Redbird Cafe

I've been to the Redbird a couple of times now, since the CM that I often meet for site walks lives nearby in Hackensack.  My first impressions of this place were not exactly favorable, but after a few return trips I'm starting to come around on this place.  At first blush this is just your standard run-of-the-mill local cafe, with the usual breakfast coffee klatch in the morning and a standard lunch menu of burgers and other sandwiches.  There's just one aspect that sets this place apart: it appears the owner runs the kitchen while her three kids run the rest of the place.  The children must be home-schooled, since they go back to a table on one side of the cafe to read between refilling coffee and serving up food.  The whole arrangement was a bit disconcerting the first time I came here, since I'm not exactly used to having lunch with the chatter of kids studying history in the background.  I'm more used to it now, though it still feels a bit strange not really seeing any adults other than customers when their mother is back in the kitchen.

The food here is standard cafe fare, not the best I've had but better than a good deal of other places I've stopped.  Like most small-town cafes, the breakfast options are tastier than the lunch offerings.  My first time here I got a patty melt with raw onions and mushrooms.  It wasn't bad by any means, but the hamburger was a bit dry and the rye bread was overly greasy.  I didn't think too much of the place at the time, but on a subsequent stop for breakfast I was more impressed.  I had a strange issue this trip with my jaw - the left side just hurt for some unknown reason, making chewing difficult.  It had gotten worse overnight, and when we stopped in for breakfast I didn't know what I'd be able to actually eat.  It turns out the breakfast special of eggs, hashbrowns and toast were sufficiently easy to chew and pretty good as well.  The coffee was standard fare, and a bit charmingly the mugs are all mismatched and appear to be sourced from local businesses.  Service could definitely be hit-or-miss, depending on how busy or how motivated the kids were, but generally my coffee was refilled adequately and our orders arrived relatively quickly.  

The Redbird appears to be the only option in Longville, which probably means they can afford to aim for the middle.  I've been to better small-town cafes, but I've also been to worse.  I'd probably be inclined to give this place 2 or 2.5 stars, if not for the fact the last time I stopped here one of the kids had written "THANKS - ADMIRAL TWIGS" on the back of the check, complete with a little drawing of the Admiral resplendent in his Admiral hat.  Definitely a one-star bump for Admiral Twigs.  The best part was that I asked for the receipt for my expense account and was given the check to take back with me.  As far as I know it's now filed away for posterity.  The menus also have a dedication to a local schoolteacher, so in the end I can't really be too hard on the place.