KATHY MADER -- Dining Review

Rarely nowadays do we feel after going to a restaurant that we have

given ourselves a much needed break. The noise, the hurriedness, the

pre-made food can make us feel like we need to go out to dinner just to

recover from our lunch.

Or is that just me?

The Garden Cafe on 17th Street, behind the Harp Inn at the end of

“antique row,” is a little cafe full of country charm, blooming flowers

and buyable antiques that will give you the break you deserve.

The Garden Cafe is a real life Charles Wysocki painting, where

everything is in the colors of the season and life’s little treasures are

found throughout. This is the garden you would have if you planted one

and the food you would make if you cooked.

Since I don’t do either, this is the perfect place. And that is

exactly the feel that Kim Morgan-Simpson and her brother, chef Tom

Morgan, hoped to create.

The menu says this is a “trip to the country,” and by God, it is. It

is the kind of place where you expect to see a handwritten sign on the

back of an old Ford that says “Break out the sarsaparilla, Ma just made

cobbler!”

The garden patio is the cafe’s biggest treasure with fichus trees,

ferns and a fountain creating atmosphere. Morning glories climb the

trellises, and the token gnome stands guard.

Jaunty red lanterns hang from the beams, and a funky, giant window

pane divides the patio into sections. Go for the table next to the

fountain; it’s the best seat in the house. You feel better for having

walked in.

Inside the store is pretty great as well. Pictures, pillows and

teapots surround you, and the old counter just begs you to belly up and

order a Stewarts Old Fashioned soda.

This is not just a “chicks” place, even though Morgan-Simpson and

Morgan encourage all kinds of private parties -- from bridal and baby

showers to birthdays.

My husband, Brian -- an expert on peaceful surroundings and all things

charming -- and I went there on Sunday morning for omelets. It was so

peaceful and perfect that we hung out for an extra half hour. There are

not too many places you can say that about.

I don’t know how you feel about iced tea. I used to be a Diet Coke

drinker myself, but I have found myself craving one of the cafe’s iced

teas almost daily. It is positively perfect. Or maybe it is just the kind

of place where everything tastes better.

The menu is simple and not without its own charm.

Life is short; start with the scone. This is not your dry and dusty

found-in-the-actual-countryside scone. This is a sweet, crispy on the

outside, soft and sweet on the inside delight.

Hmmmm. Tea and scones. Do you see where I am headed? Time to start

taking the afternoons off. And if tea isn’t your thing, espresso, lattes

and ice blended mochas might fill the bill.

If you are there for lunch, you will soon understand that sometimes

the simplest food tastes the best. Turkey breast and cranberry sauce

sandwiches on whole wheat bread ($5.95), honey cured ham and Swiss

($6.25), turkey and avocado on squaw ($6.95), and a chicken pesto

sandwich on foccacia bread ($6.45) are all tempting. I go for the old

fashioned BLT.

Tasty, yet simple, salads are also available -- from a Cobb with all

the trimmings to fresh tuna salad or turkey salad.

For the record, Morgan-Simpson makes fresh desserts daily and cobbler

is one of the stars.

The Garden Cafe’s breakfast menu is equally as unpretentious with the

strata -- a ham, cheese and egg casserole -- and the baked cinnamon roll

French toast ($5.99) as the standouts. Bacon and eggs, breakfast bagels

and yogurt and granola are just a few available choices.

Although the menu is not large, there is something for everyone. On

Sundays the Garden Cafe puts away the menu and offers a made-to-order

omelet bar, which comes with a bowl of fresh fruit, a basket of warm

muffins, and rosemary potatoes.

It’s neither the food, nor the garden alone that will bring you here.

It is the magical combination of both and the restaurant’s ability to

transport you to a better place that make the Garden Cafe truly special.

* KATHY MADER’s dining reviews appear every other Thursday.

FYI

WHERE: 130 E. 17th St.

HOURS: Closed Monday, Tuesday-Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m.

to 4 p.m., Sunday (omelets only) 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

PRICES: Inexpensive

CALL: (949) 722-1177