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Eileen's experience hard to beat

September 8, 2005 1:06 am

By LINDA SALISBURY

For THE FREE LANCE-STAR

Take a historic house in downtown Fredericksburg, add an outstanding bakery and cafe, and you have a breakfast and lunch experience that is hard to beat.

We visited Eileen's at The Chimneys on Caroline Street in Fredericksburg on a recommendation.

The restaurant has been open since March, and the new owners, Christopher and Trista Couser, appreciate the Georgian-style home built by Charles Yates in the late 1700s.

The wood floors, high ceilings and abundant light are a feast for the eyes. The cafe offers a feast of its own because everything is made on the premises.

Half of the large deli counter is devoted to pastries, of such variety, and so reasonably priced, that it is difficult to try just one. The other half of the deli features the sandwiches and salads.

Breakfast sandwiches and quiche ($3.70) also are available.

The sandwich fillings are outstanding, but what sets Eileen's at The Chimneys apart from other excellent sandwich eateries is that the bread is homemade, with loaves available for sale.

The sandwiches were displayed pre-made, some wrapped attractively in paper. One of the staff members recommended that instead of ordering the salad and sandwich separately, for $7.10 we could have a full sandwich and salad of our choice.

My Dining Partner selected roast beef on a baguette, with horseradish, red onions and lettuce. He was very pleased with all aspects of the sandwich, from the bread to the roast beef that was medium rare and not at all dry.

For his salad, he selected garlic-tomato, a colorful mix of tomatoes of various colors (from the Fredericksburg farmers market, we were told), little slices of Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic and grape tomatoes in a delicate vinaigrette.

Had they been purchased separately, the sandwich would have cost $6.50 and a small salad $3.18, so the combo was a good deal, especially since the side salads were not skimpy.

I found the veggie sandwich irresistible ($5.25 if purchased separately). It was one of those cleverly wrapped in the case.

The poppy-seed whole-wheat bread was packed with hummus, sauteed mushrooms, grilled red onions and red peppers--a taste treat, and just the right size for my appetite. Even after unwrapping the sandwich, I still couldn't figure out how they had done it. Culinary origami!

I also selected the obviously very popular (there were almost out of it) lentil and brown rice salad that came with little pieces of feta cheese and nice chunks of fresh green beans, parsley and lemon yogurt. I could see why it was a best-seller.

Other sandwich options included rock shrimp ($5.25), turkey ($5.50) and house-roasted chicken ($5.50). The egg salad sandwiches ($5.25) were already gone (they go fast each day, said the server).

Other salads available the day we visited included chicken macaroni, fruit and potato. All looked good.

Because the weather was 99 degrees the day we visited Eileen's, we decided against having corn chowder ($3), or sitting out on the lovely patio to have lunch.

Ah, the tough job of dining out--dessert. We felt like kids in the candy store. So many lovely confections from which to choose!

I began with a chocolate coconut macaroon ($1.75) and a lemon crinkle ($.99). Each was about the size of a Mason jar lid.

The macaroon was not overly sweet--a patty of almost solid coconut with a crosshatching of chocolate on the top.

I could not get the word "delicious" out of my mind when I sampled the crinkle (chocolate ones also were available). The lemon crinkle was sprinkled throughout with poppy seeds, a festive addition to the lemon.

Then, knowing MDP would also enjoy it, I picked an open-faced apple tart on a flat, fresh puff pastry ($2). It was about the size of a checkbook. The slices of apple were papery thin, and delicately glazed--another heavenly combination.

MDP ordered apricot cheese strudel ($2.45), a treat that we will long remember. And as if that were not enough, we also sampled an almond-filled bear claw ($2.45) and a cinnamon and brown-sugar "sticky bun" ($2) that was topped with a vanilla maple glaze.

The words "too much of a good thing" never crossed my mind. Honest.

I also looked longingly at the loaves of artisan bread ($1.75-$2.75), but decided that would be something to purchase on our next trip.

Eileen's also does catering and has rooms available for special events.

We will continue to invent our own special event to sample this excellent fare.

Linda Salisbury, who has written five books, works with self-published authors. E-mail her at lgsalisbury@gmail.com.