Persephone Grae’s Café & Juice Bar, named after the executive chef’s daughter, opened in early June. The reviews are few so far, but the common message is portrayed loud and clear — something special is happening here.
Located in the Barker House, the café boasts a decently diverse menu of common comfort food that ranges from biscuits and gravy or French toast to the popular hot turkey sandwich. The juice bar can satiate any customer with a selection from the smoothie or fresh-pressed juice selection made at the front counter right outside the kitchen.
Two people staff the café, which may sound drastically understaffed. But the reasoning is simple: “We are just not big enough, yet, to pay for three guys,” Executive Chef Lyman Anderson said. (Editor’s note: The chef and the reporter are not related.)
He utilizes his 23 years of experience, so the kitchen is well in order to pump out multiple orders of food (from 28 menu items) in a short time, just as long as his front-of-house man, Eli Blackshear, can keep up.
As any restaurant owner would agree, when new restaurants open there’s a crucial period of adjusting and perfecting the menu. This can be replacing specific ingredients or adjusting how a dish is prepared. Sometimes, even, it may be that a particular dish simply does not work the way it was envisioned and needs to be adjusted completely.
That does require a particular degree of patience; Anderson said he is “trying to bring real food back to Manitou Springs” and sourcing what he can locally to bring real smiles to his tables.
When I stepped into Persephone Grae’s, the atmosphere was friendly, alert and alive. Blackshear’s mission is to ensure every customer feels completely at home, even if it’s their first time in the doors.
After some time with Anderson in the kitchen and seeing him in action, it was time to try the food. Considering it was around noon, it felt appropriate to try the sandwiches while taking in the views from an outdoor table.
Despite a lunch rush, my order took just less than 13 minutes to arrive at the table.
The Manitou Gobbler will remind diners of Thanksgiving leftovers, but better.
The first sandwich on the chopping block is the Manitou Gobbler: thinly sliced, in-house roasted turkey breast, bacon, provolone cheese and candied jalapeño cranberry sauce on house-made bread.
Although fairly simple in nature, diners will remember a time they created their own turkey sandwich utilizing Thanksgiving leftovers. This sandwich, however, is made to order and not the least bit dry. I would recommend picking up a salt shaker as the sandwich can run a singular note by the second half.
The second sandwich that’s worth the catch is the Rainbow Falls cold sandwich. This reminded me of what would be a shrimp salad on bread, simply put. It’s Gulf shrimp, pickled carrots, lettuce, avocado, crispy wonton strips and sesame-ginger dressing on a house-made hoagie roll.
This might need to be tweaked as it was a bit difficult to eat, considering how the vegetables were cut. I had a secondary salad on my plate from what fell out of the hoagie roll. But the vegetables were well-prepared and vibrant, and the sesame-ginger dressing paired well with the pickled carrots to create a unique profile.
I washed down both sandwiches with an orange-apple juice Blackshear had pressed to order, which was simple and well-done.
Overall, between the staff and the food, I can confidently give this establishment 4 out of 5 knives. It’s well worth a visit, and Anderson and Blackshear can make the appropriate adjustments where necessary.
Cailean Anderson