Valerie Phillips, Particular to the Commonplace-Examiner
Proprietor/chef Jay Tyler poses exterior the Lovin’ Cup Café in Huntsville.
Lovin’ Cup Café has an Previous West-meets-rock-concert vibe. In a great way.
The constructing, subsequent to the Taking pictures Star Saloon in Huntsville, is product of rough-cut logs and wooden flooring. However inside, proprietor/chef Jay Tyler adorned it with posters of live shows he’s attended, such because the Grateful Lifeless, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Jeff Beck and Widespread Panic.
And the menu reads as in case you’re attending a live performance. It begins out with an inventory of “Openers,” or gentle breakfast gadgets, and strikes on to “Headliners,” or hearty breakfast fare. Then there’s the “Second Set” of sandwiches; “With Particular Friends” that includes sides, soup and salads; and eventually the “After Celebration” of desserts.
Lots of the gadgets have tune references. As an illustration, Born on the Bayou (the Creedence Clearwater hit) is a three-egg omelet with Andouille sausage, peppers, onions, tomatoes, cheddar and jack cheese, served with Cajun potatoes (breakfast potatoes with Cajun seasoning) and toast.
I Am the Eggman (from the Beatles’ “I Am The Walrus”) is a breakfast sandwich with two over-hard eggs, tomato, cheddar and jack cheese on grilled sourdough. The bread is made in-house from a sourdough starter that’s seven years previous and counting.
Valerie Phillips, Particular to the Commonplace-Examiner
The New England-style clam chowder with house-baked sourdough bread is one among chef/proprietor Jay Tyler’s signature dishes.
The favored Ruben and Cherise (from a Grateful Lifeless tune) is a Reuben sandwich of corned beef, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese on grilled rye bread. There’s additionally a Raspberry Beret salad, which will get its Prince-inspired identify from the house-made berry French dressing.
Even the restaurant’s identify, Lovin’ Cup, comes from a Rolling Stones tune.
“I’ve been in a band, and we performed that tune so much,” Tyler mentioned. “Lovin’ Cup additionally suits nicely as a result of soups are a serious a part of what we do right here.”
The truth is, for each bowl of soup bought, Tyler donates 25 cents to the meals financial institution.
“I advised my daughter once I make my first million, I’ll begin donating,” he mentioned. “However I noticed that I in all probability gained’t make that within the restaurant enterprise, so I would as nicely begin donating now.”
Valerie Phillips, Particular to the Commonplace-Examiner
Proprietor/chef Jay Tyler of the Lovin’ Cup Café.
New England-style clam chowder is his signature soup, drawing from his upbringing close to Boston. Whereas working on the Appalachian Mountain Membership in New Hampshire, he discovered secrets and techniques of constructing soup from scratch and developed his creamy, crowd-pleasing clam chowder.
“If I ever get well-known, I hope it’s for my clam chowder,” he mentioned. “It’s genuine; it’s what I grew up with.”
After touring and dealing in Australia, New Zealand after which a summer time in Idaho, he discovered his solution to Ogden. He spent 20 years cooking in Ogden eating places, together with Rooster’s and Jeremiah’s.
In 2017, Tyler opened First Class Catering and had a profitable run promoting soup on the Ogden Farmers Market. Then, he heard that the Huntsville constructing — former dwelling of the Blue Coyote Café — was obtainable.
“I’ve skied so much up right here and I feel it’s lovely, and it’s rising,” Tyler mentioned. “I needed to get in right here whereas it’s younger.”
Valerie Phillips, Particular to the Commonplace-Examiner
The favored Smoked Up Salmon BLT options salmon that’s smoked in-house.
Presently, the restaurant is open 7 a.m. to three p.m. every day, besides Tuesdays, when it’s closed. Tyler hopes to broaden the hours and add a nightly dinner particular when he’s in a position to rent extra employees. His daughter, Holly, is one among his staffers.
“It’s vital to me to present individuals a great job and pay our servers a dwelling wage,” he mentioned. “I’m making an attempt to make it a great, wholesome work setting as a substitute of excessive stress with everybody yelling at all people. That simply doesn’t fly anymore.”
His menu — largely produced from scratch — provides a wide range of each wholesome gadgets and hearty consolation meals, “so there’s one thing for almost everybody,” Tyler mentioned.
Lots of the “Openers” are nutrition-minded, such because the Bruce Banner (a inexperienced smoothie of avocado, blended greens, contemporary banana and natural plant-based protein powder) and the Purple Haze Bowl (acai berry blended with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and banana topped with native honey, coconut and house-made granola).
There’s additionally Loxed, Stocked and On A Bagel (house-smoked salmon on a toasted bagel with cream cheese, caper and crimson onion).
Valerie Phillips, Particular to the Commonplace-Examiner
The Rock ‘n’ Cinnamon Roll is produced from scratch on the Lovin’ Cup Café.
“We smoke the salmon ourselves,” Tyler mentioned.
It’s additionally used within the Smoked Up Salmon BLT ($13.99), the place the salmon is sandwiched with thick-cut bacon, lettuce, tomato and lemon aioli.
The highest-selling “Headliner” breakfast is What’s Shakin’ Bacon and Eggs, consisting of two “Farmhouse” eggs, three strips of thick bacon, Cajun potatoes and toast. The eggs are known as “Farmhouse” as a result of it’s a tune by the band Phish, mentioned Tyler, including, “I hope to make use of native eggs quickly.”
One other standard breakfast “Headliner” is the Wakenbake Breakfast Bowl, a mixture of eggs, peppers, onions, cheddar and jack cheese with a alternative of Cajun potatoes, tomato slices or blended greens. You may add bacon or sausage for $2.50.
The Rock ‘n’ Cinnamon Roll is baked in-house, and “our French toast is made with our personal banana bread,” Tyler mentioned.
The restaurant has indoor seating for about 45, largely upstairs, with giant home windows providing views of Ogden Valley. In summer time, there’s loads of out of doors seating because of the wraparound porch, giant again deck and upstairs balconies.
“In the summertime, this place will actually be hopping,” Tyler mentioned. “However we additionally need to get by way of the shoulder seasons. Now we have to make this a vacation spot as a result of we don’t have plenty of foot visitors.”
Should you go
LOVIN’ CUP CAFÉ
Location: 7355 E. 200 South, Huntsville
Contact: 385-364-4200; thelovincup.com
Costs: $3.95-$13.95
Hours: 7 a.m. to three p.m. every day (closed Tuesdays)
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