Home-style cooking, a bit pumped up

THE muscular guy in a tank top and shorts at the table next to me is digging into a plate piled high with turkey meat loaf, and the woman with abs to die for is making quick work of a gigantic egg-white omelet. I just stopped in for a latte at this little cafe in Silver Lake, but I seem to have found heaven on earth for post-workout appetites.

Comfort Cafe dishes up the kind of home cooking you might be nostalgic for if your mom knew her way around an espresso machine and was a frequent gym-goer, if she was a great cook who was knowledgeable about nutrition but not compulsive about diet. This fantasy mom could as easily set a training table as a dining room table: gloriously messy grilled flank-steak sandwiches, fresh-fruit smoothies and protein drinks, fluffy egg-white quiches enriched with tender-crunchy mushrooms and peppers and flecked with fresh herbs.

Go early in the morning (it opens weekdays at 7:30 a.m.) and you’ll see the small case slowly filling up as the kitchen brings out the dishes: Here comes the salmon salad (grilled salmon mixed with dill, capers, celery and red onions with a light sour cream dressing), cole slaw with celery seeds, a dish of garlicky sauteed spinach. The scones (maple-oatmeal, blueberry, ginger-almond) are replenished, cookie jars (“carrot cake,” peanut butter, chocolate chip-coconut) filled.

Located in a small, tastefully designed storefront next to Body Builders Gym, the cafe, owned by Jackie Joniec and Erik Flowers, who co-own the gym, was originally named BBG Cafe and run as part of the same business. Recently it’s been renamed and is now trying to carve out its own identity.

A dark red banquette rings the room, whose white walls are stenciled with a leafy vine in the same shade of red. Round white tables are set at intervals and red cafe chairs drawn up here and there.

Joniec heads up the kitchen, assisted by manager-baker Reggie Southerland, who bills himself as “Mildred Fierce” in a nod to the baker-restaurateur played by Joan Crawford. Among his creations: peanut butter cookies with just the right crumbly texture; “insane cookies” studded with bits of peanut-butter filled pretzels, chocolate chips and Heath Bar nuggets; and three kinds of brownies.

Clearly flavor comes first at Comfort Cafe; the menu’s designed around taste, not diet guidelines. Joniec and Southerland seem to be on hand most of the time; between them, they make everything but the bread on site. When I stop in for a meal, I’m always tempted into take-out too. At breakfast (served until 1 p.m.), I see something I want for lunch; at lunch, I decide to take home a salad or two.

Breakfast dishes embrace L.A.’s affection for Mexican flavors. There’s a vegetarian breakfast burrito with black beans, saffron rice, tomatoes, onions and Jack cheese. One morning’s special, a superb New Age version of chilaquiles made with chicken sausage and cut-up corn tortillas softened with a touch of enchilada sauce, is held together in a scramble of super-fresh eggs. There’s always oatmeal (served with dried cherries and walnuts) or your choice of omelets (whole-egg or egg-white) served with rosemary potatoes.

You (and the hunky guys who’ve stopped in after a morning workout) can augment your breakfast with your choice of more than a dozen sides including a toasted bagel and grilled salmon (call it an entree if you must, but it’s a “side” to a guy who’s been lifting weights for an hour).

The fresh fruit plate demonstrates the kinds of personal touches that make a dish special here: There’s a beautifully ripe fresh fig along with the cantaloupe, watermelon and kiwi, and the cottage cheese is garnished with fresh lemon zest.

Although breakfast service theoretically ends at 1 p.m., you can get “comfort specials” all day. These include an egg-white quiche that’s much richer than it sounds because it’s loaded with portabello mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and tangy-salty feta cheese.

Lunch is a protracted affair, with as many folks likely to be dining at 2:30 or 3 p.m. as at noon. Hot lunch plates are built around a structure of main dishes and a generous selection of sides. Savory, moist turkey meatloaf is one option. The plate portion is too huge (three big slices) for non-bodybuilders, so there’s meatloaf by the slice too. A single slice with a side of one of the rice salads, potato salad, roasted vegetables (a caramelized combo of sweet potatoes, mushrooms and carrots) cole slaw, or the weirdly wonderful South Beach “mashed” cauliflower (actually a beautifully seasoned cauliflower puree) is the kind of simple, tasty meal you can hardly ever find when you’re running around town looking for a quick bite. The mix of rices in the cranberry-rice salad is prepared al dente and combines well with the dried cranberries and pecans. Salads are lightly dressed; you can taste the vegetables, nuts and berries, not just oil.

Flavorful grilled flank steak shows up in a variety of guises on this menu: in thick sandwiches; on a salad of baby greens, red onions, cherry tomatoes and blue cheese; as a side with eggs. Sandwiches (including a chunky, mayo-rich chicken salad; tuna salad crunchy with celery and onion) come with one of the above-mentioned sides, or you can order a half-sandwich with chicken soup or a mild, soupy turkey chili made with black, garbanzo and kidney beans.

A final stop at the bakery case makes a lasting impression when I select a slice of smooth, sweet lemon cake topped with a fresh, tangy lemon glaze that has me licking my fingers. One bite and I want to ask Southerland and Joniec to adopt me.

*

Comfort Cafe

Location: 2520 Hyperion Ave., Los Angeles; (323) 666-5616.

Price: Breakfast dishes, $4 to $11 (for flank steak and eggs); “comfort favorites,” $4 to $12; sandwiches, $7 to $9; salads, $4 to $10; entree plates with two sides, $7 to $10.

Best dishes: Turkey meatloaf, barbecue beef sandwich, chicken sausage chilaquiles, lemon- walnut cake.

Details: Open 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Closed Sundays. Street and lot parking. Major credit cards. Phone orders; takeout.