by Gloria Cowdin

Number of people: 2

Total price: $17.18

Ordered: Spring Pea Ravioli ($6), Baked Honey Ricotta ($5) and Pomme Frites ($4)

At STA, we are accustomed to eating a quick dinner between school and sporting events. Too often, however, we end up at the same predictable haunts: Chipotle or the Mixx. These restaurants tend to be the easiest, closest, most affordable options for a quick bite to eat, but it is time to broaden our palettes and explore other options.

Westport Café and Bar fits the criteria for a quick dinner spot and is local, to boot. Their happy hour is 4 pm to 6 pm and cuts menu prices in half. According to their website, the restaurant serves modern parisian food and “offers fresh and innovative twists on culinary classics.” In a tall, narrow building, Westport C&B is located at 419 Westport Road, only a short distance from the familiarities of the Plaza.

My sister and I stopped in during the afternoon happy hour for a meal to share. When we first arrived, there were very few people in the restaurant, including servers. It was unclear at first whether we should sit or wait for a hostess, but after a minute a waitress appeared and showed us to a table. After this initial awkwardness, the service for the rest of the meal was wonderful. Our waitress was very attentive and even offered us extra bread for our baked ricotta. The sweet pea ravioli was delicious, served in a lemony butter sauce that tasted great with the bread from our ricotta plate after the raviolis were eaten. My only complaint is on the number of raviolis. There was a mere three in the bowl. Yes, it is happy hour sized, and yes it is half the price of the regular dish, but three? Plan on not sharing this part of the meal because you will definitely want it all to yourself. The other two dishes were equally delicious and definitely big enough to share and still have leftovers. The baked honey ricotta was pleasantly mild and came with a small dish of pitted olives, which nicely complemented the soft sweetness of the cheese and bread.

Overall, I highly recommend Westport Café and Bar to all my classmates as a delectable and economical option for an after-school meal.