Everybody gets a coveted window seat at the new Cafe Roulant in Eureka Springs, along with a view that changes every minute and a menu that changes every day.
Roulant, pronounced “roolon,” is French for “equipped with wheels.” This new restaurant is exactly that, a rolling cafe aboard a historic trolley car with the original brass poles and mahogany benches plus white linen-draped tables.
The concept for the restaurant started about two years ago, when Tom Tharp, owner of Olden Days Carriage Services, saw a travel program about horse-drawn gypsy wagons used for dining in Europe. He also found in Asia and parts of London, double-decker buses are used for dining experiences.
Because the terrain in Eureka Springs doesn’t lend itself to dining on either huge horsedrawn vehicles or towering double-decker buses, Tharp thought to use a trolley car, an already ubiquitous transportation mode in the town.
Dinner tours travel around the historic loop, highlighting the major sights and sounds of Eureka Springs. Beaver Lake dinner tours will be available in the spring.
The three-course meal begins with salad and bread as soon as the cafe starts moving. Serving meals on wheels is a challenge for the waitress and entertaining for the customers. The trolley conductor drives a gentle pace to the restaurant of choice for the evening, where a covered, hot gourmet meal is brought straight from the kitchen to the table.
Diners choose their entrees ahead of time. Romantic lighting and soft background music complete the experience.
On the opening night for Cafe Roulant, it pulled into theparking lot of FRESH Farm to Table, a full-service restaurant and culinary marketplace with fine foods and also gourmet to go. Four of the chef’s staff, in true waiter fashion, carried trays onto the trolley containing three entree choices - a 10-ounce New York strip, served with chef-made fries and a brandy cream sauce with a small herb salad; seared chicken breast, served over a medley of potatoesand winter vegetables and topped with an herb butter sauce; and Salmon en Papillote, cooked in parchment with squash, zucchini, red onion and cherry tomatoes, with a side of sticky rice.
You won’t find these dishes on the regular restaurant menu.
Each chef from the partner restaurants designs special menu items for Cafe Roulant.
Tharp is working with FRESH and Garden Bistro and has plans to add others in the spring, among them DeVito’s and Cottage Inn.
Beverages include tea, water and coffee. Diners may bring their own bottles of wine or champagne. No hard liquor is allowed.
Cafe Roulant is a joint effort of Olden Days Carriage Services and The Rock Cottage Gardens B&B. Tharp, a native of Eureka Springs, has been in the tourist transportation industry for 13 years as an owner-operator of the only remaining horsedrawn carriage company in Eureka Springs. He was also in the restaurant industry for 14 years prior to that. He says Cafe Roulant is simply the combination of two of the things he does best.
Kathy and Steve Pickowitz purchased Rock Cottage Gardens B&B four years ago. She has been a pastry chef since 1973 and her award-winning desserts will be featured on most of the dinner tours.
ON THE MENU Cafe Roulant
HOURS - Dining tours
are offered at 6 p.m.
and 8 p.m. on Friday,
Saturday and Sunday
through the winter
months. Fresh roses and
fancy chocolates will be
included with each table
reserved on Valentine’s
weekend. In April, tours
will be available six days
a week (closed Tues
days) with the addition
of brunch at 10 a.m. and
lunch at 1 p.m.
WHERE - The trolley
boards from the parking
lot at the Eureka Springs
Chamber Of Commerce
on U.S. 62
COST - $44
PHONE - 981-1737
between 10 a.m. & 10
p.m. or email info@
rollingcafe.com
Whats Up, Pages 18 on 02/14/2014