Enigma Cafe

- By T. Bennison

May the gods curse the plaza: that temple of crass commercialism and convenience, that blight on the dwindling Florida landscape, that slapdash plaything of the mediocre architect, that obscurer of places like Enigma Café.

The plaza is the last place you’d expect to house a great restaurant and I initially balked at my friend Johnny’s suggestion that we cover “the best place in town,” but in Satellite Beach’s Atlantic Shopping Plaza, midway between the movie theater and Publix, Enigma Café offers everything “fine dining” suggests without all the attendant annoyances: stuffy atmosphere, stuffier waitstaff, and skimpy portions.

Run by Melbourne native Deborah Ingram and chef Lucio Gonzalez, the humble Enigma defied all my admittedly low expectations and gave me the best meal I’ve had in ages. I can be pretty persnickety when it comes to eating out, but everything at Enigma was just right, from the service to the relaxed atmosphere. When other eateries aim for a casual ambiance the result often feels canned. Enigma feels like a friend’s house, and the contented looks on the customers’ faces is suggestive of a shared secret pleasure.
In fact, customers play an important role in Enigma’s unique identity, lending their names to many of the recipes they’ve either inspired or personally contributed. Listed regulars are notified when their favorite specials make appearances, and all dishes are fairly malleable; low-carb versions are prepared and substitutions and additions are encouraged.

The food is simply excellent. If I had the space, I’d print their entire menu here and let it speak for itself. It reflects Deborah’s desire to present a little bit of everything and boldly avoids categorization. Sheperd’s pie appears alongside vegetable fajitas, pasta and chicken along with steak, seafood, and Greek-inspired dishes. If anything, Enigma’s menu is reflective of an abiding passion for food and the eating experience.

After splitting a large portabella alla Lucio (topped with basil, olive oil, tomato, and fresh mozzarella), Maud ordered the Enigma shrimp, sautéed in a wine sauce with red pepper and broccoli. Broccoli seems either too limp or raw in restaurants, but these were vibrant green and had the nearly impercebtible crunch of the perfectly cooked floret. Likewise, the shrimp had that fresh insinuation of the sea and absorbed just enough of the wine sauce; lesser chefs would have erred on the side of overstatement. It’s clear Lucio prepares each meal to order - how he does it so well and so consistently is anyone’s guess.

My Italian side is fiercely critical of restaurant pasta, which almost never lives up to my late grandmother’s al dente paragon, so it was with some reticence that I ordered the carbonara-like “Ed André”: fettucine in a light cream sauce tossed with chunks of bacon, red onion, and romano cheese. This was real pasta. The heavens converged harmoniously. It avoided all the common pitfalls of saltiness, sogginess, and lumpiness and it passed that particular Italian portion test of stopping halfway through, rubbing one’s stomach, and considering the doggy bag. I paused, sipped a bit of water, mimed a Sicilian spit in the face of gluttony, then cleaned the plate with a back-handed aggressiveness. I’ve never liked Carrabba’s, but after tasting Lucio’s pasta, I’ve a mind to sue them for fraud.
“They don’t screw around with their salads,” Johnny had told me, and never were truer words spoken. Enigma’s reputation could rest comfortably on the heaping, iceberg-free masterpieces alone. Bear witness to a few of them: “Pete’s Wicked” (sauteed shrimp, baby spring mix, carrots, craisins, green olives and crumbled bleu cheese), Steak and Blue Cheese (romaine, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, crumbled bleu cheese, steak, and balsamic vinaigrette), and Thai chicken (sauteed chicken breast, mandarin oranges, sesame seeds, green onions, thai noodles, tomato and peanut dressing). Each salad can be enhanced with a choice of grilled chicken or portabella mushroom, the best chicken salad you’ve ever tried (hand-pulled and mixed with chopped seedless grapes), or grilled shrimp.
Though we didn’t try them, the desserts deserve mention for their titillating descriptions. How can “Jeanette’s Caramel Coconut Pie” possibly taste bad? The “Peapicking” cake is a mandarin orange cake topped with pineapple frosting. Others inclued the Turtle Chocolate cake, Café Mocha cake, homemade banana pudding, and Deborah’s mother’s cheesecake recipe.
I could go into further detail and I haven’t even mentioned the lunch menu, but to divulge any more would be like giving away the end of a phenomenal movie. As it is, I feel a little guilty sharing the secret - it’s that kind of place. Check Enigma Café out for yourself, and thank the gods for the protective disguise of the plaza.
Enigma Café (779-8205) is located in the Atlantic Shopping Plaza in Satellite Beach at 1024 US Hwy. A1A, Suite 118. They’re open Mondays for lunch from 11 to 2 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 to 8 p.m., and Saturdays from 4 to 8 p.m. Call ahead for take-out orders or deliveries (within the area of Pineda Cswy. south to Melbourne Beach, but please ask for their specific delivery range). Lucio and Deborah also provide special menus and extensive catering service for large gatherings and a variety of events. They’ll also prepare family-style meals for those on the go. One of the best things about Enigma is its fairly malleable menu; give Deborah enough notice, and she and Lucio can create a dish for your specific tastes - within feasibility. A variety of beverages are on hand (including a range of coffee drinks), but you must bring your own wine or beer to enjoy with your meal.