Saratoga News

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Chef Noevilla Valdez, of La Maison du Cafe, looks out from behind the leaded glass window in front of the restaurant.

La Maison du Cafe serves cuisine of the countryside

By Suzanne Cristallo

It's been said, "The brain carries the body, and a good chef carries the restaurant." This adage is the explanation Ibo Ibrahim gives when asked about the popularity of La Maison du Cafe, his country French restaurant in Los Gatos.

For 11 years, Ibrahim and his chef, Noevilla Valdez, have worked as a team, "serving with care and attention to detail" the natural cooking that Ibrahim emphasizes is not nouvelle cuisine--the small-portioned foods prepared in a traditional French style.

Ibrahim was born in Istanbul, Turkey. So what's a Turk doing running a French restaurant? He answers that often-asked question with a grin. "I'm trying to teach people what French country is." He explains this as fresh and natural food that is in season.

His sorbets made from scratch reflect the just-picked harvest of local crops. There may be peach, apricot, watermelon, lemon, lime and orange, and "absolutely no gum," he says, referring to a common additive in frozen desserts.

La Maison du Cafe, located on Winchester Boulevard in Vasona Station, is intimate and casual. Two waiters, including Ibrahim's brother, Hasan, serve up to 36 guests during a single seating at either lunch or dinner. The location was originally a coffee shop and continues to carry that theme, as its name suggests, with a small French village coffeehouse decor.

Guests ordering dinners, which average $20, are first served a chilled, white sherry wine, followed by either the bean or cream soup of the day or salad--again reflecting what is in season. Among the entrées are veal, fish and a sweet domestic lamb marinated overnight in olive oil, herbs and spices, then served with black, peeled truffles, morel mushrooms and a variety of sauces, accompanied by rice and fresh vegetables.

Duck, the most popular entrée, is prepared in the "old-fashioned" way with seasoned bread stuffing. It is baked three hours, then grilled to remove the fat. Sorbets provide the finale.

Up to 85 varieties of French and California wines are available to complement the meals.

Ibrahim, 48, started in the restaurant business at 19 as a dishwasher. He worked up to busboy, waiter and finally maitre d' in a French restaurant in Istanbul. In 1982, he went to Miami to serve as maitre d' for the Cunard and Royal Caribbean cruise ship lines, polishing his flambé cooking skills along with his management techniques.

It was on one of what he calls "the love boats" that he met Sandy, the ship's gift shop manager, who was from Los Gatos. They worked together for six years aboard ship and eventually married in Miami before coming to Los Gatos.

After a stint as maitre d' for L'Auberge restaurant in Redwood City, Ibrahim decided he had worked in every area of the restaurant business and had enough knowledge to run his own restaurant. In 1988, he opened La Maison du Cafe by himself. "My wife and I decided we can't work together--too much fire between us," he chuckles.

There was only one surprise in being his own boss: "The government--no one prepares you for how much they're involved in small business," he says of all the licenses and permits required.

But in spite of bureaucracy, ownership has its rewards. "This place has been built up with lots of love," he says.

La Maison du Cafe, 14103 Winchester Ave., Los Gatos. Open for lunch Tue.-Fri., 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Dinner Tue.-Sat., 5:30-10 p.m. Champagne Sunday brunch, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Closed Mon. 378-2233.

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