We Like Mike

Michael's Café

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Published: May 26, 2009

IT’S BEEN MORE than two months since Ben Bernanke claimed to see "green shoots" in the American economy, but rays of nurturing sunshine haven’t come quickly enough for Philadelphia's restaurants. Everywhere you look, there are meal and drink deals that border on desperation: Le Bec-Fin’s $15.23 "express lunch," for starters.

These are hard times to turn a profit from any place whose business plan dates to the era of irrational exuberance. So Michael's Café, which Michael Clouston opened in April on Passyunk Avenue, has an advantage. It doesn't need to rely on special promotions or off-hour discounts, because its entire concept is in synch with our recessionary moment. Breakfast starts at $5, lunch tops out at $8, and dinner is priced mostly in the low teens — including soup or salad.

The fare is straightforward comfort food, and the vibe matches the menu. Michael's interior looks like your great-grandmother's parlor, that is, if your great-grandmother wasn’t above using an old card catalog to store napkins. The staff is casual and friendly. This is the kind of place where a neighbor can read the breakfast specials and say, "What, the chef changed the omelette again? I wanted yesterday's," and a server will call him by name and reply, "Don't worry about it. He'll make you yesterday's."

Omelettes, French toast and pancakes are about as complicated as it gets in the morning, when the sidewalk tables bask in a calmness befitting a meditation retreat. Dinner is classic Americana: think chicken stew, or turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce.

Those are a little old-fashioned for my taste — and I'm unlikely to pine for them in high summer — but I was pleasantly surprised by dinner here. The meatballs in a linguine special were as tender as the ones that take me most of an afternoon to make. A giant hunk of meatloaf also boasted a light texture, though its flavor could have been a little more adventurous. But the accompanying sour-cream-laced mashed potatoes were chunky and rustic in a good way, and I loved the yellow squash that rounded out the plate, tossed with unusually vibrant sun-dried tomatoes. A bacon-spiked cup of roasted corn chowder found the veggies in proper control of the show.

Thursdays are Indian vegetarian night, with curries over quinoa that reflect chef Nick Bronson’s unusual culinary start, at a local Hare Krishna temple. (Disclosure: Bronson occasionally writes for this paper, and I met him once, two years ago, when I wrote about his breadmaking at Baker Street Baking Co. I believe I eluded him here.) But that too is a sort of comfort food, and if comfort's what you're after, Michael's is well worth a try.

(t_popp@citypaper.net)

Michael's Café | 1623 E. Passyunk Ave., 215-389-9915 | Breakfast, $5-$8.50; lunch, $5-$8; dinner, $10-$18 | Open Wed.-Thu., 7 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 7 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sun., 7 a.m.-3 p.m. | BYOB

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