Tomato Pie Cafe [Review]
Another weekend, another Lancaster brunch spot. Despite the unexpected April snow showers, B and I decided to venture out to Lititz, "America's coolest small town," to visit Tomato Pie Cafe. As a child, my mom and grandmother would often take me to Lititz over Christmas to visit their folk art shops and walking around the cute little streets brought back tons of memories. The snow had me thinking about the carolers we'd see on the streets and I had to stop myself from looking around corners to see where they were hiding.
The Place
Tomato Pie Cafe is impossibly cute. It's in a quaint old building with all the charms of yesteryear. Beautiful dark wood railings polished within an inch of their life and small alcoves with tables for two marked the cafe's elegance. With the snowy day and small windows, the lighting wasn't very good for pictures, but I had B snap a few—and I even snuck a quick shot of him! It was the perfect atmosphere for a Saturday morning brunch.
The Coffee
The cafe also touts a fairly extensive espresso bar. Much to my chagrin I still haven't developed a taste for black coffees and espressos, but B is a pretty savvy coffee connoisseur. I ordered a caramel latte and was very pleased with the foam art. The latte itself was fairly strong and caught me off guard at first, but I quickly adapted and enjoyed the rich taste. B was starry-eyed over his Americano and enjoyed his choice immensely.
The Food
In an attempt to try something new, I ordered coconut quinoa pancakes. As a self-proclaimed quinoa-loather, I couldn't believe that I made this choice...but it actually turned out to be pretty good. The first bite had me filled with regret because after the initial bite of coconutty goodness, I was met with the sharp earthy taste of the quinoa, which turned my stomach. But the second bite lessened the horror of the quinoa taste and I could focus on the interesting texture of the pancake and the coconut cream topping. Perhaps not something I would order again, but I'm certainly glad I tried it and would recommend it to coconut and quinoa fans.
B has this horrible habit of ordering weird brunch items that I would not touch with a ten-foot pole. This time he went with a Smoked Salmon Benedict that consisted of grit cakes, poached eggs (which are simply gross to look at), and salmon—all things I have no interest in trying. While I blanched at the idea of sampling it, B was very pleased with his choice and thought it was delicious. I did think the presentation was lovely and photographed quite nicely.
We spent the rest of the morning walking around in the snowy downtown and found B's newest obsession: Renewal Kombucha. But that requires a whole different post so stay tuned for a review of another Lititz treasure! If you're in the area, definitely check out Tomato Pie Cafe, even if it is to just bask in the charm.