Follow me around DeKalb County, Alabama! By Kayla Worthey

Wildflower Café in Mentone atop Lookout Mountain

For Valentine’s Day, my sweet husband made reservations at the Wildflower Café in Mentone. See I am not a flower girl and I don’t eat a lot of chocolate, so the typical Valentine’s traditions don’t really work on me. But I do like to eat! And my husband knows this, so he decided to take full advantage and made reservations at one of my favorite places to eat. It is close to home and the food is out of this world.
If you have never been to the Wildflower Café, I highly recommend it. The building was once a home to a local resident and still has that basic floor plan today. A cozy fireplace helps to warm the guests, while the enclosed porch allows you to view the beautiful scenery of Mentone. The walls are blanketed with local art and on weekends the air is too! Chef Ben and L.C. Moon do a wonderful job of keeping this restaurant alive!
We arrived five minutes prior to our reservation time and were immediately seated in the room just off the porch. Me with my bottle of wine and my husband with his small cooler of beer in tow. You see, the Town of Mentone is “dry”, so the Wildflower cannot sell alcohol, but they don’t mind you drinking it. They will even provide the appropriate glassware. So as our server arrived with a wine glass, a beer mug and two glasses of water, she began to explain the Valentine’s Special to us in depth.
The restaurant was very romantic. White linens covered the tables with red candle lit center pieces and a little “I Love You” balloon. We were wooed by the voice of Amanda Quarles as she strummed her guitar and filled the room with soft tunes of romance. Some guests made special requests to which she fulfilled beautifully! Great job Amanda! You were very enjoyable.
Our server explained the Valentine’s Special so vibrantly that we decided to try it. We began with an appetizer of garlic parmesan cream cheese dipping sauce with bread. This was a first for me and I really enjoyed it. Up next was a mixed green salad with homemade raspberry vinaigrette. The raspberry vinaigrette was also a first for me and I was impressed. I will be having that again. That was followed by the main course which was a platter of absolute indulgence! A hormone free, fresh cut of the most tender filet mignon wrapped in bacon and grilled to “medium” perfection; a fluffy crab cake topped with spicy aoli and ripe avocado; and a skewer of grilled succulent shrimp! It makes my mouth water just thinking about it. We also chose the garlic smashed red potatoes and grilled purple cabbage as our sides. If you like cabbage, this is a must! And then to top off a fabulous romantic dinner, we shared a piece of Hummingbird cake. I am a sucker for cream cheese icing!
Thank you Wildflower chefs and staff for another wonderful meal and great entertainment!