State of breakfast

It was a bit like musical chairs when Beach House owner/manager Dave Libbey left to reopen CONNIE’S CAFÉ, a Sandpoint institution serving home-style meals since the ’50s. Libbey’s departure paved the way for Café Trinity’s owners to take over the Edgewater hotel location, now called Trinity at City Beach (Fresh & Tasty, 7/24/09). Yet it was music to the ears of loyal Connie’s customers who have followed the longtime restaurant’s struggles over the past few years as successive owners tried to make it.

The only part of the restaurant not fully restored to its former status, in fact, is the music portion in Connie’s Lounge, which is open but not booking bands right now.

In the meantime, the menu has been updated, along with some of the interior, booths, carpeting and parts of the kitchen facilities. But the general ambience is the same. It’s still the kind of diner where the light seems to be perpetually twilight, where a server will likely know your name if you’re a local, and where breakfast is a state of mind served daily until 2 pm.

Breakfast is chock full of the kinds of basics you’d expect at Grandma’s table: eggs, omelets, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, steak and eggs — even oat groats. The vegetarian benedict was a plentiful portion of crispy hashbrowns, poached eggs, avocado, tomato, spinach and hollandaise ($7, half/$9, full).

For lunch, steer toward the Angus beef burgers served with soup, fries or three kinds of salad (green, potato or coleslaw). Other lunch sandwiches ($9-$10) include home-style favorites like open-faced turkey or the Reuben. The Portobello salad with roasted red pepper ($9) and Caribbean chicken wrap with fruit salsa provide great appeal for health-conscious or summer-minded appetites.

For dinner, there are standbys like meatloaf ($9), fried chicken ($13), and weekend prime rib ($9/$20). Other menu items will come as a welcome surprise, like the bronzed escolar fish, which Connie’s does up Cajun style ($16), or Twisted Mac & Cheese with linguica sausage, fresh crab and roasted red peppers ($13).

Overall the menu has something for everyone, with reasonable prices and quick service. It’s the kind of place you can go for breakfast on a Sunday with the kids or hook up with friends for beer and appetizers out on the back patio and feel right at home. — CARRIE SCOZZARO
Connie’s, 323 Cedar St., Sandpoint, is open Mon-Sat 7 am-9 pm, Sun 8 am-8 pm. Call (208) 255-2227.