Page 45 - South Mississippi Living - May, 2016

Another popular lunch option is the Metz buffalo chicken sandwich named after the general manager who has been overseeing operations at the café for more than a decade.
The Metz buffalo chicken sandwich is a battered and fried chicken breast served on a sourdough bun slathered in a house buffalo sauce and topped with a hefty portion of thick bacon strips and melted white American cheese.
“I’ve been here long enough that part of the menu is named after me,” Metz said amongst the laughter of many regulars who were enjoying cocktails from the café’s full bar in the lantern light and occasional flicker from a firefly on the back deck.
One of the most popular entrée dishes on the menu is the stuffed flounder. This flounder is creamy, crunchy and savory all in one bite. Consider it the seafood version of comfort food. It’s light-tasting and buttery, stuffed with jumbo lump crab and a white wine cream. The best sides for this dish are the whole- leaf sautéed spinach drenched in a parmesan-butter sauce and loaded red-skinned mashed potatoes with bacon and cheese.
The café has a fun flair to it with a large contingent of regulars who find it a shady oasis and quiet getaway right down the street.
The café can cater on-site for any event from a wedding reception for several hundred to a business luncheon or birthday party with plenty of unique spaces including the beautiful wraparound back deck over the pool, the tiki-party area, the clubhouse or the pavilion on the water. These areas are scattered throughout the sprawling seven-acre campus. The café also has off-site catering options for large gatherings away from the tennis club.
ABOVE: STUFFED Flounder. BELOW: COURTSIDE CAFÉ gumbo.
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May 2016 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 45