Home, Home in the Fry-O-Later – My Homestyle Cafe

I nominate this place for Best Color Scheme in a Restaurant. Brilliant yellow and Greek blue is such a happy and fun combination. I had passed the restaurant on one of my brief forays into Downtown Vallejo some weeks ago and was intrigued by the bright colors. I thought to myself, “now that’s a place I want to try!” Imagine my delight when, on M day, My Homestyle Café came right to the top of the list, the only other viable competition being Max’s of Manila. I may be a bit of a sadist, so I actually did think about pushing the Max’s choice, but at heart, I really do want to eat a good lunch. And, truth to tell, even I’m getting a bit discouraged by what I’m finding. Not that I’m ready to give up, but I do need some encouragement from the food side to keep going. I’m starvin’ here!

The Process:
Hula Girl was in a bit of a hurry, so we rushed out of the building with barely an address in hand and no idea about what to order. We shouted out a promise to Tuna and Cougar to call them with a menu read through in case they wanted to put in an order. There was plenty of parking in front of the café and, surprisingly, it was packed. The atmosphere was, well, lively as it was the owner’s birthday. Cakes and presents filled a few of the tables in front, and I took this as a good sign that the food would live up to this early promise. After a hasty call back to the office, Tuna and Cougar opted for the same meal.

The Chow:

There is truth in advertising ! My Homestyle Café serves, well, homestyle food. Down home. I wasn’t able to peek into the kitchen, but my best guess would be that they have more than two industrial sized Fry-O-Laters running at full bore back there. I have to say that I really, really wanted to like this place more than I did. I had the Philly Cheesesteak, which was one of the specials of the day, Fried Catfish being the other. The rest of the kids had the 3 piece fish and chips meal. Super Fry ! I liked the Philly Cheesesteak. I really did.



The Wrap:
Ohhhhhhhhhh. Owwwwwwwww. My stomach hurts. No, I mean it, my stomach really hurts. “Does anyone have a banana? I’ve gotta get that oil taste out of my mouth.”

The Rating: 2.6 out of 5.