Village Bakery and Cafe in Atwater

Across the street from Indian Sweet and Spice in Atwater is a cafe/bakery I've been eyeing for a while. Artist Jeffrey James Mohr's friend highly recommended it so off we went this week for lunch. Village Bakery and Cafe, 3119 Los Feliz Blvd., LA CA 90039, 323-662-8600 is small but very comfortable place with and indoor/outdoor seating area. The first thing that struck me when inside was the selection of baked goods. That and the bold chalkboard menu kind of made me a deer and headlights. I had a hard time deciding what to order. I settled on the Beet Salad (fresh greens, diced beets, grapefruit and nuts), which was so good, I never once poured the salad dressing. Instead, I used it as a dip for the hot out of the oven side bread. I also ordered the Fennel Soup, which was one of two specials of the day. Delicious, ripe, soothing and chunky, this soup made me full. Jeffe ordered the Turkey Dinner sandwich. During the lunch, he kept repeating, "Oh, this cranberry sauce is soooo good." Although we were completely full by the end of our meal, we couldn't resist ordering a baked good. That also took some time to decide. The Brownies were a special two for $4.50 so, how could we resist. It turned out to be a perfect choice. The ratio of butter to chocolate in these brownies was off the chart. It made the brownie light but decadent. When we got back to work, we opted to take the stairs to the 19th floor. We are getting wiser. Oh two things about this place; 1) the oven is awesome and 2) the service is fantastic, they are very proud and rightly so. They take great care in what they prepare and it shows. OK, three, the women there are breathtaking and gracious. They really melted our hearts. THERE, I said it!