Folks who work in Clayton will want to check out this new food find. The Patio Cafe opened last week in the first floor of The Equity Building at 7711 Bonhomme Ave., between South Hanley Road and South Bemiston Avenue. The restaurant has a lineup of breakfast and lunch fare that impresses with its freshness and creativity.
For the early hours, the standout news is that, since co-owners Molly O’Connor and Billy Corrington opted to serve Northwest Coffee from their espresso bar, Northwest Coffee Roasting Co. co-owner Rick Milton trained them on the ins and outs of making barista eggs – steamed eggs prepared using an espresso steamer. The eggs are then served either stand-alone or with other ingredients in a sandwich or wrap. Milton put barista eggs on the menu at his own coffeehouse earlier this year. The Patio Cafe also offers an assortment of baked breakfast goods like muffins, scones and bagels.
As for lunch, you’ll find made-to-order salads – try the Maple that features grilled chicken, bacon, candied walnuts, raisins, goat cheese and red onion with a house-made maple vinaigrette on a bed of mixed greens, or the Blueberry, with the blue immune-booster atop mixed greens, chicken, candied walnuts, red onion and blue cheese plus a drizzle of raspberry-walnut vinaigrette. The café also features two soups daily, along with a sizeable selection of hearty sandwiches and hot paninis and wraps that you can enjoy on the outdoor patio while the weather is still nice.
Another note of difference: the café has banh mi ga on the menu. Its version of this Vietnamese chicken sandwich has spiced chicken keeping company with pickles, carrots, radishes, cucumber and a smear of mayo on a baguette. “I don’t know of anyone else in Clayton that has it,” said O’Connor of the light, yet full-flavored sandwich.
The Patio Cafe is the second venue that O’Connor and Corrington operate (full disclosure: Molly O’Connor is the sister-in-law of Sauce editor Katie O’Connor). Six years ago, the partners opened Sweet Peas in The Sevens Building on Bonhomme Avenue, to the immediate west of The Equity Building. Sweet Peas, although it’s located on the building’s ninth floor, is open to the public. Offerings from the grab-and-go case, salad bar and soon-to-launch hot dog bar are primarily geared for take-away rather than sit-down dining. Both locations are only open weekdays. The Patio Cafe operates from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sweet Peas is open from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
This article appears in Oct 1-31, 2010.