Cafe 909 - Rustic Gourmet in the Texas Hill Country
Monday, September 6, 2010

 Mark and Shelly Schmidt’s Café 909, located at 909 Second Street in Marble Falls, is a Texas treasure we’d like to keep all to ourselves!  But with spectacular menu offerings, splendid service, and intimate Hill Country ambiance in the rock-walled dining room, I fear reservations for the restaurant’s 40 eats will always be a necessity. 

Mark is a consummate professional.  From the tiny open kitchen he scrutinizes each plate, tweaking, saucing and garnishing, developing every flavor to its peak of perfection.  There are no heat lamps here where plates languish with the food being parched by violent red rays.  The plates go from the hands of Mark or one of his two line chefs to the table, each item on the plate at its perfect temperature.

On a recent visit, a dining companion and I sampled from Café 909’s Summer Menu.  The decisions were agonizing, but we settled on appetizers which we agreed to share – a delightful rarebit served over two ample slices of whole grain rye bread and made from the Veldhuizen Cheese Company’s (Dublin, Texas) Paragon cheese.  Heavenly.  Nestled alongside the rarebit was a trio of pleasantly tart pickled pearl onions, a duo of boiled quail eggs and a unique relish made from summer squash.  I was wont to share, but I really wanted to sample my companion’s Roasted Tomato Bisque, so I gave up a portion of the rarebit.  I was very glad I did because the bisque was equally wonderful.  The tomatoes were redolent of a light smoking, the texture was velvety and studded with a cluster of lump crabmeat, whole kernels of sweet corn, roasted peppers.  Pushing the flavor experience way over the top, Mark added aromatic seeds (fennel and anise, I believe) to the soup in the perfect proportion to add little spikes of flavor to the savory brew.

I would like to have had a “sampler” platter of each and every entrée, but since that was not possible, and because both of us are dedicated fans of duck breast, we both opted for the seared duck breast.  The breast was served precisely as ordered, slightly on the rare side of medium, topped with an ever-so-slighlty sweet cherry moustarda.  The crowning glory of the dish was a pristine slab of fois gras placed atop the breast.  Alongside the duck was a house-made pasta in a delicate cream sauce with very flavorful green peas – all studded with small slices of crispy duck ham.  It was truly a fiesta for the mouth.   And I saved the foie gras until the end – to be savored slowly by itself as such a food from the gods deserves to be!

Mark Schmidt says that he has been interested in food most of his life, spending summers in England cooking with his mother.  He brings over twenty-five years experience to Café 909 – and very impressive experience.  He has worked at prestigious restaurants on the east coast and in Dallas, where he was the Executive Chef at Stephan Pyles’ AquaKnox, working directly with Pyles, the undisputed master of Southwestern cuisine.  Before returning to his native Texas Mark was the Chef de Cuisine at Santa Fe’s much-lauded Compound restaurant,  He has been invited as a presenter at the James Beard Foundation in New York three times.  With the opening of Café 909 in Marble Falls Mark and shelly have realized their dream of owning their own restaurant.

Mark is a true believer in the “Eat Local” movement, sourcing as many ingredients locally as possible.  Café 909’s menu features lamb from the Harper, Texas, Twin County Dorpers Ranch, free-range lamb with an excellent taste prolife.  His approach is unique.  He purchases whole carcasses of lamb, serving a different fresh cut each evening!  Seafood is flown in several times a week from all three coasts.

The wine list, the creation of Shelly, who is the restaurant’s sommelier.  It’s a tight list, well-focused on the menu offerings and features many wines from small boutique wineries, including a few excellent choices from the elusive Dickson Winery right here in the Hill Country.

 The service is top-notch and the wait staff consists of two highly knowledgeable, very professional waiters of long tenure who seem to anticipate your every need without that annoying habit of “hovering”.  They are very savvy regarding the wine list and pairing wines with the menu items.

It’s worth the drive from wherever you are to dine at Café 909 – even if you have to spend a night in Marble Falls.  It’s way beyond a simple dining experience. But be forewarned – after dining there it will probably become the benchmark against which you rate any restaurant in which you dine thereafter.  So you will be required to return often, or suffer from unrequited desire!

Café 909, 909 2nd St. Marble Falls, Texas (830) 693-2126. www.cafe909.com

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