The Grove Cafe

With only six "Fun Frank Fridays" left, I've tried to  adhere to a few simple rules.  Rule number one is to never wear the same shirt twice, rule number two is that the restaurant must serve the food to me rather than standing at a take out counter or buffet, and rule number three is that we do it for a Friday night dinner.  This is a prime example of how I am always breaking the rules.  I get tired of trying to find places that are not crowded or has the cookie cutter type breakfast food.  I finally found a place that feels secluded yet cozy with an option of indoor or patio seating.  The Grove Cafe is located on 27th Avenue just north of Baseline at a place called "Venue at the Grove".  They are only open on Saturdays and Sundays from 8am to noon.  At the time we arrived, Patti was too chilled in her light jacket to sit outside, so we choose indoor seating.  We were seated at one of the many open tables and Patti remarked how impressive it was that if four people sat at this one table she would not feel one bit crowded.
To warm us up on this brisk fall morning, we both opted for hot chocolate.  I was happy to sip on my hot chocolate that didn't actually burn my tongue when it came to the table.  Many of the places I have been to, the hot chocolate is either too cold or boiling, it is nice to find someone who gets it right.

I was looking for a meal that was going to fill me up for the day, so I ordered "The Phoenix".  This consisted of pork chili verde, roasted peppers, salsa verde and queso fresco topped with salsa mexicana and cilantro.  In plain English this means an egg omelette filled with shredded pork then topped with salsa and fresh cheese.  Served on the side was the Grove potatoes and a buttermilk biscuit.  I really enjoyed that they did not skimp on any ingredients.  Every bite had a large amount of shredded pork.  The toppings gave just the right amount of tang to where no other flavoring needed to be added to the eggs. 

This also goes for the potatoes as I tend to put extra salt and pepper on my hashbrowns but there was no need for these served here.  The buttermilk biscuit was freshly made and served with a sweet butter topping that is to die for!  Don't let the name "The Phoenix" fool you.  This was not a hot and spicy meal, in fact it was quite mild but if you are looking for more kick there is tabasco provided at the table.  A nice sweet touch touch to finish off  your meal is the garnish of a fresh strawberry.`

Patti was enticed by the specials board outside the door and ordered the Pancake of the Day, which on this day was Banana served with peanut butter sauce.  If she hadn't ordered it, I most certainly was planning to.  This meal comes with three large buttermilk pancakes with fresh bananas cooked in the batter then topped with fresh sliced bananas and peanut butter.  They serve it with maple syrup on the side but she found it unnecessary as the pancakes were moist enough from the bananas inside.  One of the nice touches I enjoyed from one of the few bites she would allow me to have, was the hint of cinnamon in the batter.  It was not too overwhelming to make her give up more bites but rather gave a nice balance to the peanut butter/banana blend.  Although she took half of it home, she still wouldn't let me have any left-overs.

The Grove is not an overpriced restaurant.  We enjoyed a fabulous meal and paid similar to what we would have spent in a chain like IHOP.

So when you on my side of town, this is a great place to have breakfast.  Because if you haven't had peanut butter/banana pancakes, you should try it now!