Richard Vick has a story about nearly every item on the long menu at little Caffè 3rd Avenue in Longmont.
He has words about the evolution of the eclectic sandwiches that fall under the category of Original Caffè Favorites and a tale to tell about a kitchen pique that resulted in the creation of the restaurant’s beloved smoked mussels rellenos ($9.95).
“There’s nothing a chef hates more than having someone say, ‘Just make me whatever you feel like fixing,”‘ Vick recalled. But that’s exactly what a friend helping with a plumbing problem at Chile Connection, Vick’s former restaurant in Taos, did.
Vick retreated to the kitchen and started stuffing smoked mussels into plump chiles. When he dropped the plate in front of his pal, he expected the dish to be pushed back. “He took a bite and said ‘This is incredible! This is fantastic!’ It’s one of those recipes you write by mistake.”
Vick and wife Judy sold the Chile Connection five years ago and moved their two daughters to Longmont. They didn’t intend to resume restaurant life, and Vick became a commercial Realtor. But he was listing a small historic building that for years had served up basic submarine sandwiches on the city’s west side. “I kept telling people how to make this thing work, but none of them believed me,” he says. “It kind of became a challenge to me to prove what I told them was correct.”
Vick eventually gave in and bought the restaurant. He and Judy hung onto the deli-flavored lunch menu and developing Southwestern fare for the dinner crowd. They spiffed up the shop and added a shaded outdoor patio that helps ease the annoyance over the invariable wait, for Vick was correct: Caffè 3rd Avenue is a success.
On a sunny afternoon, a long line of patrons waits to order.
They put in requests for the Roast Beef Surprise ($5.95), rare thin-sliced beef piled on sweet seven-grain bread with a raspberry-chipotle cream cheese spread, or the Fantastic Tuna ($5.95), a scoop of fresh tuna combined with celery and not too much mayo. Or maybe a few circles of fresh mozarella, Roma tomatoes and basil, dusted with herbes de Provence and dressed with Balsamic vinegar and olive oil and stuffed between slabs of focaccia ($5.95).
If the Caffè Favorites are too much to manage, there are the standards left over from the sub shop menu, available in two sizes on a white or wheat roll.
“There is a lot of fun stuff on the dinner menu,” Vick promises. If history is to be believed, he knows what he’s talking about.
Caffè 3rd Avenue
Deli, Southwestern|1283 Third Ave., Longmont, 303-776-0985|$4-15|Daily, 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Diners, Discover, personal checks
Front burner: Clever flavor combinations look a little odd on the menu but taste great on the plate.
Back burner: Try not to be put off by the awkward organization of the dining room/deli case/cash register. If you can’t figure out where you’re supposed to stand to order – and this is a real possibility – just relax and follow the line leader.
