Before it closed in 2022, Alameda’s Little House Cafe was one of the island kingdom’s primary brunch destinations. For nearly two decades, Donna Meadows served hearty, dependable, American meals there. To secure that job, the chef was in the right place at the right time.
When her lease was up, she’d closed Boniere Bakery on Park Street. In the interim, Meadows took on catering gigs. At one of her catered parties, local software entrepreneur Christopher Seiwald offered her a job. His company had purchased property on Blanding Avenue—and a cottage, built in 1904, was included on the lot. Instead of tearing the little house down, he decided to convert it into a restaurant.
Before she accepted the position, Meadows made it clear she was a working mother with certain limitations. The chef told me that during one of her initial conversations with Seiwald she’d said she didn’t want to work on the weekends or on holidays. He agreed to her terms and Meadows managed Little House Cafe for 15 years.
Seiwald also owns the building on Park Street where Meadows opened Moxie Steak House last year. When he asked her to open “a real restaurant this time,” she deliberated over the concept for several weeks before deciding that a steakhouse would work. “Alameda is an old-school town where they like their meat and potatoes,” she said. Now that her children are grown, the chef had no hesitations about starting a new restaurant. “I love cooking. It’s my favourite thing to do,” she said. “What else would I do if I wasn’t in the kitchen 12 to 14 hours a day?”
Meadows’ menu is primarily a la carte. There are several pricey cuts of steak to choose from, including filet mignon ($42 or $58), ribeye ($68 or $72) and New York strip ($64 or $68). The Akaushi Wagyu is from Beeman Ranch and the slightly less expensive Holstein Beef is from Brandt Farms. “We bought a Montague grill, so it’s super hot,” the chef said. “We sear the steak on the flat top then we put it on the grill to get that good caramelization.”
Labor-intensive recipes for the sauces ($4–$6) and sides ($10) contribute to the cost of a fancy steak dinner. The demi-glace consists of 50 pounds of veal bones, 25 pounds of beef tendon, mirepoix, red wine and tomato paste, and it cooks for 30 hours. “You need to have such huge quantities so that it can cook down and slowly reduce for a long period of time,” Meadows said.
Three of the five diners at our table tried various cuts of steak, but I love a lamb chop. Moxie serves three of them for $45. For my money, they were perfectly cooked and seasoned. I reluctantly relinquished one of them to share with the other guests. Of the five sides we ordered, three were dynamite, two were not and one was smack-dab in the middle.
We started with an excellent batch of crispy chive fritters served with a corn custard that was close in texture to a savory panna cotta. A “cheesy tart” was plated with a bright pesto sauce and filled with thinly sliced layers of squash and chevre. The tart pastry confirmed Meadows’ skill and experience as a baker. But an order of Hasselback potatoes just wasn’t roasted long enough. They looked appetizing but weren’t even al dente. My only complaint about the buttery, luscious mashed potatoes—they should be served out of a trough rather than in a petite side dish.
Everybody responded poorly to the asparagus-and-pea risotto. When I brought its lack of seasoning up to Meadows, the chef gracefully accepted the unsolicited note. “You can’t always catch everything, unfortunately, and I try,” she said. “I go, okay, this wasn’t 100% perfect but next time it will be better.”
Little House Cafe was known for making donuts on the weekends. Moxie has revived that “donut of the day” tradition during its brunch service on Saturday and Sunday. Meadows even honors customer requests for donuts to go. But when she compares her time at Little House Cafe with Moxie, the new space has provided the chef with a higher level of cooking. “I love it,” she said. “It’s so much fun for me.”
Moxie Steak House, 1640 Park St., Alameda. Open Wed-Sun, 5–9pm; brunch Sat-Sun, 10am to 2pm. 510.671.2890. moxiealameda.com
