Jennuine Cakes and Cafe a sweet treat in Murrysville
What a delightful afternoon the Lunch Bunch had recently at Jennuine Cakes and Cafe in Murrysville.
The brick house, which was converted to a cafe, provided an intimate atmosphere for our get-together.
There wasn't a big lunch crowd when we visited, but if this restaurant starts to get the attention it deserves, an expansion to the small dining rooms and parking lot could be in order.
Quality homemade foods are the mainstay of the limited menu. Fresh soups, salads, wraps, quiche and pannini make up the choices. Desserts are a must, because Jennuine also specializes in wedding cakes and other specialty desserts.
A combination plate ($5.49) gets a choice of half a pannini or wrap with a bowl of soup or side salad. It's nice to have options. One combo we ordered was the Nantucket Tuna with a cup of the featured soup of the day. The day we visited, New England Clam Chowder was available. This filling soup was a unique spin on the traditional chowder -- the broth had a generous sprinkling of herbs that changed the flavor slightly, but in a good way. Another Lunch Buncher couldn't get past the spin, but both loved that the chowder was full of clam chunks, potatoes, carrots and celery.
The wrap was packed full of tuna salad lightly seasoned with dill, along with tomato slices and a crispy "garden slaw" of lettuce and carrots. The half was filling and neatly made -- it didn't end up in a mess on our plate.
We also had a combo with the soup and the Buffalo Chicken half-wrap. Buffalo chicken wraps seem to be a popular item for lunch menus in the area, and this one measured up. We like that the chicken was grilled instead of fried. The wrap had a great taste, and the chicken was tender.
The Sesame Mandarin Chicken ($5.49) is available as a wrap or salad. We had ours as a salad and enjoyed it to the last bite. Tender roasted chicken slices lay atop a bed of crisp lettuce with tomato, black olives, onion, mandarin orange slices and crispy rise noodles. The sesame dressing is the key here. This oriental-style salad is perfect for a summer lunch.
The Quiche ($5.49) of the day was spinach, tomato and Swiss. The wedge was light and fluffy and mixed with just the right amounts of spinach and tomato. You have a choice of soup or salad to go with the quiche, and we had a fresh side salad with lettuce, diced cukes, carrot shreds, radicchio and roma tomato slices with a wonderful balsamic vinaigrette house dressing. We ate every bite but, of course, left room for dessert.
The featured desserts are mostly excellent cakes, but we also discovered a lemon meringue tart that called to us from the dessert case as well. The cakes, which ranged from $2.39-$2.69 per slice, were exquisite. All the desserts looked too good eat -- almost. White strawberry cake. Lemon Bavarian cake with fresh raspberries. Banana chocolate chip cake. We each had our own favorite as we cut and divided everything among us so we could sample each. There wasn't a bad one in any of our choices. In our opinion, they rivaled the legendary cakes available in Oakmont.
The biggest seller, Chocolate Explosion ($2.69), features a medley of chocolates. The tender chocolate cake has layers of chocolate mousse, white chocolate mousse, chocolate chip mousse and a dark chocolate frosting. How can something so rich taste so lightâ¢
We see why Jennuine is known for its wedding and specialty cakes. The desserts are absolutely incredible.
That's also a good reason to call ahead and make sure the cafe is open if planning a visit. Sometimes Jennuine is overloaded with cake and catering orders.
Compiled by Rebecca Killian, Sis Reola, Liz Hayes and guests. Meals are paid for by the Valley News Dispatch and are unrelated to advertising.
Additional Information:
Jennuine Cakes and Cafe
Address: 4003 Saltsburg Road, Murrysville
Phone: 412-798-2253
Hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tues.-Fri.
Credit cards: All major cards accepted
Smoking: Not permitted
Handicapped accessible: Yes
Prices: Salads, $1.99-$5.49; soup, $2.69; sandwiches, $5.69
