Posted: Fri, 20 May 2011 12:00 AM - 16,825 Readers

By: Amy Deis

Cafe Blue, with its lakeside views of Lake Travis in the hills of Volente, is easier to get to by boat than by car, admits co-owner Jason Land Troop.

“It’s part of the experience,” he said.

Troop and his business partner, Pete Clark—who owns Just For Fun Watercraft Rental at Emerald Point Marina—bought Cafe Blue four years ago from a group of people who opened the restaurant as Cafe Bleu in 2000. The new owners changed the name to the American spelling of “blue” because they felt it better suited their concept and cuisine.

“It had a good reputation as having the best food on the lake; we wanted to maintain that,” Troop said.

He hired chef Antonio Moreno, whom he met while working at Iron Cactus. Moreno has worked at several restaurants, including Ruth’s Chris and Gumbo’s.

Cafe Blue’s fare focuses mainly on Caribbean, Asian, Gulf and coastal seafood–inspired dishes such as Caribbean coconut shrimp ($20), teriyaki tuna steak ($22) and mahi-mahi served with cumin citrus mojo and mango pico de gallo ($22). Troop calls it an eccentric approach to coastal cuisine.

For their fifth season, Troop said they are being ambitious by adding a new entree to the menu, a blackened beef tenderloin topped with lump crab meat and bearnaise sauce ($31).

“It’s a fairly ambitious dish to try in the environment,” he said of the restaurant’s small kitchen.

The covered-deck restaurant can seat 125 on teakwood tables and is available for private events.

Troop said at Cafe Blue he sees a variety of diners come in, whether they are regulars from nearby neighborhoods, dressed up for a romantic dinner or wearing swimsuits and stopping in for lunch while boating on the lake. Diners can park their boats at the restaurant’s dock.

Typically, diners are treated to a lakeside view, but with the recent drought, Troop said it is more of a beachside view. He said lake levels fluctuate all the time. One month after buying the restaurant, 18 inches of rain fell in Marble Falls in a few hours and flooded the restaurant. A black line near the roof marks the water level.

“That’s part of life on Lake Travis,” Troop said.

The restaurant is situated on the lake off the winding Lime Creek Road. Once there, guests park in a lot across the street and walk down a steep hill and then down a set of rock steps. A tram from a neighboring private dock is available for use instead of the rock steps.

Cafe Blue is dog-friendly and closes from December to February, but Troop said sometimes he opens earlier or closes later if the weather is warm enough.

“The off season shrinks every year,” Troop said.

Chef’s favorites

• Antonio’s Stuffed Shrimp: Jumbo butterflied shrimp with lump crab stuffing, topped with garlic cream sauce and parmesan cheese ($25)
• Crab Mac ‘n Cheese: Penne pasta with lump blue crab, roma tomatoes, spinach and sauteed red onions in a light cream sauce ($18)
• Snapper Louisiane: Blackened snapper topped with crawfish and shrimp in a Cajun cream sauce ($24)
• Mahi Tacos: Grilled mahi-mahi, fresh spinach and tropical salsa in corn tortillas and served with Asian dipping sauce ($13)
• Calamari: Sesame crusted with ginger teriyaki dipping sauce ($10)

Local libations

Cafe Blue features a number of Austin- and Texas-based beers, wines and spirits.

• Flat Creek “Super Texan” Sangiovese, Marble Falls
• Fall Creek Johannisberg Riesling and Meritus, Tow
• Becker “Iconoclast” Cabernet Sauvignon, Fredericksburg
• Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka, Austin
• Paula’s Texas Orange liqueur, Austin
• Z Tequila: Although the tequila is made in Mexico, the owner of the company, Pepe Zevada, lives in Onion Creek and is a good friend of the Cafe Blue owners

Cafe Blue
8714 Lime Creek Road, Volente
996-8188
www.cafebluetx.com
Mon.–Thu. 4–10 p.m.
Fri.–Sat. noon–11 p.m.
Sun. 10 a.m.–10 p.m.