DINING OUT:Bistro a well-kept secret

I look at my cousin Ron in wonder, since this restaurant was after all, his idea. We wait by the entrance for a moment before the waiter arrives with apologies and offers us any table in the room.

This would be generous, except there are no other guests tonight at Olive’s Bistro located in The Coast Anabelle Hotel. We decide on a booth by the window. The waiter assures us that it can get crowded, but adds that this is the best kept secret in town.

The solitude helps us study the menu. The wine list is respectable for a small restaurant, but the variety of martinis catches your attention. We stick with the classic vodka martinis and start with an appetizer, the roasted vegetable quesadilla.

The waiter informs us that tonight they also have crab bisque soup. I must know if it is as good as the crab bisque I had on my last trip to Baltimore. We are not disappointed.

The quesadilla comes loaded with fresh roasted zucchini, peppers, onions, and sun-dried tomatoes melted into smoked Gouda cheese and homemade tortillas. The accompanying salsa is tangy and mild. The crab bisque has something of a bite to it, but the lumps of crab in real cream soon overpower the pepper, making me feel like I am back in Maryland with each bite.

A bistro by definition is a small, modest restaurant with a European style. While Olive’s Bistro appears more vibrant than that definition, it also has a warm, intimate feel. This is not your typical hotel restaurant. First, the presentation of each entree overwhelms your senses, and then the exquisite flavors take hold.

The chicken Marsala was sweet and fork-tender with a generous helping of mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. The chicken fettuccini with sherry garlic sauce comes al dente. The sauce is mellow in flavor, but not nearly enough of it for my taste. Fresh-baked rolls arrive directly from the oven with real butter that melts into the steaming white bread. Kick your low-carb diet aside because it is almost impossible to eat just one.

Everything at Olive’s Bistro is prepared on-site from the sauces to the salad dressings to the homemade rolls and blueberry cobbler. Fresh, top-quality ingredients and excellent quality reflect the dedication of the staff of professional chefs here. Even the salads make for an excellent lunch or dinner.

Then there was dessert. Ron orders the brownie a la mode. I wonder how much he was tempted by the dessert or my unusual offer to pay for dinner. He explains this will help me with my review.

One look at such decadence and I remember what my Mom always taught me — calories do not count if the food comes from someone else’s plate. I take my fork and dive in.

The rich, decadent chocolate melts in my mouth. Ron pushes the plate closer to me, but I also recall that there are still many entrees and desserts waiting for me to try in my new career as Burbank’s local restaurant critic.

Besides, I am satisfied to finally repay my cousin’s years of generosity taking out his starving, younger cousin all these Friday nights. I’m reminded we are cousins when the waiter brings us the check, Ron looks at the bottom line; then slides it across the table to me with a big grin on his face. “Congratulations, Ms. Restaurant Critic,” he says.

There is still no one in the restaurant. As we leave, I wonder how long the best kept secret in Burbank can really last. In a way, I hope it does.

Next week my cousin buys dinner. I can already taste that blueberry cobbler off his plate, of course.