Andy's Cafe

With Josh being the good college student and attending classes, I had to run over near Elmwood to pick up some materials for an upcoming commercial shoot. I was pretty familiar with the area because I had spent an extended time working with a production company that was once housed over there. For that reason I knew there were a few nice little neighborhood diners in the area and I decided to stop in Andy's Cafe for lunch.

Andy's is a true neighborhood place and one of the joints we would go on occasion for lunch. Located at 7201 Vine St., just south of where Paddock meets Vine at the "big Indian sign," it is a small corner building with the bar and a few tables in front and more tables in a back room.

They call themselves a "family restaurant" and it comes across not only in the people who work there but those who frequent the place. While I was sitting there I saw several people stop in, see someone and not only say "hello" but ask about their family. This is a place where everyone not only knows your name but your family as well.

I hadn't had one in a long time so I ordered up a Big Andy double decker burger. This is a freshly made burger with beef that took a little time to prepare. They were frying it up on their flattop just for me.

When it arrived it looked perfect. There was that char around the edges of the meat that a good cook knows how to make. The two beef patties were stacked high on a standard bun with my garden sitting on top. I bit in hoping this was going to be as good as it looked. I was only a little disappointed. The beef tasted fresh and had that perfect flattop grill flavor. The tomato, understandably considering the season, was not the best but the cheese, the slice of American cheese tasted like it was bulk purchased Kraft. For me that really drew down what otherwise was a pretty good burger.

Overall I enjoyed my trip to Andy's Cafe. I could have done with a better slice of cheese. But the ambiance is neighborhood joint cool and the service was friendly. If you are ever traveling along I-75 around meal time you might want to hop off at the Paddock Rd. exit and head west a block to Vine then south to Andy's. And while you're there, check out that "big Indian sign."