I've been a fixture at City Cafe for years upon years now. I've seen staff come and go, and spent many an hour working on my thesis work on laptop row, many a morning, afternoon and night.

Richard is spot-on with the space - renovations can often go awry, but City Cafe's managed to retain hipness, while being inviting and welcoming.

When the menu went upmarket, I did have a slight sense of trepidation - what, with so many other restaurants shutting down from recession penny-pinching.

Chad's touches have been playful and inspired in their dialogue of homey comfort food and fine dining flourishes. I've been to enough places in other cities that confuse these elements for preciousness -- which Chad dutifully steers clear of.

It's like a genteel Sunday dinner at your grandmother's house, if your grandmother just happened to be Lillian Hellman.

It's almost as if it's the menu that the restaurant has spent all these years preparing itself for.

El Gen--I can't imagine Lillian Hellman as anyone's grandmother!

Lillian Hellman??? The Mayonnaise Heiress???

(and yes, this is a joke)

Can't let this pass without recalling Mary McCarthy on Lillian Hellman: "every word [Hellman] writes is a lie, including 'and' and 'the'."

We've been patrons of the City Cafe since 1997 and I have to say, the meatless nachos (green chili chickpeas, pepperjack cheese sauce, sour cream, guacamole, pico de gallo) are not only The Best Nachos I've ever had, they are one of the best things I've ever had at City Cafe.

Glad they're getting recognition for their efforts.

I chose the City Cafe for Sunday brunch due to the fact that it was under a new chef, had some very good reviews, and it was advertised as having internet services. I made an online reservation--with phone number and email address--however, when I arrived I was told there was no internet. Ordinarily, this would not be so bothersome, but I had midterm grades to finish up for my classes. As well, every single link I pulled up on my phone (how I found the Cafe' and made a reservation, because my home internet was not working) advertised the Cafe as having internet available. It felt like poor customer service. I stated on the reservation form what my needs were complete with 2 different ways to contact me.
Too bad, I would have loved to try them out. I had gone before the new chef came on board and never had an acceptable meal.
The other problem with this situation is that the host who met me was rather cavalier, stating "Oh, we had the internet disconnected two months ago." I think it's time to let someone know about that.