To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from Act One Cafe. First off, there's the corny name--the restaurant is located in the former Morse Theatre, renamed the Mayne. Add to that an at-first-glance-typical contemporary American menu--chop, wedge, and Caesar salads, locally farmed roast chicken, steak, and pork chops. But I was wowed by the fresh and flavorful food. Lumpia-like spring rolls were crisp, tightly wrapped cigars filled with jerk chicken and caramelized plaintains and served with sugarcane-garlic dipping sauce. Appetizers like seared sea scallops with pea puree and Chinese sausage or a Jonah crab parfait with smoked trout, cucumber, and charred tomato aren't exactly run-of-the-mill, and even that Caesar far exceeded the norm, served with a creamy honey-roasted garlic dressing and blessedly free of the dry Parmesan scrapings so many places seem to feel obliged to pile on. Another surprise winner was the seafood boo-yah, bouillabaisse with shrimp, octopus, and the best bay scallops I've had since a trip to the east coast several years ago. A bite of the inch-thick bone-on marinated pork chop, moist and perfectly grilled, has me longing to return. Prices are reasonable, with everything under $20 and all sandwiches under $10.
— Kate Schmidt