Homemade Orange Cream Soda
by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
October 23, 2005
ST HELEN CAFE
150 Wythe Ave
(N 7th & N 8th Sts)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
212-677-5856
I always tend to forget that Williamsburg is only two stops away from Union Square, where I live, which is a shame for me since there is a lot of good food there. So on a recent leisurely Sunday I ventured on a 5-minute train ride with a friend to have brunch at St. Helen Cafe, a charming little restaurant with a lovely garden in the back with a small pond of beautiful goldfish.
The menu included a variety of baked eggs, salads, focaccia sandwiches and baked goods with novelty butters — pistachio, cashew, etc. The food is good, the people are nice, and the ambiance lovely, but there is more than a bit of disorganization in the kitchen.
It was over an hour from the time we sat down to when we were served our meal, and they had forgotten the croissants with pistachio butter that I would have preferred to chew on instead of my arm while I waited in hunger. The good news is that it was Sunday and I was feeling relaxed so I really didn’t get that annoyed. When we looked over at the rest of the diners, seated indoors, we realized that nobody was eating, and this simply because no one had been served. I didn’t feel as bad after seeing them, but I’m not sure that’s a good sign for the restaurant.
The doubly good news is that the drinks were great. I started with a homemade orange cream soda, made with orange juice and seltzer, mixed with fresh cream and vanilla — a real delight. Then I moved onto the mint with lemon and lime soda. It came in a tall glass filled with fresh mint and it both looked and tasted like a virgin Mojito. It was also delicious.
I don’t know what to say. I hope that it was just that day that the kitchen was ill equipped to handle the orders. There was never a long line of people waiting so at least diners didn’t feel pressured to just eat and get out. And even if we wanted to, we couldn’t really because everyone was waiting, waiting, waiting…
Also in American, Brunch, Drinks, Williamsburg
