IF,
LIKE
ME,
you
are
hypoglycemic,
try
nibbling
a
cracker
or
candy
bar
before
entering
Baltimore’s
City
Café.
The
service
at
this
popular
restaurant
in
Mt.
Vernon,
Charm
City’s
trendy
gay
neighborhood,
wasn’t
top-notch
on
a
recent
Saturday
afternoon.
We
sat
waiting
to
be
noticed
for
about
20
minutes.
Ultimately,
I
dismissed
the
long
wait
as
a
one-time
flaw,
because
once
we
were
on
our
server’s
radar
screen
our
dining
experience
quickly
improved.
The
best
reason
to
visit
City
Café
is
its
food,
though
the
large
gay
clientele
also
holds
appeal.
LET’S
BEGIN
WITH
the
hummus.
Its
unique
mountaintop
design,
walled
by
triangular
pieces
of
pita
bread
and
tomato
balls,
was
unlike
any
I’ve
ever
seen.
And,
being
from
the
Middle
East,
I’ve
seen
a
lot
of
hummus.
Although
“with
no
onions”
usually
are
three
words
that
follow
every
order
I
place
when
dining
out,
I
forgot
to
make
this
request
when
ordering
the
vegetarian
nachos
at
City
Cafe.
To
my
surprise,
the
result
was
divine.
The
sweet
purple
onions
added
a
tangy
taste
to
this
Mexican
treat,
made
with
otherwise
typical
ingredients:
refried
beans,
cheddar
cheese,
sour
cream,
jalapenos,
chopped
tomatoes,
black
olives,
salsa
and
guacamole.
For
lunch,
try
the
grilled
chicken
filet
and
French
fries.
Fresh
does
not
even
begin
to
describe
City
Café’s
chicken
filet.
Thin,
almost
greaseless
French
fries
accompanied
my
sandwich.
My
dining
partner
decided
to
keep
things
light.
He
ordered
the
chicken
Caesar
wrap,
which
includes
grilled
chicken,
wrapped
in
a
yellow
flour
tortilla,
with
romaine
lettuce,
cherry
tomatoes
and
Caesar
dressing.
While
his
wrap
was
fairly
ordinary,
the
side
dish
of
cole
slaw
was
anything
but
bland.
It
included
finely
chopped
pieces
of
cabbage
combined
with
a
sweet,
creamy
mixture,
but
not
too
sweet,
not
too
juicy
and
not
too
dry.
For
dessert,
we
chose
the
Kahlúa
chocolate
cake
and
an
order
of
tiramisu.
Both
sweet
treats
were
quite
rich,
almost
too
rich,
yet
delicious,
even
if
they
were
served
on
not-so-fancy
dishes.
THE
CITY
CAFÉ,
with
its
black-and-white
checkerboard
floors
and
expansive
dining
area,
sits
on
a
corner
in
a
sturdy
building
that
used
to
be
a
car
dealership
in
the
early
’20s.
By
the
1970s,
however,
it
had
been
transformed
into
Girard’s,
a
nightclub,
which
often
was
compared
to
New
York’s
Studio
54.
But
as
disco
waned,
so,
too,
did
Girard’s.
In
1994,
the
restaurant’s
current
owners,
Gino
Cardinale
and
Bruce
Bodie,
launched
the
area’s
only
coffeehouse
there.
Four
years
later,
they
transformed
the
coffeehouse
into
a
full-scale
restaurant
and
cocktail
bar,
with
two
floors.
In
addition
to
good
food,
City
Café’s
early
and
late
operating
hours
make
it
an
ideal
gathering
spot
for
various
patrons
on
their
way
somewhere
fun.
Its
hours
are:
Sundays,
9
a.m.
to
11
p.m.,
Monday-Thursday,
8
a.m.
to
11
p.m.,
Fridays,
8
a.m.
to
midnight,
and
Saturdays,
9
a.m.
to
midnight.
Appetizers,
lunch
and
dinner
options
range
from
$3.95
to
$19.95.
