Owned by a father-daugther team, new Chase Street restaurant Heirloom Cafe is on a mission to promote community by serving locally-grown foods.
Heirloom Cafe is located off Chase Street, and was opened earlier this summer by Jessica Rothacker and Travis Burch. ALLISON LOVE/ Staff
Local food is a passion of mine, and I’d heard good things about Heirloom Cafe, so I was excited to go.
My first visit was at the last-minute request of a friend, and I was impressed by the appetizer I ordered so I went back for a second and third time.
On each of my three visits, the service was polite and friendly. The staff were helpful, happy and well-informed about the menu.
First, I had the Panzanella dinner starter, consisting of cubed sourdough bread tossed with heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, red onion, garlic, mozzarella and balsamic vinaigrette.
The vegetables were delicious and packed with flavor, especially the tomatoes.
I’m not usually a fan of cucumbers, but even they were tasty — full of local flavor — reminding me of the delectable roadside strawberries I once had in Norway, which forever destroyed my taste perception of typical store-bought strawberries.
And though the bread got soggy quickly, the mushy texture worked well with the squishy mozzarella cubes, which were soft and soaked up the medley’s other tastes.
The vinaigrette was thankfully not over-used, like with many salads, so all the veggie flavors were easily distinguishable in the mix, ensuring each bite was pronounced and delicious.
My next visit was at lunchtime, and I was impressed by the affordable $7 to $10 menu.
I ordered The Screened Porch — a housemade pimento cheese sandwich with sprouts, cucumber and tomato on multigrain bread with a side of sweet potato chips.
Once again, the tomato and cucumber slices were mouth watering, tasting like vegetables are supposed to taste; the produce at conventional grocery stores can’t even compare to the full punch of these local veggies.
The homemade pimento cheese was mouth-watering, too, and enticingly rich — but maybe a little too rich.
Though the cheese was heavy, the hearty multigrain bread helped to even out the richness.
Unable to finish it, however, I took half of the sandwich home … but couldn’t resist eating it before it even made it to the fridge.
Finally, I ordered the Homestyle Meatloaf sandwich, which includes tomato confit, fried onion strings and arugula on a hamburger bun.
Soft and well-seasoned, the sweet meatloaf was balanced by a salty bacon wrap, which was fatty and absorbed the meatloaf’s kick.
The sweet flavor of the meatloaf also worked well with the hamburger bun, which absorbed some of the yummy flavors too.
Though it was too heavy to eat as a late breakfast, I would recommend it as a lunch.
Overall, I’m impressed by the neighborhood bistro and look forward to trying more seasonal menu items.
More importantly, the food is well worth the price.