pudding awaited my Saturday morning traditional cappuccino. Or was it poached eggs and cannelini beans with a side of bacon? Or house-made granola with pecans, pumpkin seeds, raisins, yogurt and rhubarb compote? Or was it a good round stout I should have with my eggs while lounging on the patio, because, yes, Tre Fantastico — Caffè Fantastico’s newest offspring at the Parkside Victoria Resort and Spa on Humboldt Street — is licensed.
Locally owned by Ryan and Kristy Taylor, the Caffè Fantastico “collections” know how to pair place and coffee to the highest potential.
From the original coffee cart in the Inner Harbor to the opening of the coffee roaster on Kings Road to the café in the Cook Street village “food court” and the union with Foi Epi on the shoulder of the Dockside Green development, it appears that the Taylors are once again hip to the coffee/place groove.
Lucky for me on this chilly spring day, Tre Fantastico is just as pretty on the inside as the out with two café seating areas accommodating a beautifully intentioned light breakfast, lunch and dinner menu with more than one confit option, charcuterie boards, salads of beets and greens and a selection of sandwiches.
With a licensed menu and a chef and pastry chef on board, Tre Fantastico takes it up a notch with a clean white apron cinched twice around the waist and not without feeding the children with a separate menu of fruits and grains and a little dash of honey before they run to play among the Parkside foyer fish and fauna.
I love to see local food entrepreneurs succeed, and Tre Fantastico is indeed on the road to another local success. With the close proximity to downtown and the great range of sidewalk, the summer sprawl of patio at Parkside definitely has the potential to be the hottest yet. M