Cozying up to an old favorite at Bridge Street's Cafe
The mouthwatering, mouth-stretching sandwich creations by Brian and Abbey Lucas, formerly found at Sebastian’s in San Simeon, are back on the menu, this time at the Café at 4286 Bridge St., in the historic building that had most recently housed The Tea Cozy.
Café already is going strong despite not yet having a complete name. Abbey said June 3 that they’re still searching for the perfect business moniker, but for now the simple “Café” is working, even though it makes it problematic for some people to find it online or call the restaurant (927-2890).
The place is a contrast of history and funky, of bistro, café and walk-up. You’ll order and pay at Café’s counter, but Abbey or her sister Irma Bougeokles will bring your order to you. Inside, you’ll sit on Victorian-style furniture while you eat from paper-lined green plastic baskets.
Hungry customers who stream into the circa-1870s building from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays are faced with a hard choice: What to eat?
The list is big and tempting, as are the entrees themselves. Sandwiches range from thick, handmade Angus chuck burgers and the Lucases’ trademark meat loaf to French dip beef, hand-sliced turkey and ham, chargrilled chicken, leg of lamb, homemade veggie burgers and top-quality deli meats. There are salads, too.
In our June 3 order, a soft, 6-inch-diameter bun (!) cradled the char-rilled burger (we’d ordered it medium rare, and got it medium rare). The chicken-mushroom soup was chunky, tasty and filling. The sizzled pastrami sandwich was, as we requested, on whole-wheat bread, the slices of which were about a half-inch thick.
Add cheese, pickles, lettuce, lots of sliced tomatoes and shaved red onion, and each Café sandwich is a tasty tower to tackle.
Welcome back, Brian and Abbey! You were missed.
Other flavorful North Coast news
A wide variety of restaurant changes continue to be a moving target in Cambria, from ongoing, very noticeable reconstruction at the Pine Tree Inn and Centrally Grown’s soft-opening dinner upstairs June 9 for the Lions Club to the quiet reopening downstairs of the Cambria Pub and Steakhouse (no later than June 15, according to John Raethke) and a five-course Venetian-inspired masquerade dinner June 6 at Giovanni Grillenzoni’s Harmony Café at the Pewter Plough Playhouse.
The Centrally Grown changes include the departure of its chef of about three years, Eric Wilson, who has moved on to help open a 250-room lodge in Paso Robles, according to Tod Maurer, who came from St. Louis about a month ago to be Centrally Grown’s general manager.
More about all that next week.
This story was originally published June 10, 2015 at 12:06 PM with the headline "Cozying up to an old favorite at Bridge Street's Cafe."