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Cornershop

by G.A. Benton

WILL SHILLING PHOTO

There's really not much to describe about Café Corner's appearance; it's teeny and almost looks like it might've been a filling station once. What it is now is a cute, big-city-style soup, artisanal sandwich and salad shop—and I like it a lot.

But before I get to the Café's food, let me encourage you to get there soon, while the weather is still cooperative. Because, yeah, there's a couple of tables inside this cramped, counter-ordering restaurant, but sitting outside on the Café's relaxing deck-like patio is definitely the way to go.

Window boxes filled with herbs lend a pinch of Proven?e to the patio's simple black metal tables, which are shaded by huge umbrellas and brightened by little fishbowls with floating daisies. It's a very pleasant setting to while away a lunch hour smack dab in the middle of a quiet neighborhood, albeit one with automobiles often zooming up and down its Third Avenue boundary.

As a mini sandwich board sign informs passersby, Café Corner serves over 50 daily items. These range from creative breakfast bites to sometimes busy but generally expertly built sandwiches, plus a few soups and salads.

The salads I tried were alright, but not necessarily what Café Corner excels in. Still, the House ($6, with homemade croutons, feta and decent greens) and the mammoth C.C. Salad ($7, mixed lettuces arrived top-heavy with walnuts, dried cranberries and chunks of blue cheese) both tasted fresh enough and their basil-hit balsamic emulsions were perfectly fine.

The two soups I sipped were simple, fresh, smooth purees. A handful of whole beans sat at the bottom of an unchunky black bean soup and a bit of feta floated on top. Otherwise there was delicious broth and a restrained hand at the seasoning helm. This was also true for the thinnish tomato soup with its mixed veggie, V8-like flavor.

For breakfast, Café Corner offers inspired fare such as a Truffled Egg sandwich ($7) and an excellent Green Eggs and Ham ($8).

As for the latter, I would eat it on a ladder with a batter or in an oven with a coven or in a hole with a mole... you get the idea. Two eggs (mine looked and tasted basted in brown butter) were lightly sprinkled with fresh basil and partnered with generous servings of fresh-cut prosciutto, shaved parmesan and wonderfully crunchy roasted garlic toast.

That excellent, crispy bread treatment was also characteristic of the Café's superb sandwich making. And that was true for either a hot or toasted "cold" sandwich on any one of four top-notch loaf styles.

So a crunchy, crevice-y, Old-World bread served as the marvelous container for the Fig and Prosciutto ($9). It ate like the best grilled cheese sandwich this side of grandma, but one redesigned with provolone, sweet calimyrna figs, salty ham, a touch of truffle oil and a bit of balsamic.

Most important, its ingredients were perfectly proportioned, just like those in the Mediterranean Tuna Salad ($9). That winner had the good sense to mimic a Salade Ni?oise and pair kalamata olives (here in a tapenade) with good canned tuna, red onions and greens (plus some wisps of fennel tops).

The Pesto Avocado ($8.50) was like a reverie of summer on terrific toast. Minerally, grassy sprouts and crunchy cucumber slices were formidable foils for rich pristine green avocado, creamy goat cheese and a basil pesto made with walnuts.

A rare Café case of uneven proportions was the Eggplant Parmesan ($6). Its unbattered grilled eggplant effectively got lost in fresh-tasting tomato sauce and a plethora of provolone. While it tasted like a delicious pizza bread sandwich, it needed more eggplant.

The Café's Cuban Sandwich ($8) tasted nice with its good balance of pickles, mustard, cheese and meats, but it was untraditional in its use of turkey and lack of a good smashing. Call it a sorta tiny Florida instead of a true little Havana.

But these are nitpicks. Because overall, this excellently performing place with its high-quality ingredients and skilled sandwich making (it's all that and a bag of good chips) belies the size of its modest space. So G.A. says if you find yourself backed into this Café Corner, simply eat your way out. You'll be glad you did.

September 27th, 2007

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