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Garden Caf? – Less than Eden, But Still Good Eatin’
by Michael Anderson and Anthony Lowenberg
Breakfast. According to Sesame Street, it’s the most important meal of the day. Unfortunately, since we attorneys tend to just scarf something down in the car on the way to work, this month we decided to try a place that might provide all our faithful readers (and even the unfaithful ones, you cheating scamps!) with an alternative to McGriddles and Croissandwiches. We figured Garden Caf? was the perfect choice for breakfast, particularly eggs because it’s owned by a local attorney, and our kind is especially good at scrambling things.
First thing’s first, we need to point out that it’s hard to give a fair review of a place called Garden Caf? on a cold and rainy day in the middle of February. The titular garden, from which a lot of the fresh ingredients for the food are reputed to come, was withered and no one was sitting outside on what looked like, on a warm, spring day, would be a very inviting patio in the back. Nevertheless, the weather certainly hadn’t dampened the spirits or kept away any of the caf?’s regular patrons who were crowding the inside. Note that this is a Neighborhood Place, with a capital “N” (the capital “P” is optional, unless you’re translating this review into German). From the “Kinky for Governor” bumper stickers on the cars outside on, you can tell that this caf?, located in the Munger Place area, is not your typical North Dallas hangout. Signs for the restaurant’s regular poetry readings and an advertisement for a local band that plays the space line the wall running to the counter. For a minute there, we started to think we were in Austin, but then we stumbled outside to catch our breath, and remembered that we do not think that we are cooler than everyone else and that we don’t dress down at least two tax brackets to fool ourselves that we didn’t sell out. Dalla$ Rule$!
The inside of the caf? is snug and has a very laid back feel, even when it’s crowded. Art for sale decorates the exposed brick walls. For a review of the art, turn the page for The Art Reviewers’ column. Overall, the place has the feel of the back quadrant of a warehouse converted into a coffeehouse, but it works. You order your food from the walk up counter, which sets out the menu on big, bright chalk script on blackboards overhead. While a server will bring your order to you from the kitchen, the cutlery and drinks are self-serve, and the initial lack of coffee cups and overall do-it-yourself-ness was a little disconcerting, considering the early hour (11:30 a.m.). The coffee cup deficit was remedied after the longest 10 minutes ever, and we threw an elbow at someone’s granny to get that first sweet, sweet cup of coffee. Actually, the coffee was just OK, better than the free stuff at the office, but not as good as the other, tonier breakfast/brunch spots around town.
Garden Caf?’s food is straightforward, not fancy. The French toast was a solid dish of two pieces of egg-battered whole-wheat toast with maple syrup. Nothing spectacular but good. It came with a side of bacon that was either nicely greasy, or just too greasy, depending on your point of view (can bacon ever be too greasy?). We also ordered a couple of the house scrambles. The chorizo scramble contained chorizo and cheese, but was missing the rest of the promised ingredients of peppers and onions. A choose-your-own scramble had the chorizo, spinach, onion and cheese, as requested, but all but the cheese was in short supply. Overall the scrambles were fresh and filling, but were definitely lacking the extra flavors that a more liberal application of ingredients would have brought. The side order of salsa that accompanied each scramble was fresh and overall excellent, although the tiny cup it comes in wasn’t nearly enough. Finally, we tried the huevos del dia special, which consisted of two fried eggs on a tortilla with cheese grits and potatoes on the side. A little of the salsa added some nice kick to the dish, and the cheese grits were a standout. Overall, the food at Garden Caf? falls squarely into the very good but not great category.
In addition to being a place where your LL Bean sweater-wearers can sit and quietly read the Times, Garden Caf? also gets extra props for being a place where your squealing baby will blend right in, which is an essential trait in any good breakfast place where you might want to take the kiddies. On our battered, fried, and topped with powdered sugar five-gavel scale, Garden Caf? gets three out of five gavels. And remember, if it ain’t been Law Reviewed, it ain’t been law… Er, reviewed.
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