August 6, 2004
Afterloon Delights: An embarrassment of riches
It can be embarrassing to discover the flaw in a long-held assumption, but just such a discovery recently in the tiny Torch Lake town of Alden left us every bit as pleased as embarrassed. We'd gone there about mid-day to deliver a couple of dozen copies of our book to Meredith Grider's Red Eye Gallery, and when we mentioned how hungry we were, she asked if we'd ever tried the little luncheon cafe next door called Afterloon Delights.

Well, no, we said, we hadn't. We'd assumed it was still just the ice-cream shop it used to be.

That's when Meredith hastened to tell us one of its owners is her nephew and that the café has "really terrific" sandwiches and quiches and salads and stuff. By the time we'd finished one lunch there, our chagrin was profound, and we realized somewhat philosophically that we'd missed a bet by not including it in our new book.

Afterloon Delights consists of a tiny café adjoining the back side of the gallery, with a spacious deck along the west side, surrounded by cascades of flowers, where umbrella tables share space with a smattering of gallery merchandise. Charm abounds, and several return trips have told us that Afterloon Delights also bears the telltale signs that say "good restaurant:" It's almost always busy; good and interesting food aromas waft about, and the food is fresh and from-scratch (they even roast their own turkey for sandwiches).

And the owners are always there. They are Porter Smythe, who runs the front of the house (and is Meredith's nephew), and chef Anthony DyJach, who tries to take advantage of whatever's in season for the soups, quiches and special dishes with which he supplements the regular menu of salads and sandwiches. One soup we enjoyed there, just as fresh basil was becoming available in the garden, was a tomato-basil bisque. (Sometimes, he goes a bit farther afield; one day recently the soup was a lovely lobster bisque).

As its name implies, this is basically a luncheon cafe (even if they do open at 10 a.m. and have cinnamon rolls). We were particularly delighted one afternoon by a sandwich of roasted turkey, lettuce and tomato with a tangy cranberry mayonnaise. That will have to stand aside on our next trip in favor of smoked salmon on a bagel with red onion, capers and cream cheese. (If you simply must have something "hearty," you might want to get acquainted with DyJach's "Black Forest" sandwich of ham and Brie with honey-mustard mayo.)

Salads include an interesting variety -- shrimp-avocado with cilantro and lime zest, for instance, served on greens with a citrus vinaigrette. Or a Caesar with beef tenderloin. But we think salad lovers will take special delight in a concoction of curried chicken on greens with tomatoes and a honey-mustard dressing.  Desserts include house-made cookies, brownies and lemon-squares, and pie.

Quiches appearing regularly on the menu consist of bacon-leek-mushroom, spinach-artichoke-tomato; pepper-olive-feta; broccoli-cheddar; asparagus-gorgonzola, and (what else?) a classic bacon-Gruyere quiche Lorraine. The prices here are typical for the genre: A slice of quiche as a luncheon dish, accompanied by fresh fruit, goes for $6.50 (they'll sell you a whole quiche to take home for $16, should you want your delight by candlelight). Salads and sandwiches run in the $6-8 range. Soups are $4.25 ($3 for a cup). Soup and salads come with slices of fresh baguette, and sandwiches with homemade pasta salad.

Alden has seen some very good restaurants come and go in recent years -- Spencer Creek Landing, Spencer Creek Café, Crystal Club, Tuma's. But places like Afterloon Delights and the newly expanded Muffin Tin leave the town with no dearth of good food to accompany the interesting shopping.

Afterloon Delights may be seasonal (Smythe and DyJach head to Florida when the color fades), but for now, it's certainly a winner. Don't be put off by the notion of dining outdoors under a hot, August sun, either. The café has an "air-conditioning" system that bathes the entire deck with a fine, cooling spray, and Alden locals talk of going there to have lunch and "get misted."

DATA: Afterloon Delights, 9110 Helena Rd., Alden; 231-331-4431; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.