The Garden Café at the Princeton YMCA-YWCA are astonished at the transformation it has undergone. Two local chefs have helped create the atmosphere at the eatery.
By: Pat Tanner
Regular patrons of the Princeton Family YMCA and YWCA Princeton on Paul Robeson Place who peek into the Garden Café these days express nothing short of astonishment at the transformation the space has undergone.
Those who stay to try its menu of made-from-scratch breakfast and lunch treats are even more astonished by the delicious, imaginative food being served up by two local women: Ruth Alegria, who was the original owner-chef of the Mexican Village restaurant on Leigh Avenue, and Karen Child, a pastry chef and instructor whose experience includes stints at Witherspoon Bread Co. and the Peacock Inn.
Every weekday starting at 8 a.m., the pair offer a varying breakfast menu that includes fresh-baked croissants, challah and pecan bread, a choice of vegetarian and meat quiches, and an omelet or egg sandwich, as well as fruits, yogurt and fresh fruit salad.
Pastries include the muffin du jour pumpkin-raisin-carrot on one day recently. Fresh brewed coffee and tea are served at six small tables, each draped in a plaid or floral cloth in shades of olive green and brick red, the predominant colors of the warm and snug space. Or patrons can choose to lounge on the camelback sofa, covered in celadon damask, amid hand-woven throws and potted plants.
Ms. Child was the force behind the decorating, even sewing the room’s curtains and table linens herself, and filling every nook and cranny with personal antiques and collectibles that both she and Ms. Alegria had accumulated, separately, over the years. These include an entire fireplace front with oak trim, a louvered room divider painted brick red and hung with three old-fashioned floral prints framed in black, and a half-round glass curio cabinet filled with bric-a-brac.
The pair’s collection of old platters and baskets even silk-shaded old lamps fill every shelf and available space, and a selection of food magazines invites visitors to loll. Even before the new café opened in mid-February, people were popping their heads in the door, expressing delight at the surroundings, and inquiring about when food would be available.
The place has been busy since day one. Well before noon on a recent Tuesday, a line of five patrons had already formed at the counter, looking for lunch treats. Among the choices each day are two soups and two quiches one each being vegetarian a Mediterranean salad platter, and sandwiches.
Soup offerings might be creamy black bean and Manhattan clam chowder one day, roasted tomato-basil and vegetable minestrone with a poached egg the next. Typical quiche choices include asparagus-brie-mushroom or spinach and prosciutto. Both the soups and the quiches sell for a modest $2.50 a serving.
Each day brings hot specials as well. Ms. Alegria’s smoked salmon quesadillas with dilled creme fraiche and a side of guacamole were a bit hit one day; Roman-style pizza was equally popular the next. Regular sandwich choices include ham and cheese, and chicken, tuna and egg salad, all on a choice of croissant, French baguette, or kaiser roll. They range from $3.25 to $4.25.
For the kiddies, there are peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches on white bread that have been cut with a cookie cutter into an eight-pointed star. Ms. Child’s oversized animal cookies (30 cents) are another favorite with the younger set, although "kids" of all ages enjoy her chocolate ruggelah, apple almond tart in a hazelnut crust, and chocolate brownies made with Callebaut chocolate. These are among an ever-changing array of sweet treats provided by this top-notch pastry chef.
It was the location that first drew Ruth Alegria’s interest. After the ARC Mercer, the previous cafe operators, notified the Y that they would be vacating the premises and moving to a new facility in Hamilton Square, Ms. Alegria got a call from a YWCA staff member saying the spot was open.
"This person knew my heart was still in food," said Ms. Alegria, who at the time was working in real estate. "Plus, she admitted that it was in her own self-interest to have good food on site."
Without either woman’s knowledge, Ms. Alegria’s name was being mentioned simultaneously by yet another staff member to the higher-ups in the Y’s executive offices.
Karen Child entered the story at this point. " ‘It’s prime Princeton real estate near Palmer Square,’" was all Ms. Alegria would tell Ms. Child.
"When I came here, I was able to see the potential," Ms. Child continued, in reference to the existing conditions. "I saw the garden and that gave me inspiration." With the assistance of the YM and YWCA, the two women effected major changes in the kitchen as well as the 15-seat dining room. Standing in the large, bright kitchen, Ms. Child said, "I call this my happy kitchen. It’s the only place I’ve ever worked that has natural light."
In fact, a row of windows runs the entire length of the outside wall. In the dining room, the same window provides not only light but a resting place for rows of potted African violets. "We removed a lot of stainless steel," Ms. Child recalled of the old kitchen layout, in addition to having the walls painted a fresh, clean white.
The YM-YW purchased a new four-burner Vulcan range, and Ms. Child and Ms. Alegria purchased a commercial convection oven, freezer unit and bain marie, not to mention stocking the kitchen with all their own small equipment, such as a meat slicer, toaster, juicer and several food processors.
Karen Child and Ruth Alegria first met a few years back, when each was employed by T2 Ventures, whose Princeton properties include Mediterra and Teresa’s restaurants and Witherspoon Bread Co. Both had since moved on Ms. Alegria into real estate for Weidel in Princeton and Ms. Child into teaching culinary students at Mercer County Community College.
Ms. Child still teaches there one evening a week. "I do that because I like keeping in touch with my students," she said. The Garden Café has already provided an internship to at least one of her students a 35-year-old ex-postal carrier.
With the initial success of their joint venture, Ruth Alegria and Karen Child are planning for the future. "We already got a catering job a wedding," Ms. Child said, and plans are in the works for adding a Friday night dinner and Saturday morning hours, and holding cooking classes.
Just outside the back door, ready to be spruced up, is the garden area that first inspired Ms. Child. As she perused it lovingly she said, "We have the patio furniture all ready to go. We’ll add candles and hanging baskets of plants trailing long fronds."
The Garden Café is located inside the Princeton YM-YWCA building on Paul Robeson Place. Hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.
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