Restaurant Talk

lakewood.advocatemag.com

Coffee so good you’ll forget someone is selling cremation next door

It’s not the type of place that stands out immediately. You’re more likely to notice the large “Local Cremation” sign at the corner of Greenville and Royal than the quaint “Café Silva” or subsequent “Coffee Shop” one. And once you start thinking about the whole cremation thing, do you really still want coffee and a scone? I promise, once you taste the pastries, made with great care by wife-owner Suraiya Khan, and the coffee imported from various regions by husband-owner Masoom Khan, you will forget all about the good folks selling cremation at a reasonable price a couple doors down. Café Silva is owned by Lakewood residents and named for the littlest Khan, Nurah Silva, age 2. The café, which also serves lunch, is right on the White Rock Trail and directly across the street from Moss Haven Park. They even sell protein bars and gels for nutrition-craving runners and cyclists who drop in. They have a nice big window overlooking the trail and Royal Oaks golf course. Suraiya says she hopes to build a patio someday. While I was there for a June photo shoot, I ordered a dark coffee, remarking “I need all the caffeine I can get today!” That’s when these coffee experts filled me in on a secret that rocked my stimulant-dependent universe: Dark coffee typically has less caffeine than light coffee. What? Did a little research (Googling) and sure enough, they are right. Not that I doubted them.

Babb 8499 Greenville Avenue, 214.267.9836

Company Café on the Katy Trail

—Christina Hughes

This little place with a big patio overlooking the Katy Trail serves up local, organic, fresh fare, but we aren’t talking just veggies or dainty salads or dull gluten-free breads. No. Here you are going to find thick, juicy steaks and mashed potatoes and what is rumored to be the best chicken fried steak around (it is gluten free, but you’d never know it). Company Café opens at 7 a.m. Saturdays for breakfast, which was my first experience. I tried the Veggie RX, a fresh and light open-faced three egg cage-free omelet layered with black beans and sautéed vegetables and organic salsa ($9), but I did sneak in a few bites of my buddy’s silver dollar buttermilk pancakes (12 for $6). They were fluffy and moist and soaked up that real maple syrup like a delicious sponge. Drink selections include kombucha tea, coconut water and French press coffee.

—Christina Hughes Babb

THERE ARE TWO LOCATIONS: 2217 Greenville Avenue (214.827.2233) and 3136 Routh (214.468.8721), which is the Katy Trail location.

Pet Cover Contest

THIS PAGE: A male, or drake, mallard’s vibrant plumage — its iridescent green head, bright yellow bill and trafficstopping orange feet — is instantly recognizable. This one is flying over the water near Sunset Bay.