This unassuming storefront in the Catalina Plaza marks a home cooking restaurant with tons of personality and a menu to match. (The retired guy wearing the Stetson and running shoes while relaxing on the park bench isn't part of the decor, but he could be.)
Claire's Cafe? You betcha!
Many national restaurant chains shamelessly boast of being a neighborhood or family restaurant with home cooking, but here in Catalina they've got the real thing. It's called Claire's Cafe. Big menu, warm personality, reasonable prices. You can see the cooks making things from scratch through the front window, the servers have names like Andy and Fawn and Birdy, and then there's Claire, herself, (below, in blue apron) visiting with customers and carrying on like she owns the place.
She does, actually, along with her husband, Steve Johnson. He's Swedish and last night they watched "Fargo" again so they were reminded of exactly what Minnesotans talk like. The couple have seen a lot of Minnesotans since they opened in 1986, which is also about the same year Saddlebrooke started taking down payments from snowbirds wanting a warm place in the Arizona sun.Catalina is the small town just outside of the Saddlebrooke entrance where the Ace Hardware man can be found, along with Darlin's Flowers, Sunset Interiors and myriad other services and shops that might be useful to "active adults."
On our second trip to the cafe, we asked to see the boss.Stan: Hi, are you Claire? We just love your restaurant.
Claire: Thank you. I love it too. Where are you from?
Stan: We're from Minnesota. We just bought a place in Saddlebrooke.
Claire: You look too young to be retired.
Stan: I REALLY love this restaurant.
The restaurant opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 2 p.m. "Have you ever been open for dinner?" we asked. "Oh, yes," the former executive chef shrugs with a sigh, "But we weren't able to have lives . . ." Right away you get the idea that Claire is a hands-on kind of manager not given to a lot of delegation. The walls are covered with objects of art and that's Claire's work too. It's an art gallery. There is so much detail on the walls you think about keeping all that clean, but the white glove test came up with nary a smudge, so somebody's keeping the place scrubbed.
The breakfast menu has all the variety you'd expect. The pancakes are light and fluffy; the bacon crisp, eggs and omelets to order. Stan had oatmeal with cinnamon and brown sugar, could have had it with apples and raisins. There's English muffins, home fries, hash browns, whatever. Kathleen (left with server) had a yummy Belgian waffle.For lunch you can have brown rice with veggies; there's plenty on the menu for a vegetarian, or for a finicky eater. They use no beef tallow, only canola and olive oil. Stan enjoyed the Catalina Special, a toasted turkey sandwich with swiss cheese, a bit of bacon and a big slab of avacado. Then there's the burger routine, soups and salads, as well as the daily specials posted on a scribble board.
When you do come to Claire's Cafe, don't just stand around and wait to be seated like some bashful Norwegian. Just go ahead and find a comfortable spot and act like you've been out to eat before. Soon you'll have your favorite booth and your favorite items, and you'll be ordering like a local without your bifocals.Uff da.
