FARM & TABLE

It’s considered the most important meal of the day, but when it comes to breakfast, Karen Small loves how something as simple as scrambled eggs or a plate of pancakes can stir feelings of nostalgia and comfort.

“Breakfast has a soulful feeling. I just really love everything about it. I love coffee cake. I love biscuits,” she says. “I just love what breakfast is when breakfast is done well.”

The Cleveland chef previously owned the restaurant Flying Fig for 23 years, before closing it in 2022 to focus on two new ventures: a re-imagining of Flying Fig as Pearl Street Wine Market & Cafe and a breakfast-and-lunch spot called Juneberry Table. The restaurant, which opened in April 2022, is named after the blueberry-like fruit that’s abundant in Ohio and plays into Small’s inspiration for the place — the decade she spent living in southern Ohio.

“The food there had an Appalachian bent to it with cornmeal, biscuits and regional goodies like sorghum,” she explains.

That type of cuisine also influenced Small’s culinary career. She has long supported local farms, and Juneberry Table’s menu is based around ingredients from Ohio purveyors such as Weaver’s Truck Patch in Fredericksburg and Rittman Orchards in Doylestown.

Whether you visit for breakfast or lunch, be sure to start with the Cheddar & Chive Biscuit with its laminated layers of dough, cheddar and chives. Baked fresh every morning, the fluffy treat is served with house-made sorghum but- ter and a rotating lineup of jams. The Breakfast Sandwich features slices of bacon from DeeJay’s Custom Butchering in Fredericktown that have been glazed in sorghum molasses. The sandwich includes a folded cheddar egg and comeback sauce (Small describes her version of the Southern condiment as a tartar sauce mixed with a remoulade) and is served on a milk bun made by Cleveland pastry chef Nolan Tidwell.

Although the menu and certain ingredients vary based on what is available, some dishes will remain constant, such as the Gravy & Biscuit. It features an earthy gravy made using product from Killbuck Valley Mushrooms and wilted greens from Ohio City Farms.

“It’s kind of a biscuit sandwich with scrambled eggs. And then the sausage gravy goes on top of the whole mess,” says Small.

You won’t find fussy, overly complicated dishes on Juneberry Table’s tightly curated menu. Even when the restaurant starts offering dinner service this summer, Small plans to keep her focus on this casual approach.

“I love fine dining, don’t get me wrong,” she says. “But at this point in my life, what I’m drawn to is a more relaxed approach to food. I want things to be comfortable. I want things to be delicious. But I want them to be simple at the same time.” Kim Schneider

3900 Lorain Ave., Cleveland 44113, 216/331-0338, juneberrytable.com

Berry Bonanza

These two popular Cincinnati breweries both make a drink featuring a mashup of raspberry and blackberry flavors. Here is how they measured up.

Blizzy blast

Rhinegeist Brewery

5% ABV

Part of Rhinegeist Brewery’s RGBevs line of hard craft beverages, this easygoing refresher is a perfect match for the sunny season. It’s described on the can as a “Mixed Berry Smash,” but the natural flavors come through without clobbering your taste buds. rhinegeist.com

THe Gadget

Urban Artifact

8% ABV

Urban Artifact is known for the sheer variety, creativity and quality of the beers it makes. This Midwest fruit tart is crafted with 1,200 pounds of raspberries, 1,200 pounds of blackberries and 30 grams of vanilla beans per 30-barrel batch, packing a punch of flavor along with the ABV. artifactbeer.com

Parable Coffee

Jeffrey Clark and Ben Willis met while working in Columbus coffee shops and, over the years, talked increasingly about opening their own place. In late 2020, the duo launched Parable Coffee inside Columbus’ Comune restaurant, and it quickly became a local favorite.

In summer 2022, Clark and Willis moved into their own space on South High Street downtown. The new digs sit in the corner of the former Lazarus department store building, complete with tall windows, globeshaped lights and loads of greenery.

The drinks themselves are certainly the draw, from rich brewed coffee to single-origin espresso to sesame miso caramel latte, but there is more at play here. Clark and Willis are also seeking to create a better and more supportive environment for their employees. No tips are accepted. Instead, drinks are priced between $5 and $9 to properly pay their workers a living wage.

“We know that it’s not just a cup of coffee,” Willis says. “Every single step to get that coffee to you involves a human being. Peo- ple try to reduce things to just the product and they’re not considering how the product came to be. We’re paying everyone, every step, the appropriate price.”

Earlier this year, Parable Coffee’s lineup of offerings got sweeter with the hire of pastry chef Aaron Clouse, who has worked in Columbus-area restaurants and appeared on Food Network, to head up the baking program. Clouse produces exquisite pastries like scones, creme-bruleed cookies with cream cheese inside and giant round croissants filled with Nutella or citrusy yuzu cream.

Those who do not have the funds for coffee or food can pay what they are able or have their meal covered by Parable’s community card, building on the sense of inclusiveness and support that Clark and Willis are working to create.

The shop’s name comes from the title of Octavia E. Butler’s 1993 post-apocalyptic novel Parable of the Sower, which explores social and financial inequality. In it, the main character comes to recognize humanity’s role in changing the world for the better. A quote from the author is printed at the top of Parable’s menu and on a sandwich board out front: “All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you.”

Nicholas Dekker

149 S. High St., Columbus 43215, 614/636-0341, parableparable.com