We made a return trip to Dearborn Street in Olde Englewood for dinner to fill our bellies at the tropical-themed Mango Bistro. Mango Bistro is owned by an energetic and friendly couple, Marie Laforge and Ricardo Roggero who hale from France and Brazil respectively. Their hospitality was marvelous, and we enjoyed wine and conversation with Ricardo while Marie personally crafted our delectable fare.
I thoroughly enjoyed my Black & Bleu Crepe which featured tender beef, bleu cheese, yummy horseradish sauce, crispy bacon & tomato (I had them hold the onion). I will absolutely order that again! It was such a rich, while not overpowering, and creamy deliciously unique flavor, unlike anything I have ever tasted! A fresh side salad with house dressing also accompanied my crepe. I was hesitant, I admit, not being the most adventurous eater, by far, and having only ever had dessert crepes, I didn’t know if I was going to like it. What a pleasant surprise! All too often I regret ordering out of my comfort zone, but was so delighted with my choice that I will certainly entertain the idea of being slightly more adventurous on future menus!
My friends agreed that the food was excellent and all enjoyed their choices as well. For dessert we treated ourselves to something small since we were all full from cleaning our plates, but we couldn’t resist when the waitress stopped by with a tray full of already prepared “Mini-Delights” in flavors including Tiramisu (which I jumped right on), chocolate mousse, Almond Joy, and others. The tasty little temptations are a brilliant idea! She comes over with the cute and harmless looking little glasses, hardly bigger than a shot glass, and they are so pretty with layers of chocolate yumminess–how can you say no? They are so small and cute!
We were entertained the entire time by the live music and dancing on the covered front porch. Ricardo was full of interesting stories including the birth of Mango Bistro from Marie’s dream and love of crepes and French cooking combined with his small computer business and how they persevered following a flooded shop, remodeling troubles and battles over business permits. His Ph.D. in biology from the University of Kansas seems hardly relevant to this unique business.
Marie’s lovely art exhibit is almost as enticing as the food. She designs on canvas, converts to digital and has them produced in China to create silk sarongs.
The food, the music, the making of new friends….This dinner was the perfect end to a day spent exploring the Olde Englewood shops and beautiful area beaches. We look forward to stopping in Englewood again and visiting with Marie and Ricardo over another bottle of wine.
