The Food
Cafe Roka serves modern American food. The ‘signature’ of Chef/Owner Rod Kass’ cooking is a style rather than a particular dish or dishes (although you won’t find his Portobello Mushroom and Artichoke lasagna anywhere else). He offers many different tastes, textures, colors, and looks throughout a four course dinner. We are one of the few remaining restaurants in the United States to offer four courses (soup, salad, sorbet, and entrée), without a prix fixe menu.
Rod often uses nuts, polenta, pasta, and citrus, to create opposite palate combinations of crunchiness/softness, tangy/sweet, spicy/muted, or subtle/rousing. Plates are artfully presented, because the eye plays a large part in anticipation of taste and appreciation of food, often with bright accent sauces complementing the natural color of the food.
Soups, which vary nightly, are vegetarian based and might be, for example, black bean/smoked white corn, mushroom/potato, or tomato/green chile/cilantro.
Salads are generally a mix of organic greens. Dressings might be a roasted pine nut/white truffle oil vinaigrette, an apple/sherry vinaigrette, or a creamy basil dressing.
Sorbet, lime or lemon, is a palate cleanser and prepares the way for the entrée.
Many people are on restricted food diets. Fortunately we are able to provide interesting and good food for those who are vegan, have problems with gluten, or are on special diets. We also offer innovative and tasty vegetarian food with two or three vegetarian options on every menu.
Generally, we change our menu twice weekly. About 35 different dishes are rotated through the menu depending on the season and product availability.