Cafe Lumiere

If you didn’t know any better, you might think Cafe Lumiere was a simple coffee shop attached to the Osio Cinemas. Or at least I did, partly because I don’t watch movies out much. But the bright and hip cafe – not hipster, mind you – serves up an inspired range of stylish food that’s far more than breakfast pastries, including always-changing daily specials (except Thursday’s beloved pho), and a brand new fall brunch menu that started last week. Across it all, the focus is fresh, in-house and good value.

Not that the coffee and espresso aren’t superb. Their coffee roaster of choice is Acme, which enjoys a cult-like following similar to Ritual Roasters. Straus Family Creamery supplies their organic dairy needs and eco-friendly disposable cups come from Passion Purveyors of Pacific Grove. Fresh baked pies, cakes, cookies and pastries ($1.50-$4.50, half price for day old) satisfy the coffee shop-style sweet tooth. A friend even tells me his parents, who moved from food-crazed Spain, visit almost daily, as it reminds them of Spanish cafes and their baked goods.

But this is about food that remains under the radar for most epicures, and shouldn’t. The first indicator they are for real: Baker Andrew Anderson makes Lumiere’s own bread, like their house-made ciabatta used in made-to-order sandwiches like the classic ($8) with roasted turkey, little gem lettuce, ripe Roma tomato, pickled red onion, white cheddar with a big swipe of garlic aioli. With a generous slather of chipotle mayo, crispy bacon and avocado, it becomes a “hot blondie” (add $4). Another bread made in-house that caught my tastebuds’ fancy is the Pugliese, named after the town Puglia (on Italy’s boot heel), a denser version of ciabatta.

Salads both pre-made and tossed-to-order prove another fresh play – and you get a lot for fair prices. My cafe Cobb ($9) to-go was neatly prepared with a layer of local little gems at the base, topped with sliced hard-boiled egg, Maytag blue cheese crumbles, pickled onion, slightly roasted yellow Sungold tomatoes, chopped crisp bacon, just mashed avocado and house-roasted chicken. Their dressing of choice: a great cilantro lime creamy vinaigrette. The beet salad ($7) takes golden beets and tosses them in a red wine vinaigrette with mixed greens, goat cheese, pickled red onions and house-spiced pecans. I got the ready-made version ($4.75), which had arugula, a few crumbles of feta, undetectable vinaigrette and beets prepped just right. The main problem: too many candied pecans lost their crunch by the time my fork hit; I wish I went for the made-to-order version.

I was most impressed with their Sunday brunch menu (ending at 1pm), directed by Chef Cirilo Aragon, which builds upon the simpler Monday-through-Saturday brunch menu.

The Glaum Ranch eggs they use are fluffy and filling in dishes like the sausage scramble ($9) with diced chicken apple sausage – deliciously, minimally sweet – and Gruyere cheese to bring on an earthy and nutty balance that made it a hit at our table. Despite the name, the eggs are more folded than scrambled, making it easy to eat using the side of my fork, and all the better in my book.

That said, my personal choice has to be the club Benny ($9-$11.50 depending on number of sides), with poached eggs trembling atop avocado, bacon, thinly sliced roasted turkey and sliced tomato on toasted English muffins – beautiful like only Bennies can be. Their Hollandaise sauce could use a hint of lemon.

For egg white lovers there is a special Greek omelet ($9-$11.50) that emits its own gravitational field. Sides include warm roasted and seasoned red potatoes with a dash of smoked paprika, a complement almost as popular as their bacon ($3). Fruit ($3) and toast ($2) are available too, as are build-your-own ($7-$9), Deer Flats ($8) and garden-goat ($7) omelets.

The brunch menu changes during the weekdays as does the the chef (Matt Talley and owner Brandi Lamb do midweek work), end-time (11am) and selection (more limited). On my midweek visit I found something even the arugula averse might enjoy, the green eggs & ham ($10), with prosciutto and poached eggs on english muffins with an arugula pesto. It’s very mild and not-at-all garlicky, which means you can go back to work without chewing through a bushel of parsley.

Regulars know that they serve pho on Thursdays – if you get there early, that is, as it sells out. Other specials include pizza Thursday and Friday nights from 4-10pm, including recent wonders like a sweet and spicy butternut squash pizza ($8, like all the 8-inch, four-slice pizzas) with chipotle bacon, caramelized onions and sage, a little piece of autumn in your mouth. Take note: This pizza thing is here to stay for a while, but the other dinner specials change all the time, so jump on the Facebook page to keep up.

The art changes too; on my visits it was by the fabulous Candice Koseba, who presses seaweed so meticulously that it looks like she found it in that flat form.

Partly inspired by that green eggs and ham number – which I first saw at Carmel Belle – I liken this place to a Monterey version of the Belle I love, albeit with more students and lower prices. In short, it’s a hidden spot worth celebrating.

Mark C. Anderson contributed to this story.

Cafe Lumiere 365 Calle Principal, Monterey • 7am-10pm daily; 8-11am brunch weekdays; 9am-1pm weekends. •920-2451, www.cafelumieremonterey.com.