Since we don’t have a backyard of our own, Robert and I spend a lot of time at Volunteer Park during the summer. We have developed a bit of a routine over the years. We go to the park and read our books for a while, then we stop off for beer and fries at Canterbury, one of Seattle’s last true dives, and then we usually stop by the wine shop and Sonic Boom Records before walking back home. Yesterday, we were feeling rambunctious so we decided to break out of the routine and go out for lunch before heading to the park. Our lunch destination: Volunteer Park Cafe.

Volunteer Park Cafe has been open since January 2007. It is located 2 blocks east of Volunteer Park in the super-rich section of Capitol Hill, where scruffy apartment buildings give way to towering trees and grand homes. Despite the surrounding opulence, Volunteer Park Cafe is a very casual, cozy restaurant. Ceiling-high windows and light yellow walls make it bright and cheery inside. It has a very old-fashioned general store feel about it (the building actually used to be a grocery store and meat market in the early 20th century.) There are big jars of gum balls available for the kids and a small refrigerator case full of local beers and wines for the adults. In keeping with the general store look, the tables are surfaced with packaging from flour and other dry goods. There is even a vintage grocery store sign hanging above the kitchen. There are modern touches as well. Huge black and white photographs are up on the walls and the restaurant’s focus on seasonal, local ingredients is very now.

Volunteer Park Cafe is primarily open for breakfast and lunch, but they also have monthly “wine dinners” that focus on pairing foods with local wines (they were advertising a Belgian beer dinner when we were there which sounded interesting.) The breakfast menu features a small number of scrumptious-sounding options including caramelized banana brioche french toast and apple & brie breakfast panini. Or, if you are in a hurry, the pastry case is stocked full of freshly-baked pastries and cookies. For lunch, there are various soups, salads, and grilled panini to choose from. They also usually have some sort of interesting beverage on special. This weekend, they were offering three different kinds of flavored lemonade.

For my lunch, I ordered sour cherry lemonade and a caprese panini which is basil, roasted tomato and fresh mozzarella on country bread. Robert had a B.L.T. made with fancy thick-cut bacon. When our panini arrived at the counter, they were still sizzling. Hot off the grill! Both were tasty, but I thought they were grilled for too long. When it comes to grilled bread, I like a mix of crispy exterior and chewy interior, but this was all crisp and no chew. They were also a tad greasy for my taste. The fillings were great, however. Not being a fan of raw tomatoes, I really liked the fact that they roasted the tomatoes. It made them sweet and delicious. And, the fresh mozzarella was nice and creamy. Overall, the food was just OK which is fine since Volunteer Park Cafe is a bit outside of our normal walking range. I would like to try another one of their panini someday just to see if they are always made that crunchy or if we simply happened to be there on day when the cook was being a little overzealous with the panini press. I am also very intrigued by their breakfast menu (the yeast-raised waffle with seasonal fruit compote must be mine!) Volunteer Park Cafe is located at 1501 17th Ave E and is open Tuesday-Friday from 7am to 5pm and Saturday & Sunday from 8am to 5pm.