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Put some soul in your Sunday at Lifestyles Café
• by Lisa Tebbe - Photo by Allyson Mace
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There’s nothing like a heaping plate of soul food to warm the insides on a cold winter’s day. But with its high fat content and heavy use of animal fats and proteins, this king of comfort food has long been off limits to both the health conscious and the vegetarian. Not anymore: Lifestyles Café serves up a Soul Food Sunday brunch that will leave both groups feeling cozy.
Lifestyles Café opened in September on Delmar BoulevaRoad It may not look like much on the outside, but inside there’s a lot going on. A bright yellow ice cream parlor and lemonade fountain greets diners. Baked goods made with all-natural ingredients fill the display case: double chocolate cake, lemon pound cake, walnut brownies, cookies packed with oatmeal and chocolate chips. Ice cream, all with a lemonade base, fills the freezer in a variety of flavors, including pineapple, peach and key lime. A large window lets you watch the activity in the kitchen.
Step through this vibrant room and into the next, where you’ll be greeted with light wood floors, lilac walls, purple suede banquettes and white-clothed tables. Owner and chef Denise Hairston has created an atmosphere that oozes cool and a menu that’s health-inspired: She cooks with no trans fats, beef, pork or poultry.
Her $14.49 Soul Food Sunday is a deal, but the decision-making isn’t always easy. Start with your choice of entrée (fish, salmon croquettes, barbecue tofu or meatless “meatloaf”), two sides (greens, cornbread dressing, fried green tomatoes and maple yams are among the choices), bread, dessert and a beverage. Selections change weekly. The staff is friendly and happy to explain the preparation of each dish.
A basket of vegan Cream of Wheat mini-muffins, light and airy in texture, was even better with a slathering of honey. The tilapia was lightly dusted with a spicy cornmeal mixture and pan-fried. It was flaky and flavorful, with a peppery kick. I was intrigued by and a little wary of the chicken(less) dumplings, but the dumplings were perfect – tender and not too doughy – and infused with flavor, like they had simmered in a rich chicken stock all day. Fried corn was shaved off the cob and stir-fried with bits of red and green peppers – very tasty.
On another visit, we were seated in a cozy corner banquette in the back room, where there’s a fireplace and live jazz on Saturday nights when the room isn’t booked for private parties. This time, I tried the salmon croquettes. This version was similar to crab cakes, with peppers and onions throughout. The patties were spicy and accompanied by fried green tomatoes, whose flavor came mostly from the crunchy breading, and creamy macaroni and cheese.
Desserts are simple yet delicious. The Chocolate-Lover’s Double Chocolate Cake was studded with walnuts. The lemon pound cake was lemony throughout, with a nice concentration of flavor in the icing. The oatmeal chocolate chip cookie was warm, moist and achieved just the right balance of crunchy and chewy. And the ice cream was fantastic. The pineapple had a tang (from the lemonade base) complemented by a smooth texture and the sweetness of the fruit.
Don’t miss the housemade lemonade. It’s sweet, tart and refreshing. Coffee is served in a big cup with flavored creamer and organic sugar. The bar also pours mimosas ($7) and lemonade martinis ($10).
At first, the name Lifestyles didn’t grab me. And a few drive-bys before their opening made me wonder if it was an aerobics studio or health food store. But when I learned the name was earned by Hairston’s own philosophy of encouraging people to adopt a new lifestyle and way of eating, I warmed to it. Lifestyles Café is a health-conscious restaurant with plenty of soul.
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