The day we were there the special was a chicken fried steak sandwich. It came on toasted bread with thick slices of cheddar cheese, farm-fresh tomatoes and crispy lettuce. We also ordered the BLT, which came laden with bacon in addition to fresh L and T.

Each lunch comes with a choice of French fries, beer-battered onion rings, tater tots, potato salad or coleslaw. The tater tots were nice and crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, clearly deep fried and not microwaved or baked to save time. "Grandma's Potato Salad" was tangy, with just the right mix of soft, bland potatoes and crunchy pickles and onions.

The wait staff was extremely attentive, filling water regularly and checking in. We sat outside, which was comfortable and inviting, and offered many interesting sites. On one side, Highway 22 goes flying by, but if you turn around there's a lovely nursery with blooming flowers and rustic farm equipment. Inside seating is also available and feels like a cozy `50s diner.

Prices for lunch are a little high, ranging from around $4.95 for grilled cheese to $9.95 for grilled chicken Caesar salad. Rest assured that you are getting good value for your dollar. The portions are nice and large and everything -- including the meat -- is fresh and, when possible, local.  

After enjoying lunch, we were told that the café's real specialty is breakfast. And why wouldn't it be? French toast, "stuffed" pancakes and waffles all come laden with fresh fruit from the stand and whip cream. A highlight that I will be sure to enjoy soon is the all you can eat  "waffle boat." It is available for $9.95 and is shaped like a boat and, according to their menu, comes "ready to be sunk" with fresh fruit.

When breakfast (or lunch) is through, be sure to stop in to the fruit stand next door, which is owned and run by Melony's parents, Clyde and Cindy. They offer fruits and vegetables as they come in season. That means, according to Cindy, that strawberries and cherries begin in June, raspberries by the 4th of July, blueberries the next week, with boysenberries and marionberries soon to come afterwards. When the peaches start in July they'll run through September, cycling through different varieties as each become ready.
Best of all the fruit stand offers ice cream creations, such as sundaes, waffle cone sundaes, shakes and even shortcake. Flavors for the delicacies vary with the season. When we were there we enjoyed the strawberry shortcake platter, which came with two large servings of ice cream, delicious shortcake, mounds of strawberries and a hearty dollop of whipped cream for $5.95. It was enough to easily satisfy two. Another specialty that day was the strawberry sundae waffle cone, which also looked scrumptious.

Half the fun of both the restaurant and the fruit stand is finding out what is in season and how the Aspinwall clan has made it even more delicious.