SCHENECTADY — Oh my goodness, that was enjoyable.
Amy and I ended for lunch on the Bellevue Cafe on Broadway and had a terrific house cooked meal in a full of life, genuine, diner-like setting.
It hooked us proper from the get-go: the cozy cubicles; partitions of home windows that enable the solar to shine in on two sides; counter with spinny stools; and Tiffany-style lamps. The place was abuzz with diners round noontime, however that didn’t imply we needed to wait. The hostess took us previous a glass case stuffed with delicious-looking baked items to a sales space proper subsequent to a window. The place was spotless. Each desk that wasn’t occupied was bussed.
We have been completely satisfied to be in the primary room; the again is nice however not as charming.
“It feels extra like a diner in right here,” mentioned Amy.
You might be certain the meals is, “Hearty, Wholesome and Selfmade” — in any case, it’s printed on the again of the servers’ black T-shirts.
We have been delighted to be a captive viewers for ads from native companies printed on our place mats. How higher to find out about a neighborhood than by studying the colourful adverts whilst you drink espresso?
Amy and I have been lamenting the decline of native companies in massive cities we’ve visited lately. In New York, she had hassle discovering a spot to eat breakfast that wasn’t a part of a sequence. In Chicago, I’ve discovered one espresso store the place servers will carry you tea in a cup, and that’s the place we go on each go to.
Schenectady nonetheless has vibrant, regionally owned small companies corresponding to bakeries, eating places, pizza parlors, import shops and occasional outlets. If you happen to don’t need any surprises go to the chain place, however I’d a lot moderately meet and assist native people who make their very own meals and run their very own companies.
The Bellevue Cafe, on Broadway within the neighborhood of the identical identify on this high quality metropolis, is owned by Aphrodite Slingerland. Her father, Spiro Mikropoulos, an immigrant, began a number of companies together with diners and doughnut outlets on this space within the early Nineteen Sixties. Bellevue Cafe opened within the Nineteen Eighties.
They’re open every single day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., serving breakfast (till 11 a.m.), lunch and dinner.
You’ll be able to afford it. One egg, any model, with toast and residential fries or hash browns, is $4.29, considered one of many breakfast alternatives. The Bellevue Cafe burger with lettuce, tomato, onion and fries, is $10.25. Together with menus, we have been handed a sheet with an extended listing of the day’s specials that embrace soup and dessert. Have a sandwich, salad or an entree for lunch or dinner. Hearty entrees, like broiled pork chops with applesauce ($15.25), embrace soup, potato, vegetable or salad.
“I need one thing diner-y,” mentioned Amy. She went with the new meatloaf lunch particular ($10.49) and a cup of home made vegetable barley soup.
“Scrumptious,” mentioned Amy of the soup. “The broth has a starchy richness, with good chunks of celery, carrot, tomato and delicate barley.” She added, after a bit, “It has mushrooms, too.”
My hen noodle soup was scrumptious. It got here in a thick white china cup, good. There was orzo and tiny spherical bits of pasta within the broth, together with items of white-meat hen, celery, carrot, onion and spinach. The clear broth tasted of the meat, not salt.
Together with the soup got here an endangered species: the bread and cracker basket, with particular person packets of saltines and oyster crackers, plastic-wrapped recent sliced Italian bread and butter packets. I stashed some bread in my purse and had each saltine and oyster crackers in my soup. It felt lavish.
I approve of the Bellevue’s meatloaf. It has plenty of taste and moisture. Amy favored its high quality and dense texture very a lot. We tasted oregano and loads of garlic, which she observed later, each time she opened her fridge that held the leftovers. The meatloaf is served grandly, over white-bread toast factors, and with an ice-cream sized scoop of good, fluffy mashed potatoes. There was gravy on the aspect.
It’s not my meatloaf, nevertheless it’s superb — dare I say, on par, however completely different.
We each beloved it, even the gravy, which was miles higher than what I lately had at an upscale steakhouse.
“The parts are very beneficiant,” noticed Amy, “however the meals is nice, too.” It went down simple, although she solely completed half. There was nonetheless dessert to return, included with the meal.
I see grilled hen as a take a look at: Can a restaurant take a dry piece of chicken and make it flavorful and attention-grabbing? Right here, sure. I used to be fairly impressed with the grilled hen sandwich ($10.99).
I needed a aspect salad as a substitute of fries however you may’t get it, considered one of solely two issues about this place I didn’t love. The opposite is the noise. I’m glad they’re busy, however we have been additionally completely satisfied when people started leaving and we have been in a position to hear one another with out leaning throughout the desk.
As for the sanfwich, first I admired the real, recent laborious roll dusted with cornmeal, then the bits of grilled, juicy hen protruding the perimeters of the roll. I used to be happy to discover a small, scrumptious puddle on the plate. There have been two items of hen on the roll, maybe from one complete small breast, flattened and fairly tender. They’re marinated and have added taste from cooking; you may see the caramelization.
However our consideration was on the attractive onion rings.
“We’ve got rings so occasionally,” noticed Amy. It’s not the type of factor you may have at house. They’re a deal with, we agreed.
These have been, with golden-brown scrumptious crunchy batter coating onion slices that slithered out, tremendous scorching and slippery. My recommendation is to attend till they cool a bit.
Although Amy was surrounded by meals, she fortunately accepted a hoop.
“It’s not excessively oily,” she noticed. It was cooler now and simpler to eat. The onions had a little bit of nice sweetness.
We ate all of the rings, and the server introduced bins for our leftovers.
Amy ordered the home made rice pudding for dessert and thoughtfully requested for an additional spoon.
“Robust vanilla style,” she reported. “Tremendous candy,” however “precisely what most individuals would need.” We agreed that the grated nutmeg minimize the sweetness a bit. “Actually scrumptious,” Amy mentioned.
We wrapped up the meal because the scrumptious aroma of just-delivered, fresh-cooked french fries wafted over from the sales space behind Amy.
The tab for this feast got here to $37.45 for each meals, my weight loss plan soda and a beneficiant tip. Deliver your verify to the hostess stand.
Schenectady has spirited impartial eating places — they’re spunky, generally gritty, however sincere, free from dreary duplication, and generally impressed. It’s among the best issues concerning the metropolis.
Somebody name the Schenectady County Historic Society and let’s speak about protecting data of the historical past of those family-owned companies that grow to be gathering locations and replicate a lot tradition by their meals. They add a lot to this metropolis.
Anyway, go go to the Bellevue Cafe for its expansive menu, pleasant and proficient servers with apron pockets filled with straws and, not final, home-cooked meals at an affordable worth. It’s not fancy, however we did so take pleasure in it.
Bellevue Cafe
WHERE: 2630 Broadway, Schenectady; (518) 393-7720; thebellevuecafe.com
WHEN: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day
HOW MUCH: $37.45 together with tax and tip
MORE INFO: Mastercard, Visa, American Specific, Uncover.
Parking zone. ADA Youngsters’s menu.
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