Blue Canoe Cafe

A darling Main Street cafe and coffee house open from dawn to dusk, the Blue Canoe is a locals’ favorite. Indeed, much of what cooks in the kitchen really is local, including meats from Cone’s Market and butchery just up the road as well as produce from nearby farms.

Pastries are a menu highlight: muffins and scones, interesting cupcakes, and a lallapalooza of a “skillet cookie,” which is a huge, just-baked chocolate chip cookie served in a cast iron skillet, topped with ice cream, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. The cookie, which takes 15 minutes to arrive because it is baked to order, is hot enough that the ice cream is already beginning to melt as it arrives. And the skillet keeps the cookie hot. By midway through, you are spooning into a crazy-indulgent slurry of cookie dough and cream. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, it’s a must-eat.

Hamburgers are flavorful patties cooked through, all the better when topped with cheese and/or bacon, pizza sauce, or a mix of havarti and cheddar cheese and plenty of just-ripe avocado. They come with excellent French fries: a winning balance of crisp surface and creamy insides.

Pizzas are a specialty, although the shy crust is eclipsed by whatever ingredients are atop it. Other worthy menu considerations: paninis, BBQ bologna, a delightfully messy chili dog, wings (bone-in or boneless), made-to-order milk shakes, and a full roster of coffee drinks, chai, frappes, and smoothies.

The Blue Canoe is a versatile venue — right for a meal, a snack, a cup of coffee, or dessert. Dining facilities include indoor and outdoor tables; and there’s a drive-up window for eats to-go. The place itself is cool. Repurposed as a restaurant in what was built as a monumental bank building, it is a winning mix of commercial grandeur and small-town charm.