Joyful Cafe
February 10, 2012
Joyful Café is on Francis Street near Vandercook Lake. It occupies the building that was most recently Mars Avenue Grill and for years was Bill’s Coffee Manor. I feel that this is an important location for a café in our area. The previous owners didn’t find success here, but I have high hopes for Joy and her crew.
We stopped in for breakfast several weeks ago and were very happy with our meal. At first, the café was only open for breakfast and lunch, but recently they have advertised a Friday night fish fry. My wife and I are big fans of a good fish fry, so we have been trying to work it out to get there on a Friday night. Well, after a long week of work and no motivation for cooking supper, it was an easy decision to try out the fish fry!I got home and gathered up the girls and off we went to Joyful Café. We got there after 7 o’clock, so business was winding down a bit. We were greeted warmly and invited to seat ourselves. After a moment of deliberation we found a table and settled in.
We got our drink order in and studied the specials board for the fish choices. My daughter was pretty geeked to see that one of the sides offered was mac and cheese. Bobbi and Calli decided on the pan-seared cod, while I stuck with batter-fried. Baked potato was the side choice for the grown-ups, while Calli was having nothing but that mac and cheese!
During our short wait for our food to arrive, I was able to take a look at our surroundings. There is a definite “homey” feel to the café. Homemade curtains adorn the windows, antique knick-knacks line the shelves and the paint is a warm welcoming shade of yellow. Overall, it felt clean, tidy and well lit.
…and now the food. It arrived quickly and looked great! I saw Calli’s first, with the pan-seared cod, mac and cheese and two hush puppies. The mac and cheese was clearly homemade and baked. The fish was cooked well and the hush puppies were a golden brown, and Joy (one of the owners) assured us, “we make those from scratch too”. It’s important to us that restaurants go to the effort in the kitchen to whip up their own recipes, so that was nice to hear. Our plates arrived as well, and we were similarly pleased. My batter-fried fish was nice and crispy on the outside, flaky and well-cooked on the inside. Calli, in particular, really liked her fish.
My wife and I were both really impressed with the friendliness of the staff. Joy was our waiter, and her Mom was on the till, as well as pitching in elsewhere. Joy’s husband was in the kitchen whipping up the food.
I would encourage everyone to give Joyful Café a try. The owners are local and putting forth a great effort to provide a great product in a friendly, inviting atmosphere. I’m a big believer in supporting our local establishments, and Joyful Café is a valuable addition to the south east side of Jackson.
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Copyright 2012 Leif Borreson
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