Cuisine Review

Other than to take my children to school, I hardly ever am out in the Village of Spring Hill. I somehow cannot get past that name. Wall-to-wall SUVs at Old Shell and McGregor hardly bring to mind the word “village.”

When I am out in the area to eat, mainly it is to go to one of the restaurants in Legacy Village (there are a plethora of villages out here, there is already a Spring Hill Village Shopping Center), to the Mellow Mushroom, Brick Pit or Los Arcos. And I never eat lunch out that way. But a week or so ago I had some business out that way and joined one of my leisurely lady friends for a quick lunch.

She chose the Chat-A-Way Café which is located in the aforementioned Spring Hill Village Shopping Center across from Spring Hill College. This place has been around in some form or fashion for many years and serves lunch only. I remember coming home from college and hardly ever being able to eat there, it was always packed, and it still is.

It is, for the most part, a ladies place but the men go as well. It is a great place to take grandmother for lunch to rescue her from the retirement home or to meet your spouse to plan the week’s activities. Or just to chat as the name implies, and a lot of that goes on.

I would not recommend unloading bad news on someone here as the tables are close, and in five minutes your news will likely to have already reached the Holiday.

It is a pleasing space, with some tables outside off the parking lot and a black-and-white motif inside. It’s nice to know some things never change, and like their menu. At first mention of eating there, I was already deciding what I wanted, from memory. For the most part, this is a salad, sandwich, quiche and soup place. There are some hefty items, including a great twice-baked potato ($3.50, or $4 loaded). Think of just about any sandwich or salad and it is here.

Their quiche of the day is quite popular, especially on Friday when crabmeat quiche is served with fresh fruit and poppy seed bread. I like poppy seed bread a great deal and at Chat-A-Way there is a wicker basket full of loaves each day that get purchased rather quickly.

This is the perfect thing to take along with some of their shrimp gumbo ($13.50 for a large), called by many “the best in town,” to a sick friend or a couple with a new baby (my Spring Hill roots are really showing with that recommendation).

In addition to gumbo, they have a soup of the day, and when I went it was Cream of Broccoli (cup $4, bowl $6). You can taste the addition of rich cream immediately in an ample sized glass coffee mug, in which broccoli florets flourished. Other soups (and all are available in to go portions, large or small) such as Cream of Chicken, Cream of Potato and Fire Roasted Tomato along with Vegetable Beef are excellent.

Many opt for the “Chat-A-Way Choice” a serving of either chicken salad ($8.50), Shrimp Salad ($9) which is the clear favorite, rich with a nice mayonnaise binding or Tuna Salad ($7.50) that are served with a choice of two: fruit, pasta salad, potato salad or cole slaw. I have not tried it but Gwen’s famous West Indies Salad is available at market price.

Two of my favorites when they first became hits a decade or so ago are the café salad ($7.50), which contains mandarin oranges, roasted almonds and hearts of palm of greens and what I think is, beyond Crockmeir’s the best spinach salad ($6.50) in the area. Theirs has the addition of feta to bacon, mushrooms, egg and croutons. You can add grilled chicken to any salad for an additional $3.

On the sandwich front, I realized after we sat down that my friend and I both wanted the French Dip ($7.50). She reminded me her mother thinks the Reuben ($7.5) is the best in town here, so we decided to share.

Sandwiches come with chips, potato salad or cole slaw. Their potato salad is quite good, old fashioned, more mashed potatoes than these twice-baked concoctions around town. You can substitute a soup, pasta salad, gumbo and a wealth of other options for extra dollars. While the sandwiches are not large, they are ample and filling. My Reuben had nice thick slices of corned beef and just enough thousand island dressing as to not overwhelm the sandwich. The French Dip au jus was a bit salty, but then it would not be worth it if it wasn’t!

Other sandwich items are a grilled chicken club ($8) that is good, along with a grilled chicken pita. All of the rest are typical – tuna, shrimp salad, BLT, club, tuna melt, even a PB&J. You can choose from honey wheat berry, French, white, rye, sourdough or croissant bread. If you want a lighter meal they have a soup and half-sandwich combo ($8.50).

Make sure to save room for dessert, whether you are watching your waistline or not. All of their desserts are homemade and remarkable. I keep trying one unbelievable key lime pie after another and the crown has now been moved to Chat-A-Way. Luscious, creamy and tart as can be, with fresh whipped cream on top, my friend hardly let me taste hers.

I selected lemon chess pie – again tart, with not a curd in it. They also have French silk, strawberry, brownie walnut and chocolate chess ($4 slice, $11.50 whole). Great to take over the bay (here I go again). The cakes are just as astounding, as are the cheesecakes. The cakes include a perfect carrot cake, red velvet, chocolate, German chocolate and coconut (range of $5-$5.50 a slice, $27-$31 whole cake).

All of their salads can be bought to go, along with numerous casseroles. But come early, because they are only open for lunch during the week from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and the chatter stops at 3, selling the to-go items. I can see why this place keeps on keeping it on.

Kinnon Phillips is Lagniappe cuisine editor. Contact him at kphillips@lagniappemobile.com.

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