By Suzanne Schmidt
The Garden Café in Dade City is a quaint place to enjoy a lunch of made-to-order salads, soups and sandwiches.
Melanie Yates opened the restaurant two years ago in what was once a car garage. She said she tries to keep that authentic charm while making it a nice dining experience.
“I started using the phrase ‘it is more than just lunch,’” Yates said. “We have china and linen napkins. It is a nice classy atmosphere.”
The focus is on quality of food and service.
“We make sure people get friendly service and that the food gets out on time,” Yates said. “We make everything fresh to order, but we also make the effort to get people in and back out so they can get back to work on time.”
She said she loves coming up with creative new dishes.
“I am very passionate,” Yates said. “I have a lot of ideas I am still working on. Right now the menu is pretty basic with homemade soups, salads, sandwiches and desserts. I try to revamp the menu every six months. I add a lot of things to the menu when I get a lot of customer requests for it.”
Yates said she also tries to cater to people with special needs.
“I try to have a vegetarian soup every day and we also have vegetarian items on the menu,” Yates said. “We don’t have a gluten-free menu, but we do have lots of items that are gluten free and we are working on getting more. We also try to accommodate customer’s requests like if someone has a food allergy.”
For people with pets, the outside seating area is dog friendly. The restaurant has dog treats and water bowls for the dogs.
One of the things Yates is hoping to do something about is Dade City’s lack of entertainment options. She said she already has a violin player on Friday at lunchtime. Currently she is only open at lunchtime, but she is hoping to start serving dinner with entertainment soon.
“There is not a lot to do in Dade City in the evening,” Yates said. “It is my goal to come up with different dinner events like jazz nights. I want to have something for people to do. I am hoping to get more musicians and maybe do wine tastings or that sort of thing.”
Amy Costigan works at Wells Fargo across the street from the restaurant. She said she likes to eat the restaurant once a week.
“I like the variety and the freshness of the food,” Costigan said. “I like the atmosphere; it has an eclectic, warm feel.”
Scott Daigle also works at Wells Fargo. He likes to go to the restaurant once a month because it is convenient.
“I think it is cute and the food is always good,” Daigle said. “I always get something different and I haven’t been disappointed yet.”
It was the first time visiting the restaurant for friends Betty Kunkel of San Antonio, Sue Woods of San Antonio and Jo-Ann Markwis, a former Dade City resident. All three women said they loved it and would definitely be back.
“The flowering tea is fascinating,” Markwis said. “Everything looks so good, I just want to try it all. Everybody here is so friendly and the service has been wonderful.”
Sue Woods of San Antonio said she loved the food and the atmosphere.
“The fried green tomatoes were delicious,” Woods said. “Being here makes me think back to when this used to be a thriving garage. I like places like this.”
Kunkel said she cannot wait to come back and try more of the food.
“I think it is adorable,” Kunkel said. “I really love it.”
The restaurant is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and Sunday. The café also offers catering and free delivery to downtown Dade City businesses. For more information, call (352) 567-7277 or visit www.dineinthegarden.com.
Rice and Black Bean Salad
Prepare 3 cups of Uncle Ben’s Rice or preferred long grain rice according to package directions. Rice should be soft and fluffy. Let rice cool.
Finely chop following ingredients:
1 green bell pepper
1 large red tomato
1 medium red onion
1/3 bunch cilantro
Additional Ingredients:
¾ cup of crumbled feta cheese
2 cups of favorite dressing, preferably a vinaigrette or Italian
Add all of the above ingredients to cooled rice. Stir together and refrigerate.
