915 Linden Avenue
Carpinteria
(805) 566-5954
7:30AM to 3:00 Wed-Sun
High PointsI know I may lose some of you here, especially Bush Sr., but Chamomile Café won me over with their grilled broccoli, one of several savvy sides served with the “main” dishes during breakfast and lunch. (Runner up: the wafer-thin sweet potatoes—a cross between a chip and a flat, air fry.) From a nutritional reckoning, its all the easier to justify ordering maple syrup-drenched pancakes if they’re washed down with something healthy. And the broccoli is no boring piece of steamed green—soft, but crisp and blackened in places for flavor with some red bell pepper thrown in for good measure.
Overall, the food is scrumptious—a word that I use judiciously, but here, is warranted considering Chamomile’s cute factor. It’s also fairly affordable, considering the quality, $5.95 to $11.95 for breakfast fare, sandwiches, salads and “not sandwiches”—try the wrap from this section. Part country café, part bakery, all Californian comfort food, this is a place that foodies of many flavors will find nourishing, yet indulgent.
The owner marches to the beat of her own drum and is in possession of an admirable philosophy—everything made-from-scratch—as exhausting as it must be. Multiple trips confirmed somewhat weary staffers—seemingly like they could use another pair, or two, of hands around. Nonetheless, touches like homegrown mint iced tea, coffee beans roasted weekly by a local purveyor and handcrafted soups and salad dressings make up for un-bussed tables or anything else slightly askew. As for the bakery, fluffy loaves of fresh-from-the-oven bread look almost cartoonish, and plump, oversize cookies smack of a Mid-Western fair. Try a Savannah Chocolate Chew—you’ll never know that they use ground nuts in lieu of flour.
The sandwiches pleased every time—perfect charring on the grilled veggie and a masterful BLT with turkey bacon—both served with one of those unique sides and a small salad. Breakfast was equally satisfying—we liked the Breakfast Quesadilla and persnickety friends who claimed not to like Hollandaise dug into my Eggs Benedict without complaint. The classic sauce was light and lemony and is only available on Sundays. Hand-picked teas and frothy chai lattes lent a luxe atmosphere to brunch and all the plates came garnished with a generous side of un-wilted fresh fruit.
As evidenced by the owner’s statement on the back of the bags of granola and other treats for sale, she’d rather eat a plate of steamed broccoli over wasted-calorie, conveyor belt cookies. However, the toss up between Chamomile’s cookies and vegetables is a hard one. It’s easy to fall for both.
Low Points
For such an organically-minded outfit, we were surprised to see Styrofoam cups at the self-serve water station. Although on another visit, we were served water in tall plastic tumblers—a much better option. We don’t mind fetching our own agua, just stock the tumblers by the cooler. My dining companion du jour, who usually will eat anything, did fish a couple pieces of lettuce out of his salad that had seen better days. Lastly, the place was in need of a spring shakedown—indoor planters were looking a bit pallid.
Tip: Being a WIFI hot spot makes it easy to linger over work at Chamomile.
***1/2
$$
No comments:
Post a Comment