Yes, please leave the smoked tomato broth.” That’s how we found ourselves answering our server at Nick’s Italian Café in McMinnville on a recent dining excursion.

The broth, a wonderful, light ruby liquid with a lovely kick of garlic at the end, accompanied the steamed mussels. They sat in an irregular jumble in a shallow white bowl, surrounded by a moat of broth along with rustic bread. After finishing the mussels, we still had other dishes on the table — specifically gorgonzola-pear wood-fired pizza and Caesar salad — but somehow, we could not let go of the smoky tomato goodness. So we found other ways to enjoy it.