The Little Swiss Café

The Little Swiss Café in Carmel is a place I’ve been meaning to try for years. According to many locals, including a carpenter friend who has been remodeling homes in Carmel for decades, it is breakfast bliss. After 18 years in the area, my wife and I finally decided to pay a visit to the no-website, cash-only, family-owned, since-1972 institution.

Nine people on the waiting list milled around on the front sidewalk mid-morning, with no place to sit and no coffee urn. Just the misty briskness of a Carmel morning and the familiar aroma of breakfast food teasing us. Soon seated at one of the many moveable two-top tables, we started our traditional breakfast ritual of trying to decide on something sweet and something savory to share. She was looking at the eggs Benedicts. I was tempted by the bagel and lox breakfast special ($10.25). Both savories. Complication.

As I wavered, she decided on the classic ham Benedict ($12). At the Little Swiss Cafe you can create your own. Choices are ham, bacon, turkey, lox, avocado, tomato, mushroom and spinach, in any combination. One item: $12; two items: $12.50; each additional item: $1. All are served with hash browns, my favorite breakfast potato. And theirs are done right – clean not greasy, crispy, golden brown outside, fluffy inside.

My girl was coaxing me to keep with the sweet and savory game plan, suggesting either the French toast ($7.75) or the cheese blintzes ($8.25 for three), made daily. I didn’t want to break tradition but I was craving the savory lox and bagel. However, the blintzes were tempting too.

To my wife’s surprise, I impulsively told our server to bring on the blintzes. Kudos to her for informing us that we could order one, two or three. Problem solved. We ordered one to share.

Blintzes can be a disappointment. This one turned out to be one of the best I’ve had. The pastry was soft and tender and the sweet sour cream had a very pleasant, slightly curdled texture.

As we waited for our food, the woman at the table next to us got her plate and I got order envy. Two masterfully formed eggs over easy, golden brown hash browns and a hearty homemade portion of corned beef hash. That and a choice of English muffin or toast goes for $9.75. Oh well. Next time, I thought. When that time came, the hash earned an entry in my Food Nerd’s Index of Best Local Breakfast Sides.

As for my wife’s Benedict, she thought they could have gone a little lighter on the hollandaise sauce. Maybe. I Iiked the sauce because it was tangier and more lemony than most versions. I was also pleased with the adequate toasting of the English muffin, a detail sometimes hastily neglected by busy kitchens.

My only complaint about the lox and bagel plate is that the ingredients are served separately, a DIY deal. But quality wise, they were spot on. A generous stack of thinly sliced, moist, melt-in-your-mouth smoked salmon. Mildly sweet, not salty; three bright red, eighth-of-an-inch slices of ripened tomatoes (beefsteak I think); thin slices of sweet purple onions and plenty of cream cheese and capers. All good. Nicely toasted high-grade sesame seed bagel too.

I love the all-day breakfast menu and the way it’s set up to maximize choices. Two eggs any style include hash browns and a choice of English muffin or toast with meat choices of ham, bacon, sausage, corned beef hash, chicken apple sausage or chorizo ($9.75). Omelet or scramble options include ham, cheese, sausage, bacon, avocado, tomato, bell pepper, onion, spinach, lox or mushrooms. One or two items: $9.75. Three or four items: $10.75. Each extra item: $1.

Other choices: huevos rancheros ($9.50), breakfast burrito with three items: $11. Each extra item: $1. Also: buttermilk pancakes and French toast ($7.25) and Belgian waffle ($8). There’s also a big selection of a la carte side orders including the homemade croissants ($2.75) and homemade raisin toast ($2.75).

Great lunch choices too. Five hot sandwiches and eight cold ones. I’ve had my eye on the hamburger ($9.25), because it’s a burger, and the Reuben ($10), because it’s a Reuben. Cold faves include the BLT ($7.75), ham and Swiss ($7.75), tuna salad ($8.50) and shrimp salad ($9.75).

For comfort food lovers like me, there are entrees like the calves liver sauté with grilled onions ($12.75) and the braised pork chops with red cabbage and apple sauce ($13). For the less carnivorous, choices include a fresh vegetable plate ($12.75) and the poached filet of salmon with Hollandaise sauce ($13.50). All entrees include soup or salad, potatoes and vegetables.

One more visit to try the burger and the Reuben revealed tasty no-frills, no-surprise, superior quality versions of these American classics. The Little Swiss Café, a local classic in its own right, offers that kind of home-style cooking I know and love done the way it’s supposed to be. This is the same cooking that has drawn people for more than four decades.

THE LITTLE SWISS CAFÉ Sixth and Dolores, Carmel • 7:30am-3pm Mon-Sat; 8am-2pm Sun. Breakfast all day. Lunch 11am-close • Cash only; 624-5007.