On the Fort, (pay attention, The Fort!) there’s a restaurant. I think for years it was breakfast and brunch only, which is why I never went there, but now they seem to serve lunch and dinner, cause I follow them on Instagram and they post noms and write things like, “Join us for dinner!” Maybe they always served lunch. I don’t know their life.
I had to fangirl them, because Benson is a fan and they are a local business. The food always looks good.
A few weeks ago, The Mister called me at 10am on a Saturday and said, “Wanna eat?” and I did. I did wanna eat. I consented to putting on clothes because it was about 10 degrees, and then the worst part — as always, he asked, “Where ya wanna go?” If you have enjoyed being asked that question for the last twenty fucking years, we have nothing in common. I have a big imagination. I think of the best meals I’ve ever had and I realize he’s not going to drive me to Provincetown or Sanibel or whatever, and he hates driving downtown, and he hates parking in Broad Ripple…
Cafe Audrey!
So we goed.
The food was good.
The building, which I photographed before, long ago, is groovy.
I took the old pic after school, so maybe 4ish and they definitely weren’t open then.
New picture. Deceptively warm looking sun rays.
Erm, they sat us at the bar/counter thingy. Not far from the door. I did not like this. I asked the host if people would pay right next to us, as there was a POS there, and the host did lie at my face, saying, “No, people won’t be coming up here.” People did come there. All the time. Mostly him. Also it was cold. There was a space heater on 90 pointed at my legs the entire time and it was cold. I began to hate polite people who held the door open for others. Shame on them. Next time we go, I intend to demand booth seating on the east side of the building where I will not have to stop to make fake polite conversation ten times an hour and I will not ask my husband if I can hold his coffee mug to soothe my angry hands.
This was my view:
They had a coffee station and random mugs like anyone’s house. This complimented the other dishes, mismatched and happy. I dig the decor. And this guy on the right.
Behind me, this complicated drool-worthy double door feature.
I don’t know what she’s mad about, but it may have been someone opening the door, I’m just sayin.
My favorite?
This window:
Did I mention the food was good?
#ThursdayDoors is part of an inspired post series run by Norm Frampton. To see other doors of interest, or to share your own, click the link and find the frog.
Ha! I was gonna ask about that ‘mad’ woman! You read my mind, Joey! Pancakes…..mine are never as good as the ones I get when we go out for breakfast. Mmmmm-mmm.
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Right? I almost asked her to smile for the door people, but you know, not everyone is as weird as I.
My husband makes THE best pancakes. I don’t order pancakes out anymore, but he still does.
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You had me at biscuits and gravy. Were there doors? I didn’t notice..
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It looks like she snitched a bottle of wine. Let’s hope it improves her mood.
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Hehe!
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Yum! I think I like this place with the rustic decor and mismatched dishes. I’d ask for a better place to sit though, I agree. 🙂
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Yep, there’s always next time.
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Ok, you door people who insist on showing me food along with your doors… there needs to be a warning label at the top of these posts. Oh my gosh, so hungry. Nice doors, too, btw.
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I told ya last week, Ally Bean, I told you I’d prolly take you to brunch on the fort 😛
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Poor Joey. Good food won’t make up for a cold dining room. I concur about the decor however that dude looks kinda’ sketchy.
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Haha! That dude ❤
The food was good, but I need to eat it from a nice warm booth!
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I like the decor, too, Joey, especially the shabby chic barn door. But those pancakes look sooooo delicious, I now have the urge to make some.
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I hope you made some pancakes — if not, Sunday mornings are perfect for pancakes 🙂
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I made pancakes for supper that same day, Joey. 🙂
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LOL the sign says “Attitude is Everything” and yet she is not really a happy looking person, although maybe she just wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to hit that customer with the door. Very cool looking place. Pancakes, yes please.
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I poemed about a diner we dined at in a small TX town. Sometimes peeps are so yacky and friendsly, I want to ask, “do I know you? have we met? I ain’t from these parts, so hush. Have y’all ever heard the word introvert?” But I fall into pretending to be one of them. I even talk with a fake Texas drawl. The food was good and the experience made me laugh. Next time I’m havin’ biscuits n’ gravy.
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Adopting the local accent is a kind of intelligence, did you know that? Mmhm.
I know! Like, I’m not an unfriendly person, I enjoy a bit of chatter with other pleasant folk. Last fall, The Mister and I snuck off for a quiet coffee date after work, all romantical and shit, and this stranger man started a conversation about how important it is for couples to take time alone and then spent WAY too long talking to us about it, depriving us of the very thing he encouraged, the very thing we’d been trying to do. Good mercy, kind sir, that will DO!
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I’m glad the food was good, but the “ambiance” sounds dreadful. And that he lied about it makes it worse. I like the double doors, too. 🙂
janet
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Exactly. You get me. I’ll go again, sit in a warm booth and I bet that will make the good food taste even better!
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Did you get some free pies for sitting in the colder pat of the rest?
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No 😦
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I love how the view from the place you never want to sit again has a sign that says “Attitude is Everything” – I love the barn door, the window the outside door you took before. The food really does look good.
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Seriously, they shouldn’t seat ANYONE there. I was on the corner, with The Mister to look at, but the poor guests closer to the door and looking at the … well, attitude can only make up for so much. The food though — good stuff!
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If the food is good, I will always give a place a second chance. And it looks like there is no end of photo opps there too 🙂
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Love the pix of the architecture almost as much as the food. Looks like good comfort food.
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Looks like real comfort food!
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If the food is good and you know what to do differently next time it`s probably worth another visit. I love the interior brick and that hanging/slide barn style door is awesome.
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Yes, a nice warm booth might make ALL the difference, cause the food was good.
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Awww – I’m feeling badly for the misunderstood door lady. She likely has resting angry face – an affliction I can relate to. She’s not angry – she just hasn’t been reanimated by coffee and food yet 😉
In spite of the lousy location you had to enjoy your brunch, this place does look worthy of a repeat visit. Yeah – I too hate the inevitable question ‘where do you want to go? / what do you want to do? / what do you want to eat?’. For once, I’d like to be surprised … preferably a nice surprise 😉
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I know! There are AT LEAST 10 places he knows I always like, he could just pick one. I think mine is trying to please me, and yours may feel the same, but sometimes, it’d be nice to have the meal decided — and that’s rare here. He will, very rarely, say something like, “I’ll pick up X on the way home” and I promise I praise and encourage the hell out of that!
She may have RBF, poor dear.
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I appreciate that they are trying to please us and simply asking what we’d like is a great beginning. However, as I’ve tried to point out many times, when we’ve spent the entire day making decisions, sometimes we just run out of decision-making ability … like, what do I want to eat?
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You know it.
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There are assorted restaurant happenings that can reduce good food to rubble, Joey. Bad seating is high on the list. Oy.
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Right? Booth or bust next time, Mark.
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The food has to be REALLY good to make up for cold and lies and bits chipping off the paint. It would take angel biscuits and/or sky-high meringue to get me back into a place like that. Just sayin’.
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I understand. I believe it deserves a second chance from a warm booth, because the food is really good 🙂
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Great little tour of this place and loved each door.
But really drooling over that post if sausage gravy and biscuits – is that what it was?
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Yes, although, poached eggs are atop the biscuits. It has some cute menu name, too, but I don’t remember it.
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The food looks delicious, I like the decor, but, yes, you need to demand better seating next time. 🙂 And, didn’t you get the memo – wives are assumed to be the family’s social director. 🙂
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I did NOT get that memo! I think there’s a mix-up, maybe because my husband is about 10x more social than I…
Next time, a booth, yep!
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It’s Sunday morning and I would be all about Cafe Audrey as I desire bacon and eggs and crispy dark hash browns. I only have eggs here and got things to do, so maybe another day I will invite a friend to splurge at some place around here.
It’s a shame where you had to sit. Restaurants should never seat people in cold or next to bathrooms, kitchen doors or the like. It takes away from the food and decor. Glad it wasn’t too bad that you’d be willing to go back.
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I hope your things list gets all done and you can enjoy a quiet winter evening including a warm and tasty meal!
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That was a pretty neat hangy door. I like those, and barn doors, how they roll. Nice.
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That woman looks either as though she is concentrating exclusively upon that door as if it is the most fascinating door in the world, or else she looks sad. Glad to know the food was good but darn for the cold! I’d be so outta there even if the ambiance was cool cuz when I get cold I hurt. Happy for you and hubby to have had private time. Kudos for you! 😘
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Nice doors. Not nice about lies. That happened on our getaway. We sat outdoors. They tried to sit us right by the bathroom entrance. The hubby asked if we could be sat somewhere else and she wanted to sit us not too far away even though there was a large open area. He asked to be sat there and she said they were trying to keep that open…blah…blah… I know it was really about it being our waitresses’ (who was extremely lovely) turn for her section. We obliged but were annoyed. There were very few customers and the sections were close enough that she could have still been assigned to us. The mimosa and shrimp tacos were divine though. 😉
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Too bad you can relate, but yay for good food!
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