LUCY Humbert finally bit the bullet. The restaurant that has been on her mind for five years finally opened.
The caterer-turned-restaurateur describes the food at Lucy's, in Stanley, 'as the kind I'd make for friends at home. Simple and fresh.' The 32-seat bistro on Stanley Main Street, she hopes, will fill the void in that area for mid-price restaurants, nothing as dramatic as Tables 88.
Lunch is basically salads, pasta and sandwiches. But for dinner and its more leisurely paced dining, the offerings will be more labour-intensive.
What's her trademark? Friends would probably identify her by the goat's cheese and red pepper salad, the pumpkin gnocci, the fillet of salmon with lemon grass and coriander. They would also blame her for the signature dessert that kept clients fat and happy - pecan and date pudding with warm toffee cream sauce.
The wine list (European and New World) has the kind of prices that encourage sipping and endear diners 'who like a bowl of spaghetti and a bottle of red.' Wines by the glass, $38; bottles range from $140 to $230.
'We're in the mid-range price bracket,' explained Ms Humbert. 'There's a need for it here.' Coming soon once she fine-tunes her four-week-old dream is afternoon tea.
