By Lyndsey Gilpin
Nestled on a side street off of Frankfort Avenue, the Meridian Cafe is easy to pass up if you aren’t looking close enough. The restaurant itself is inside a two-story St. Matthews house.
Small, cozy restaurants intrigue me, so I was excited to see what this cafe had to offer. My mother and I walked inside the front door of the house to find a bustling staff and an extremely talkative lunch crowd. The hostess – who also ended up being our waitress – told us to find ourselves a seat. When we told her we would like to sit at the picnic tables out front, she promptly asked us for our drink orders and handed us menus and napkins to take with us outside. I suddenly felt the casual vibe that emitted from the place, which made me feel at home.
With just a quick look at the menu, I immediately recognized the type of cuisine offered: Mediterranean. Most of the dishes incorporated lentils, falafel, hummus and roasted vegetables. But there were also typical lunch choices with added flair, such as tuna with ginger and basil mayonnaise and chicken salad with rosemary and walnuts. I ended up choosing The Alana, which was two pita pockets filled with hummus, grilled eggplant, roasted peppers, 15-bean salad and spinach. It came with seasoned potato chips and a pickle. My mother ordered the artichoke polenta with smoked salmon, sour cream and tomatoes.
Our server came fairly quickly, considering the large amount of people in the restaurant. Our mango teas, which had a wonderful hint of the fruit, without being too sweet, were delivered soon after we sat down. When the food arrived, I was mesmerized by how colorful and fresh it looked. The spinach was overflowing out of the pita bread onto the bright orange sweet potato chips. It was messy to eat, but the hummus was delicious. My meal was very simple, but extremely tasty. It was a meal I didn’t feel bad about eating because the ingredients tasted very natural and healthy.
The polenta my mother ordered was beautiful. The salmon and sour cream were stacked on top, decorated with tomatoes, capers and olive oil. I stole a bite and was pleasantly surprised at the taste. Although polenta is plain, it complimented the salmon.
We both ate almost every bite of our food and regretfully declined coffee and dessert, which is normally my favorite part of every meal. Instead, I asked for another cup of my mango tea to take with me.
Our total came to about $19, including the drinks. This seemed very reasonable to me, considering that most items on the menu were between $7 and $8.
The Meridian Cafe may not be a smart choice for picky eaters, but it was the perfect decision for me. Much of the food was natural or organic and there were plenty of options for vegetarians and vegans. The restaurant’s slogan – “There’s Nothing Else Like It!” – proved to be true in my case, for I have never been to a cafe quite like this one and enjoyed it so much.
