The Gazette
July 7, 2004
M.J. Pleasure

It is easy to warm to doughboys café, the stylish 5-month-old addition to Kentlands' Market Square. The wood-burning oven produces thin, crispy gourmet pizzas and focaccia, and all roasting and baking is done on site.

Mustard-colored walls with burnt orange accents form a lively backdrop for wood and steel tables and chairs with a smart Milan style.

Fresh flowers, real china and silverware, pleasant background music and a selection of domestic and imported wines enhance the dining experience. During the day, orders are taken at the counter and food is delivered to your table. Table service is the rule in the evening.

Design your own personal size, 10-inch pizza from a dozen familiar toppings or an equal number of gourmet topping such as roasted shrimp, capicola ham or apple-wood bacon.

Pesto pizza with roasted shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes and fontina cheese is my top pick but the margherita with plum tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil is classic.

A unique and delicious signature salad of endive, mesclun, banana and orange with sunflower seeds is complemented by a honey-lemon vinaigrette. Caesar, caprese, spinach, mixed and organic green salads are other options that you can augment with chicken or shrimp. Fresh-baked focaccia accompanies all the salads and is the foundation of doughboys' panini. One of the more interesting is the prosciutto with avocado-gorgonzola spread, caramelized onion, sun-dried tomatoes and mesclun.

Sorbet and gelato (a rotating selection), homemade tiramisu, assorted biscotti or a banana and strawberry fruit pizza a la mode will satisfy dessert pangs.

An attractive stop for lunch, snack or dinner, doughboys seats three dozen inside and about a dozen outside. They cater, have limited delivery and are planning to do brunch in the near future.