Silvertron Cafe

Our next stop on our Birmingham Food Scene Tour takes us to the lovely downtown hamlet of Forest Park. Silvertron Cafe has been serving up good food from its Clairmont Avenue location for over 20 years. Though there have been several owners through the years, Chef Marco Morosini has definitely put his mark on Silvertron. Serving up the classic dishes, plus many of his own creations, Marco has kept the charm and comfort that has been the hallmark of Silvertron Cafe.

Jonathan and I stopped in on a Monday night to meet Marco and have dinner. We were warmly greeted by the staff, and it wasn’t long before Marco made his way to our table to introduce himself and offer guidance on what we should order. We found him to be gracious and knowledgeable about foods, wines, fresh ingredients, and the community he serves. We were immediately impressed by his love for and involvement in the Forest Park neighborhood. He says connecting with and supporting the community he serves is one of the main reasons for his success. Marco loves Forest Park, and Forest Park loves him back.

For starters, Marco recommended the hummus of the week, which was a beautiful roasted red pepper and rosemary hummus. I love hummus any way you serve it, but I’d never had it with rosemary. I’m a big fan.

Silvertron has long been known for its fried cheese and fried mushrooms. Marco has put his own spin on both. The fried cheese is the classic Silvertron recipe, but Marco serves it in smaller, more manageable pieces. The fried mushrooms are easily the best I’ve ever eaten. And since fried mushrooms are one of my favorite appetizers, I’ve tried quite a few. But perhaps the best appetizer we tried was the cheese and herb stuffed artichoke hearts. Did I mention that Silvertron makes all of these dishes in house? They are fresh and fabulous.

We ate every last bite of our appetizers, so I wasn’t sure we could even attempt to finish off entrees. But after discussing the offerings with Marco, we were too tempted. Monday nights at Silvertron are pasta night, and they serve about ten or so choices in pasta. Jonathan went with the Pasta Duo so he could try two dishes. He chose the Butternut Squash Ravioli and the Penne All’ Aldo. The Butternut Squash Ravioli was a homemade pasta stuffed with butternut squash goodness. It was served with a sundried tomato pesto cream sauce that I could have eaten by the spoonful. It’s no wonder that this dish is one of their most popular ones. It was fabulous. The Penne All’ Aldo was a great contrast to the sweetness of the butternut, as it has a kick of spiciness to it. It is a penne pasta topped with sauteed mushrooms, chicken, and a tomato cream sauce. These were some seriously good pasta dishes. It might be a tad embarrassing to admit that I woke up thinking about the leftovers in the fridge and had them for lunch at 10:00 in the morning, so I won’t mention that.

I strayed from my usual selection pattern and ordered the Pecan Crusted Tilapia Tacos. These came highly recommended by both our waiter and by Chef Marco, so I decided to give them a try. It was so worth the gamble. The tilapia was served on a bed of cabbage inside of a soft flour tortilla, topped with a classic remoulade sauce. Heavens above, y’all! And though they aren’t on the side dish menu, do yourself a favor and ask for the sweet potato fries.

At this point, we were so full of conversation and good food that I thought we would burst. However, as a final finishing touch, Marco sent out a plate of his famous White Chocolate Bread Pudding with Raspberry Coulis for us to share. Y’all. I’ve never in my life eaten a bread pudding like this. Most bread pudding is dense and heavy. This was sweet but not too sweet, creamy, tart, and light as air. I’m not sure how in the world he does it, but that bread pudding is some fine stuff.

Silvertron Cafe is open everyday. Again, Monday night is pasta night and Tuesday night is Tex-Mex Tuesday. They serve breakfast on Saturday mornings and a fabulous SUnday brunch. Marco and the fine folks at Silvertron Cafe would love to see you stop by for a meal and a chat. He has graciously given us a $25 gift certificate to give away to one lucky winner. If you’d like to try Silvertron for yourself, there are several ways to enter. My guess is that you’ll become regular customers just like we will.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Silvertron Cafe provided our meal in eschange for writing this review. The opinions about Silvertron are entirely my own. We really did love it that much 🙂