Casual Gourmet Express brings creative touch to takeout

By Gwenn Friss

STAFF WRITER

October 15, 2009

Sometimes lunch hour involves doing errands and grabbing something to eat — either on the run or at your desk.

The Casual Gourmet Express recently opened by founder Olive Chase and her crew in the Cape Cod Mall’s food court is a reminder that you don’t have to sacrifice taste and freshness on those days.

The Casual Gourmet Express

Cape Cod Mall food court,

769 Iyannough Road (Route 132), Hyannis

508-775-4946

thecasualgourmet.com

Plus, it’s kind of intriguing to try the informal offerings of a popular catering company whose food is often found at corporate gatherings and weddings, such as a recent weekend when our friends Jane and Joseph got married at the family’s summer home in the Chapoquoit section of West Falmouth. The wedding food — passed hot hors d’oeuvres and a buffet of beef tenderloin, seafood kebabs, bowtie pasta and crisp green beans with baby carrots — was fancier, of course.

But the catering did share some of the touches you’ll find at the mall — namely, amazingly good bread, vegetables so crisp they spray juice when bitten, and the ginger slaw, which came on ahi tarts as a wedding appetizer and is also part of the Thai Chicken Wrap ($6.49) at the Express.

The Express doesn’t have a huge menu, but there’s enough choice to make it a regular stop. It offers four panini, three specialty sandwiches on hearty seven-grain or focaccia bread, six wraps, four salads, quahog chowder, a soup du jour and chicken pot pie. There is also breakfast panini, quiche, pastries and — and this is big — an “Express-o Bar” that makes espresso ($1.75) and related hot drinks.

Drawn by both the ingredients (tuna, feta cheese, Kalamata olives, green beans, yellow peppers and red onion with lemon Dijon) and the name (French Kiss), I chose one of the wraps. The first bite offered a burst of fresh lemon and set the tone for a sandwich that tasted farm-fresh and just a little unusual. Wraps at the Express are fine and come in different flavors, but I’m not a huge wrap fan. Next time, I think I’ll see if this sandwich ($6.49) can be put on seven-grain bread or atop a salad.

I added a bowl of the soup du jour ($3.25 for a cup, $3.95 for a bowl), which was beef minestrone. There were, maybe, three bites of tender steak and every vegetable under the sun — just the way I like it. The broth was light with a complex flavor that said the ingredients had been simmering together for a long time. I wasn’t surprised to find what appeared to be a small sprig of fresh rosemary in with the veggies.

My companion tried the chicken pot pie ($5.95). It was a generously sized pie shell, maybe six or seven inches, filled with chicken and vegetables and topped with mashed potatoes that were piped on and perfectly browned. My friend said it was good, but a little bland. She thought it could use a little more gravy with a bit more spice in it.

We didn’t have enough appetite for dessert (although those huge whoopie pies at $2.50 each looked worth sharing!), but having — as I mentioned earlier — encountered Casual Gourmet’s offerings at many functions, I feel confident that you won’t be disappointed with the homemade cookies (89 cents,) cupcakes ($1.79,) or bars and brownies ($2.25-$2.95.)

Next time I go to the Express, I’m having the Thai Chicken Wrap ($6.49) — grilled chicken breast, jasmine rice, ginger slaw, peanut sauce and scallions on a tomato tortilla — and the time after that, the Pesto Chicken With Peppers ($6.99).

This is not the Casual Gourmet’s first outing into takeout — it runs a cafe at Cape Cod Hospital and formerly operated the cafeteria at Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich. Its decision to keep the menu small with unusual touches is a good one. The fresh ingredients in creative combinations will bring me back whenever I visit the mall.

Stefania’s dream included a gorgeous gold and white themed event where no attention to detail was spared. Her linens, a Natural Botela fabric, that is actually made from recycled bottles, set the tone for the tablescape which included gold rimmed china and crystal glassware, gold flatware, and etched gold votives. Lilacs provided flowers in a mixture of white orchids, hydrangeas, and roses all arranged in crystal glass.

Elaborate Table Setting

The guests dined on scrumptious hors d’oeuvres that included garlic rubbed lamb chops and warmed goat cheese toasts with rosemary, walnuts & honey. They were also treated to an elaborate cheese table and raw bar.

Italian Cheese Table

For dinner, the bride and groom selected a four-course meal that started with a Caprese salad and moved on to a traditional risotto course to highlight the bride’s Italian heritage. For the entrée, they enjoyed a traditional Cape Cod ‘Surf and Turf’ with Beef Tenderloin and Lobster Tails.

For the Grand Finale, Stefania’s dream also included an elaborate five-tier wedding cake filled with lobster cream and decorated in gold leaf paint with her new monogram as the centerpiece of the cake. Guests were amazed by the detail of the cake and our pastry chefs did an excellent job fulfilling this part of Stefania’s dream. A candy bar and Viennese table completed the meal.

Five Tier, Gold Accented Wedding Cake

We were truly honored to have been a part of creating Stefania’s dream wedding, but the dream was truly realized when Stefania and Justin met and fell in love. Stefania, Justin and both of their families were wonderful to work with during the entire planning process and we wish them a lifetime of happiness together.

Each summer we get the whole gang together to remember what’s important. And let me tell you, there is no question that we are a BIG Italian family!

That’s me right down front with the kids. And it seems like we have a growing number of the Fam working here at The Casual Gourmet. My sister Mary (right in the center) is my Operations Manager and my son Dave (taking the picture) is my IT & Marketing Manager.

And in case you have ever wondered who caters the caterer’s party… well it’s the caterer, of course! We had a fabulous meal of fresh fruit, orzo salad, roasted vegetables, shrimp salad and roasted tenderloin. All topped off with strawberry short cake!

It was a great day and we got lucky that the sun came out! Although the food was great, the people even better, everyone agrees that the best part was watching the little ones having fun!