RESTAURANT REVIEW:

Sometimes it is worth the extra challenge in getting to a place because you know you will be rewarded.

That has always been my experience when eating at Gypsy Den in The Lab anti-mall. Unfortunately, my guest had not experienced the adversity in trying to reach the restaurant.

She almost didn’t make it.

Parking has always been a problem at The Lab, and even the addition of spots hasn’t helped ease the woes. It is a victim of its own success.

If you are opposed to valet parking, like my friend and I are, then you look around for a spot, hoping one opens. I was fortunate, finding a spot relatively quickly.

My friend was not.

She called me and told me she was frustrated and was giving up. I pleaded with her not to and convinced her to keep the lunch date.

She will be forever grateful.

The food at the Gypsy Den is incredible. It is not my imagination that every item seems to have something original to it.

The old, inviting coffee-house atmosphere is very comfortable, and the artwork that hangs on the walls always keeps me interested. Having an inside and outside dining area is an advantage with the temperate Southern California weather and adds to the ambience.

But this place could be in the middle of a landfill and I would eagerly come. The food is that good.

My question is always what am I going to choose when I go? The menu for lunch and dinner is expansive and I still haven’t gotten through all the specialties, though I have eaten there many times.

Two of the specialties I have had and enjoyed. The baked macaroni and cheese is packed with cheese, and the vegetable lasagna is filled with different types of vegetables, olives, kidney beans and three cheeses.

This trip I opted for a sandwich and with the nine options found a very appealing alternative to having to choose just one.

Splitting a sandwich can be done, and I was able to get half a Greek pita and roast turkey.

The Greek pita is stuffed with feta, red onions, cucumbers, sprouts, Greek olives, lettuce and chopped tomatoes. The dressing, which was slightly sweet, worked with the ingredients and the wheat pita bread.

The roast turkey was equally as good. The bread, which is homemade and baked daily on the premises, was a sweet French bread that really brought out the flavor of the turkey. Fortunately, it wasn’t slathered in mustard and mayonnaise, which would have altered the taste. Provolone is my favorite for a sandwich. The sprouts, cucumber and tomatoes complemented the sandwich.

Because it is almost a ritual now, I had to have some Adobe stew with my sandwich. The stew had plenty of vegetables in the rich, flavorful broth, including tomatoes, corn, green beans, pinto beans, eggplant and peppers.

My friend had the same difficulty choosing a salad. There are 13, and after painful deliberation, she settled on the Waldorf chicken salad.

The salad is actually a hybrid of the spring garden salad with the sweet Waldorf mix of apples, celery and walnuts on top. That, mixed with cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms, red cabbage, croutons and chick peas gave my friend lunch and some left over for dinner.

The dessert menu is as appealing and extensive as the regular menu. My favorite is the fudge brownie with walnuts, and I always manage to take at least two home.

The food calmed down the parking rage my friend experienced, and she had to concede that it was worth the hassle. It definitely is and then some.

IF YOU GO

What: Gypsy Den

Address: 2930 Bristol St., Costa Mesa

Phone: (714) 549-7012

Cuisine: American

Specialty dish: Adobe stew

Alcohol served: none

Entrée price range: $4.15 to $9.75

Family friendly: yes

Credit cards accepted: American Express, MasterCard, Visa

Rating: *** 1/2

JOHN REGER is the Pilot’s restaurant critic. His reviews run Thursdays.