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Tallahassee Democrat (FL)A Matter of Taste
Author: Ashby Stiff DEMOCRAT WRITER Section: LIMELIGHT

It's time again.

Time when the sun in wintry Pisces yawns and stretches into warming Aries. When the winds of spring blow softer, fresher, and the midday sun grows kinder, and a greening Tallahassee is at its best.No better time exists for outdoor lunching or dining. And Food Glorious Food is just the place to do it.

Lately, more and more restaurants are cashing in on the city's delicious spring and fall days: in the tree-canopied terrace at Chez Pierre; in the mallside promenade at Andrew's Capital Grill, with its arresting lighted tree.

But it was Food Glorious Food that got there first and set the trend. For us at least, this shaded Betton Place courtyard, with its Old World brick arcades and flagstone floored atrium, remains synonymous with alfresco meals.

While everyone from brain surgeon to hockey star to social potted palm lights into the Chicken Tetrazzini here, status dining's not the drill. They come for the 60 creative dishes on a challenging, daily-changing menu. They come for the sheer, relaxing pleasure of an umbrella shaded lunch, and perhaps a glass of chardonnay, en plein air. And they come for the value of cooking whose price has increased by only a dollar or two since 1989.

Over the years, the mistress of this winsome domain, Susan Turner, also has built a bustling off-premises catering operation. The busier that segment gets, the greater are the demands on space and time. Once elaborately decorated with high-maintenance baskets and clever accessories, the small indoor dining gallery now is stripped down and utilitarian, ready for cold- or rainy-day use.

We know sophisticated singles who all but live on take-out meals chosen from the display case at Food Glorious Food. Dinners of enchilada-sauced Aztec Chicken ($6.50), or Grilled Shrimp with Tomatilla Sauce ($12.50), or Mom's all-beef Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes and Natural Gravy ($8.95).

Not for vegetarians alone are the 20 meatless choices on FGF's menu.

Meat eaters, too, go for the hearty, carbohydrate-filled likes of Tunisian Curried Couscous ($7.25), with its kaleidoscopically colored, intriguingly flavored array of fruits, veggies and fresh herbs. Or perhaps for Polenta Torte with Wild Mushroom Ragout ($8.95). Or for last week's delicious Cannelloni Milano, which rolled spinach, carrots, onions, mushrooms and cheeses in flaky pastry.

If complaint there were, it would be of the profusion of rice, cereal grains, pasta and pastry in the dishes. For variety we recently dodged them in a sampled Roasted Vegetable Plate and in tasty, tomato-based Harvest Stew with Butternut squash, carrots, potatoes and onion.

Waist watchers will find 17 warm-weather-friendly Salads on hand. A diversity of chicken renditions includes the Cajun grilled, pecan dotted Jambalaya version that we enjoyed ($8), as well as similarly priced Greek, Florentine, Moroccan, Smoked or Traditional variations on the chicken theme.

Gentlemen, especially, will go for the 10 sandwich selections, all of them grilled on a Cuban press. They range from an authentic Cuban, to a three-cheese Gourmet Grill with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto, to a towering Dagwood stuffed with turkey, spinach, red onions, tomatoes, mozzarella and herbed mayonnaise, each $6.50.

Add a beer and you'll still get change from a tenner.

Ladies who lunch also return at teatime for the super desserts. In for an early dinner, we came upon several pairs and a trio or two, several of them discretely boxing-to-go the huge remains of mango mousse-layered, nut scattered Mango Macadamia Torte.

Other sweet temptations include a zinger of a three-layered Italian Cream Cake; caramel sauced Turtle Truffle Torte and Coconut Rum Torte - a light, rummy layering of coconut, pecans, moist cake and whipped cream. Four or five dollars will do it for these.

Through the fine spring days acoming, don't miss having a meal in this gentle, pretty place. It celebrates the Tallahassee pace and grace that are fast slipping away.