In Voorhees, big flavor from A Little Cafe

She opened ours.

Right off the bat, there's a welcome offering of deep-fried tomato slices made crispy with Japanese panko bread crumbs. The golden slices are served in homemade pungent pesto sauce. "A signature dish," explained the chef. "Everyone gets one."

If that doesn't entice you, a duck spring roll appetizer has my mate asking, "What's in here?" Actually, it's crispy rolls of succulent duck breast with zucchini, carrots and squash served with tasty soba noodles and likable cucumber slaw. The secret here comes from the Orient. A Thai chili sauce called sriracha -- "The Little Cafe ketchup," says Cuneo Powell with a giggle. "I use it a lot" -- and a creamy Asian ginger sauce. Customers get to pick their fire, but they both can elevate the dish to "oh, so good" status.

While on the subject of spiciness, a tomato habanero soup du jour may cause some customers to chug their spirits (A Little Cafe has no liquor license so, by all means, BYOB). One of Cuneo Powell's original recipes, it calls for extra flavorful roasted plum tomatoes, heavy cream and just enough garlic and shallots to awaken the taste buds. The soup's deep tomato flavor is stunning.

My date opts instead for a taste-tempting cream of potato soup, a vegetarian creation of roasted redskin spuds, garlic and heavy cream finished with fresh basil. There's a near food fight when each of us insists their soup is better. Diners can avoid that scene by requesting the French onion soup that's a constant on the menu.

A nice mix of crinkly spring greens dotted with two kinds of raisins, dried cranberries and, maybe, dried cherries, brings the next challenge: Which homemade dressing? There's a delightful sweet onion vinaigrette, a bold spicy ginger and a tongue-teasing raspberry vinaigrette. The first is great; the latter is splendid. Oh, what the heck! Get all three on the side and sample them all.

There are olive tidbits in the sweet dinner rolls and an olive hue on the walls, too. Brighten that with smashing purple tablecovers, color-bursting dinner plates that look as if they came straight from Georgia O'Keeffe's kitchen cupboard and splashes of colorful wall art. It's all a recipe for charm in the tiny establishment that feels sublime and sophisticated simultaneously.

Size matters at A Little Cafe. There are only 48 seats, so if your plans are for a Friday or Saturday night meal, you'd positively better call before you haul.

It's wise to consider a mid-week stop, since Cuneo Powell is running her own "recession buster" (she no longer is associated with the S.J. Hot Chefs, a group running its own restaurant week program). You'll notice there are no prices tagged to any of the dishes in this review. That's because a more-than-fair prix fixe of $35 gets A Little Cafe customers four courses -- "A great deal," she admits -- Tuesdays through Thursdays through the summer. Entrees off the regular menu begin in the mid-$20s range.

We get off lightly, dropping $82 and change for food that registers fine most of the time and memorable on a couple of instances.

Among the latter is Marianne's Meatloaf, an all-veal creation stuffed with roasted red peppers, spinach, a savory wild mushroom Marsala sauce and provolone cheese so mild you hardly know it's there. The first forkful reveals a denser consistency, but the mingling flavors quickly bring you back for more. Crispy julienned veggies and a bed of garlic mashies complete the culinary landscape.

The meat loaf is one of A Little Cafe's marquee attractions. Others are sesame Chilean sea bass ("By far our best seller," says the chef) and rack of lamb encrusted with pistachio nuts. Crab cigarettes and shrimp in bacon with wasabi appetizers seem to be popular at adjacent tables, too.

My date is positively thrilled with her duck Grand Marnier, proving that simplicity can be top-notch. It is, simply, nicely rare boneless duck breast topped with dry berries, flambed with the cognac-based liqueur and finished with a demi-glace of the same spirit. It all works well.

With prix fixe prices like this, diners can splurge on kitchen-crafted confections, though not all are made in A Little Cafe's kitchen. From the talented hands of Judy Unice of Cherry Hill come a chocolate mousse cake that's a velvety winner and a cinnamon apple cake so moist and flavorful it's off the chart. A warm caramel sauce adds a special touch to the latter.

The menu at A Little Cafe is highly creative, but the kitchen doesn't seem to fall short anywhere along the way. It's difficult to pick a dish that doesn't sound wonderful or order one that doesn't taste the same. Visit once or twice and you, too, might become part of the loyal following.

Bill Reinhardt is a veteran restaurant critic. He has worked for the Courier-Post for 39 years and is currently an editor in the Features Department. Reach him at (856) 486-2439 or breinhardt@courierpostonline.com

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