Review: Lynn's Paradise Cafe

You can go home again -- or at least a restaurant can go back to its home-cooking roots. That's exactly what's happened at Lynn's Paradise Cafe.

When the cafe famous for formica and fake trees opened in its original location on Frankfort Avenue more than a decade ago, it was renowned for giant Southern-style breakfasts and was a favorite destination for Saturday and Sunday brunch.

When the restaurant moved to larger digs on Barret Avenue, the fun-house decor came along and the menu expanded to fit the space.

Apparently, after a few years of experimenting with the likes of lobster dinners and "international nights" featuring menus based on different global cuisines, proprietor Lynn Winter believed it was time to focus on what customers had come to the restaurant for in the first place: Comfort food.

And if that's your pleasure, then indeed all is once more wonderful at the Paradise Cafe.

For example, if you love to eat bacon and eggs at dinner, you will be a happy camper here. A full page of morning-meal dishes is carried over to the lunch and dinner menus. These include the Nova Scotia omelet made with smoked salmon, a country ham "eggstravaganza" and the signature BLT fries, which are homemade French fries covered with Jack cheese, spinach, bacon, tomatoes and a horseradish sour cream.

At dinner, the prices include a choice of three of 19 side items. Several of these are flagged as vegetarian, and there are some meat-free entrees, too, such as a cheese grits soufflé and a veggie burger. But the menu probably will have the most appeal to meat-and-potatoes lovers.

Country ham steak, mom's meatloaf, home roasted turkey and a grilled bone-in pork chop are among the offerings at lunch and dinner. At the midday meal, you get a choice of two, instead of three, sides.

A couple of friends and I made a pretty good stab at sampling the sides the other evening, managing nine different dishes to pair with our trio of entrees.

Walnut crusted chicken ($13.95) is a dish left over from the previous menu. Juicy boneless breast of chicken is coated in crusted walnuts and a tangy Dijon mustard sauce. The quick-fried chicken is cut into strips. The sides for this were colorful sweet potato fries served with sorghum butter, spicy pan-fried apples and Southern (read boiled to softness) green beans seasoned with bacon. My friend who had this was so taken with her meal that she cleaned her plate -- no mean feat at Lynn's. She accompanied her dinner with a pint of draft Bass Ale ($3.95).

The fried catfish filet (also $13.95) is encased in a slightly spicy, crunchy cornmeal breading that's a fine foil to the muddy/sweet flavor of the tender fish itself. The festive coleslaw (bright orange carrot, bright red diced sweet pepper and bright green leaves of parsley participate in the cabbage/mayo mix) and soupy pinto beans, flavored with a little ham, were perfect choices with the fish. I had a pint of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale ($3.95) with the catfish. Drier than the somewhat fruity Bass, it was a good accompaniment.

A third side choice, banana pudding, was served with the dinner, but I set it aside for dessert.

The beef tenderloin medallions ($18.95) made my other friend really happy. He kept declaring that it was some of the best beef he'd had in a long time. The bite he let me try was indeed lean, tender and flavorful. The two 4-ounce medallions are served with Henry Bain sauce. The house version is not as thick as some, but the signature pickled walnut flavor is there.

Sides that went well with the beef were lima beans, flaky/crisp onion rings and a cup of fresh fruit. The short wine list suggested pairing the Montivina red zinfandel with the beef, and a glass ($4.50) was indeed a good companion. While not as peppery as some zins, this was just fine, because the beef was dressed with the zesty Henry Bain.

When we got to dessert, my friends decided they needed chocolate, so they shared a large slice of German chocolate cake ($5.25), which had a little less coconut and more chocolate than other representatives of its kind. They were not at all disappointed by this.

My banana pudding was sweet, creamy and fruity. In other words, just right, especially since I drank one of the cafe's signature coffee drinks with it. The chocolate gorilla ($3.95), made with espresso, banana and chocolate syrups and steamed milk, was served in a pint glass and topped with whipped cream.

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