Entertainment/Ticket - Dining

Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008

Dining Out: Paso Robles' Cafe Vio is one cozy place

Paso’s Cafe Vio offers a healthy lineup of breakfast and lunch entrees along with an inviting coffeehouse atmosphere

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The atmosphere at Paso Robles’ Cafe Vio may feel more like a large, cozy living room than a wireless Internet destination. But this unique restaurant is a comfortable place to work, study or relax for laptop and coffee junkies alike.

There’s now also a healthy lineup of breakfast and lunch foods that new owner Mena Courtney has been refining since she bought the place late last year.

Mena’s husband, Alan, is responsible for the tempting case of muffins, scones, pastries and cookies that pair perfectly with a latte or flavored coffee. All are baked here daily, often more than once a day in order to keep the cookies and muffins warm and fresh from the oven.

“We wanted to offer easy breakfast, easy lunch, salads, sandwiches, soups,” Mena says of her daily menu. “Very simple, very fresh.”

Mena is keenly aware of her health-conscious customers, and also offers several vegetarian dishes.

Breakfast choices

I started with the veggie omelette ($5.95), which came with a side of fresh fruit, choice of toast and salsa on the side. The omelette was prepared by Mena’s son Sonny, who works in the kitchen most mornings—a side job to his young winemaking career. Filled with finely chopped peppers, onions, mushrooms and herbs, and layered with cheese, the savory breakfast was a bargain at under $6.

Other breakfast choices include a breakfast burrito, egg white omelette, and bagel and lox—not to mention the dozens of choices of muffins, scones and cinnamon rolls.

A wide selection of international coffees, espressos, lattes, mochas and teas is available, and the cafe is a popular morning stop for downtown merchants on their way to work, opening at 6 each day.

For the lunch crowd

Lunch at the cafe includes a “choose your own” selection of sandwiches, with a standard assortment of meats, cheeses, breads and sides. All sandwiches are $8, and can be served panini-style from the grill.

I ordered a Thai chicken salad ($9.25) from the hand-written menu. The salad was presented on a colorful ceramic plate and included loads of fresh lettuce with green onions, mandarin oranges, blanched almonds and crunchy chow mein noodles. The dressing was lightly sweet, and the chicken was moist, but I wished for more crunchy vegetables like carrots, peppers or cabbage. I also wasn’t crazy about the American-style chow mein noodles, but Courtney says all her recipes are works in progress, so hopefully she’ll continue to refine this one.

There are several other fresh salads on the menu, all at $9.25.

After my sensible salad, I opted for one of Alan’s freshly baked chocolate chip cookies ($1 each). Measuring at least 5 inches in diameter, this is one huge cookie. Packed with chocolate chips, the outside edges were crunchy while the interior was soft and chewy. Alan makes these up to three or four times a day depending on demand, and mine was warm from the oven and oozing chocolate.

The Courtneys are the first to admit they haven’t had any formal restaurant experience. “I’m not cooking anything special — just everything I’ve made at home for over 30 years,” Mena explains. And because she is only 10 months into the new venture, the menu and food is good, but don’t expect great.

Inviting atmosphere

What you can expect is a warm, inviting environment with soft sofas, armchairs and private table areas. Wireless Internet access is free if you have your own laptop, and only $5 an hour if you want to use one of the cafe’s computers.

And a recently added wine list of mostly Central Coast wines — offered by the glass or the bottle — adds a new dimension to the evening choices. Special events like Singles’ Night, Speed Dating, Sunday Pajama parties and weekend music are bringing new customers to the traditionally morning-only coffee spot that Central Coast Magazine just named the “best coffeehouse in North County.”

“I knew you couldn’t sell enough coffee to keep the doors open,” Mena figured from the start of the new venture. With fresh new food items, a continued effort to refine them, and the addition of wine and evening events to the cafe, the Courtneys have brought new life to this 8-year-old downtown cafe.

Reach freelance writer Janis Switzer at janisswitzer@yahoo.com.