The ABCs of Lunch

Mission Street Bakery is an engaging place for a bite when you’re in South Pasadena. Food-themed art hangs on the walls, there’s a pleasant brick-walled dining patio and the cute tables are already set with cutlery and coffee cups (though they’re actually just stenciled on).

Since its December 1995 opening, the cafe has won a sizable following. The outdoor tables fill quickly on warm days and, if you arrive late, the indoor side may be full too.

You should be aware, however, that this cheerful eatery is a work in progress and will remain that way. It’s a laboratory for the young and ambitious Southern California School of Culinary Arts, housed in a separate building behind it. This means constant rotation of student personnel and food that can be very good or, occasionally, off the mark.

Service is friendly but sometimes unpolished. And the bakery selection is inconsistent. One day, it’s so packed with temptation that you’re inclined to eat nothing but dessert. Another day, there are only morning pastries: croissants, bear claws, big muffins and scones, along with some basic cookies.

The meals are variable too. My score for three lunches was good, very good and wish-I’d-stayed-in-the-office.

A special one day, grilled salmon on jasmine rice with red pepper coulis, carrots, corn kernels and asparagus, was incredibly orange, thanks to the flood of coulis, but tasty. And how many places can you get fresh salmon for $6.75? Other days, the salmon comes with linguine or mashed potatoes. Creole shrimp on linguine also came out well. There weren’t a lot of shrimp, but they were skillfully cooked and juicy.

The regular menu concentrates on salads, sandwiches and pizzas. I’ve tried only one of the sandwiches, a chicken pepperoncini panini, and it was nice. Grilled chicken, zesty little peppers, cheese, tomato and lettuce were layered between slices of focaccia made at the bakery.

You get to choose a salad with your sandwich. I tried riso pasta and, although the concept was good, the recipe needs tinkering. The texture was soft and slippery, crying out for crunchy relief, and the dressing was too sharp. Green salad with tomato vinaigrette may be the best choice. The dressing is excellent.

One day, a grilled eggplant salad just about stole the show. The tomato slices buried under a mound of mixed greens didn’t need to hide--they were delicious, with none of that stale, out-of-season flavor that you come across even in up-market restaurants. A good vinaigrette, very fresh greens, fine strands of red cabbage and carrot, corn kernels and toasty eggplant slices were the other components. And there was enough to divide for two first-course servings.

But I have been disappointed in a pot pie filled with turkey and peas in a pasty white sauce, under-salted French onion soup too full of soggy bread and a bland potato-horseradish salad. A shrimp quesadilla was stingy with shrimp and oozed garish orange cheese. And why was it sprinkled with Italian parsley rather than cilantro?

Only a grilled vegetable pizza saved that particular day. Pizzas are a safe choice here. The crusts are rolled out, filled and baked while you wait.

Students work an overnight bread shift, so the breads are very fresh. The selection varies. At my last (and best) lunch, the bread basket contained slices of speckled herb bread and a sweet brown loaf that tasted of molasses.

Among the other baked goods, try the big, thin white chocolate chip cookies, the cranberry bar cookies, the scrumptious raspberry almond bars studded with sliced nuts or individual Linzer tarts, if they are on hand. Then take home scones for breakfast or a coffee cake muffin, a giant muffin made with coffee cake batter.

At the bakery counter, you’ll also see gorgeous cakes decorated by advanced pastry students. These are only for display, but not to worry; the bakery takes orders.

The cafe serves breakfast and lunch only but stages a wine and food pairing dinner once a month. Regular dinners and Sunday jazz are in the works, and alcoholic beverages will be available in the future. For now, drinks range from cappuccino and herb tea to raspberry lemonade in the prettiest imaginable shade of pink.

BE THERE

Mission Street Bakery, 1423 Mission St., South Pasadena, (818) 403-8498. Breakfast and lunch, 6:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. No alcohol. Parking lot and street parking. All major credit cards. Lunch for two, food only, $10-$13.50. What to Get: vegetarian pizza, chicken pepperoncini panini, grilled salmon.