Best Café For Food '98

Best Café For Food

Cup Café
308 E. 10th St.

READERS' PICK: The menu at the Cup Café is as eclectic as its clientele, and therefore caters to a wide variety of palates: scrumptious breakfast platters with steaming blueberry pancakes, or eggs and peppers with garlicky red potatoes; lunch time specials like the Thai salad with glass noodles, lean roast beef on fresh-baked curry bread, or the "Queer Steer" black-bean veggie burger; and a variety of pasta, stir-fry and meaty dinner entrees. Don't forget to save room for a mouth-watering slice of bittersweet chocolate torte, fruit pie, double-chocolate pudding (with cinnamon and whipped cream), or a variety of cheesecakes and other desserts, all prepared fresh on the premises.

READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: Coffee Etc., 2380 N. Campbell Ave.; 6091 N. Oracle Road

CLUE IN: If you've sipped your way through an iced mocha or an espresso shake at Bentley's House of Coffee & Tea, 1730 E. Speedway Blvd., then you know you've had the greatest one on the planet. But if you haven't ordered any of the solid foods from that colored-chalk menu, you're missing out. Besides above-average coffee shop standards like bagels, salads and sweets, you can dive into green corn tamales, smoothies, sandwiches, one of a bevy of daily soups such as Mexican-lime-avocado, or a unique veggie burger. Note that all of Bentley's food is homemade, using in-house recipes and fresh ingredients. They also have a variety of vegan options, including a selection of delectable cakes, pies and muffins.