The Village Cafe is a good place to cool your designer heels after a day of shopping on Santana Row. On a dry day, its patio dining affords a good vantage point for people-watching as you dine on cuisine labeled "American Bistro," that is, food made from fresh, seasonal ingredients cooked simply via roasting or grilling.
Any place proclaiming its food "American" must include chili and cornbread, and here you'll find it among a handful of starters that also include crispy calamari and steamed mussels. Village's Texas chili and cornbread is full of pinto beans and zesty ground meat ($7.50). A thin slice of cheese oozes down the square of cornbread like melted candle wax. The cornbread is cakey and crumbles easily into the chili. This starter is hearty enough to be lunch.
Upscale salads and sandwiches comprise the bulk of the lunch fare. Salads are organic and include classic cobb and roasted winter beets ($10 and $9). Salads may be plumped by the addition of a chicken breast ($3.50), grilled salmon ($5), or gulf prawns ($5).
Sandwiches range from the half-pound burger to the more finicky fresh crab club ($9 and $12). The roasted turkey breast comes on toasted brioche that is crusty on the outside and soft in the middle. Buttery brioche may be delicious but makes this sandwich difficult to hold together ($10). Roasting gives the white meat flavor, and field greens and cranberry jam keep this sandwich from sticking in your throat. A smallish wedge of brie is tucked in the middle. With your sandwich, choose roasted tomato soup, field greens, or bistro fries. The bistro fries are loaded with paprika and are more wooden then crisp.
You'll understand why there's a separate section marked "Hearty Fare" after ordering the herb ricotta ravioloni ($12). Ravioloni are simply large ravioli, which is why only two are needed to make a meal. The pasta sheets are thin and with bundle of filling of creamy ricotta and herbs. The ravioloni sit in a pool of beurre blanc, a sauce primarily composed of white wine and butter, and here, flavored with sun-dried tomatoes. The finishing touch of truffle oil is like adding whipped cream to your cheesecake, which is not necessary but no one's refusing. This dish comes with four wedges of baby zucchini and yellow squash cooked crisp-tender.
The ambience inside the restaurant is casual, with leather booths and high ceilings. A full wine bar encourages you to hang out inside, even if the weather isn't perfect outside.