WINDSOR, Ont. — Coffee and other chain restaurants may get all the recent attention for their focus on java, but area independent cafes still percolate, attracting loyal fans who enjoy their caffeine culture.
What small cafes may lack in busy chain drive-thrus, extended hours and locations all over on every other block, they make up for with style, substance and selection.
With the spirit of a friendly diner, Riverside’s Evolve Cafe provides substance with style in an attractive setting.
By The Windsor Star – November 12, 2008
With the spirit of a friendly diner, Riverside’s Evolve Cafe provides substance with style in an attractive setting.
And it’s one restaurant that can truly claim the menu’s homemade. The cafe opened in 50-year-old house on Wyandotte Street East, just east of Lauzon Road.
The menu offers traditional diner items but with a nod to contemporary flavours. For example, there’s a chicken sandwich with red pepper sauce and ciabatta bread.
The interior feels cosy, thankfully not overdone and fussy. The place in fact feels like it’s dipped in a dark mocha coffee, with the chocolate colour scheme offset with a latte-like walls and lightened by contemporary and folk-style artwork.
Chairs and tables are stylish, too. And the dining room, with its high ceiling and a nook for lounging, feels larger than the space for, oh, about two dozen seats.
There’s parking at the rear and friendly smiles throughout, as customers order at the counter, check out cookies and coffees and wait their orders to be delivered to the table.
No muss, no fuss, in a place with a focused menu whose prices are mainly under $6. The food tastes as fresh as the menu suggests, and the house coffee is a special delight — full-bodied but smooth with a gentle java edge.
Open since June, the cafe continues to attract customers, from here, there and really everywhere, says owner Virginia Bray of Windsor, who operates Evolve with Debbie Nagy in the kitchen and Wendy Nantais helping at the counter and in the dining area.
“I wanted to create an environment with an inviting approach,” says Bray. “I always dreamed of having a cafe.”
She looked at the three-bedroom home and was hooked. An extensive remodelling included changing the stairs and creating a small meeting room upstairs, but she feels the home-style comfort remains.
“Business has been fabulous, we haven’t done much advertising really, all word of mouth,” Bray says. “I’m still here, so something’s going right.”
Evolve Cafe, 8061 Wyandotte St. E., is open six days a week, Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Telephone: 519-945-9333.
DINING NEWS Here’s a variety of news appetizers, a menu of items gleaned recently from the dining scene.
MAKEOVER Plunkett’s becomes Mick’s Irish Pub this Friday, a major move for the contemporary bistro-bar in the wake of the closing of Patrick O.Ryan’s nearby. It’s a move by husband-and-wife owners Mike Plunkett and Karen Behune Plunkett that’s lamented by at least one reader who considers it the end of an era. Plunkett’s and the former Chez Vins were see-and-be-seen places, offering dining with flair and style. Mick’s, 28 Chatham St. E., offers daily lunch specials, with live music Thursday to Saturday. Telephone: 519-252-3111.
ANNIVERSARY The popular Mezzo Ristorante celebrates six years in business this week at 804 Erie St. E. Owner Filip Rocca with his kitchen crew and restaurant staff have created a stylish vibe, and the complimentary valet service is a bonus much appreciated. Telephone: 519-252-4055.
OPENINGS The new Casey’s Grill Bar has opened in the Walker Commons, the new retail plaza at Walker and Division roads, with 208 seats and an upscale look with an open kitchen. The chain has begun to feature Homegrown Ontario-label items produced from provincial sources, but they’re not on the menu here — at least not yet. This writer hopes they’ll become available as the location establishes itself.
Expect the Pour House Pub, the makeover of the former Ye Olde Steakhouse, 46 Chatham St. W., to open soon, possibly by December pending construction schedules and permit approvals. The remodelling for the roadhouse-pub-sports bar has been extensive, but signature elements such as the slate floor and wine cellar remain.
Expect more news and notes on openings next week, including a new Thai restaurant and fish and chip place. This writer, returning after an absence, welcomes comments and information.
twhipp@thestar.canwest.com or 519-255-6863. Follow the food/dining blog Blogelicious online at www.windsorstar.com
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