A family cafe with a view

Mary Furr

It’s a frosty post-holiday day and the place we head for is the

Westbay Cafe, which welcomes us with the busy comfort of home -- just

to sit and collect ourselves is a pleasure here.

Opened in 1996 by the Buettner brothers -- John, Scott, Brad and

Jay -- it was a location they often talked about with their dad, Bud,

as the perfect spot for a cafe. There’s a big, color photo of the

whole family on one wall of the bright and busy cafe with its pitched

ceiling, beams and wraparound windows. There’s a counter at the

entrance, booths and tables in the dining room and a patio abloom

with colorful umbrellas facing Pacific Coast Highway.

Ordinarily we would have breakfast -- a specialty here as they

open at 7:30 a.m., but this time it’s dinner and southern fried

chicken that includes soup or salad. The salad is always fresh and

crisp, but here it’s the soup that is outstanding -- a beef vegetable

almost as thick as a stew with celery, carrots and potatoes in a dark

broth with big chunks of beef -- an intense and filling soup. A big

bowl is a great comfort in this flu season, or for a light lunch as

ordered by a couple of business people we saw.

Chef Peter Stone does chicken just right -- it is not thickly

battered, but the four big pieces are lightly coated with seasoned

flour and so tender. It’s served with fresh asparagus spears and rice

or potatoes.

The menu offers six pasta choices with Angel Hair L’Amore ($10.25)

sounding the most intriguing. The large, warm (thank goodness)

platter is filled with slender threads of firm pasta, Roma tomatoes

and green onions tossed in a really good virgin olive oil, flavored

with fresh basil, garlic, white wine and oregano.

The shrimp is sauteed in a flash, mixed throughout the pasta and

spread across the top, showered with fresh grated parmesan cheese.

Everything is prepared when ordered, so expect a wait for the

entrees. According to our server, Shawna Holmsen, the kitchen staff

is very supportive. There’s a “laid back,” “take your time”

casualness, which can be both relaxing or irritating depending on

your schedule. The atmosphere here is like that of a men’s club.

Stone, who has been with the Westbay Cafe since it opened, said

the menu has been updated recently to include more Mexican dishes and

a new feature -- a basket of three small White Castle-style burgers

about the size of the present dinner rolls. They will also add Philly

cheese steak and continue the recently introduced roast beef hash at

breakfast.

Westbay Cafe is a bright haven on a frosty day or evening and will

send you home content to settle in with remote in hand.

* MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have

comments or suggestions, call (562) 493-5062 or e-mail

[email protected]