http://www.santa-fe-cafe.com/
9946 W. 87th Street
Overland Park, KS 66212
(913) 648-5402

Average Entree: $8-10

The seating
I decided to visit Santa Fe Cafe for lunch to get a little bit of alone time. I didn’t know much about this cafe besides that it was a breakfast and lunch only restaurant with a southwestern feel. I arrived at 11:40 to beat the potential lunch rush and was immediately greeted by a female who appeared to be one of the owners. I was offered more than one area of the restaurant to be seated in, which was welcoming to me since I often like to seclude myself in the corner and attempt to block out as much of the talk from other patrons as possible. There were only a few others seated by the time that I arrived at my table.

The food
Having perused the menu online before arriving, within minutes my order was taken. I opted for one of the Tuesday specials, the Plains Chicken & Noodles with a side salad. Generally at lunch I drink only water with my meal and Santa Fe Cafe has a carafe of ice water with a slice of lemon on every table. This works for me and I know I don’t have to worry about ever having an empty glass. I was surprised to have my meal delivered within five minutes of the order being taken. I was also surprised to have the side salad brought out at the same time as my hot meal. I was a bit conflicted where to start on my meal. You might say that I should start with my salad of course, but there were several reasons that it just didn’t seem right. The first being that they served the salad in a small bowl and piled it high. I sat wondering how to dig into the salad without making a mess all over the table. The second reason was because I was concerned that my meal would get cool while I was eating the salad, and the third was that there was a delicious looking biscuit on the plate as well and I love biscuits with butter and jelly. I opted to begin with half of the biscuit and then move on with the rest. The biscuit was OK, but did not seem especially fresh and moist. There is a good chance that these are store bought. The salad seemed to be made with fresh ingredients and included mushroom slices along with the other usual suspects. The main plate consisted of chicken and noodles in a thick broth over a generous serving of creamy mashed potatoes, served with a side of roasted baby carrots and onions. The carrots seemed dry and overcooked and those were left on the plate when I left (I usually like to make a happy plate). The chicken and noodles were under-seasoned, but fairly good with a little added salt and pepper from the table. The mashed potatoes the star of the show. They seemed perfectly creamy and buttery and made a nice foundation for the meal. I will mention that the menu lists the noodles and homemade which is impressive in my book. The portion was just right and I left feeling satisfied.

The turning of the table
Midway through my entree, my ticket was placed on the table and I was informed that I could pay at the front counter. While I appreciate that this saves me from waiting for the server to bring me change or my receipt back to sign, it always complicates tipping when I don’t have the proper change. After paying with cash at the front counter, I returned to the other side of the restaurant to drop off the tip. I left in the middle of the lunch hour and a few more tables were occupied, but overall the restaurant was less than half full.

The decor
The dining room was not in my preferred style, but clean and organized. The motif was decidedly southwestern with pictures of cowboys and such throughout. There are a couple of small televisions on the back walls, but there is enough distance to the front that you can escape these distractions if you wish.

Other notes of interest
While the lunch menu consists mostly of salads and sandwiches, I was pleased to see that each weekday, they feature two additional hot dishes, such as meatloaf, pot pies, fried chicken and salmon croquettes. I also noticed that they serve 12 different flavors of made from scratch pies. Another item on the menu seemed a little out of place, but not unwelcome. They offer four different smoothies made with Greek yogurt, fruit and milk. Interestingly, you can add a serving of whey protein for a dollar.

Summary
Clean, Reasonably Priced, Good Service, Average Food