CUAISRITNE DELIGHTFUL DINING Wildflower Café By Margaret Word Burnside and Aaron R. Fodiman Photography by Noraa The Honey Chicken Salad Croissant at the Wildflower Café is served with seasonal fruit or a kale salad. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 171 Leslie Alfred and Joan Dragon, the proprietors at the Wildflower Café, understand flavors, food and service. That is why, although the cafe is almost hidden, you may have to wait for a table. It is located on South Fort Harrison Avenue in Clearwater on the south side of a small office building with ample parking in the rear. For 16 years, dining there has been routine for their repeat clientele who dine inside or on their dog-friendly deck. For breakfast, they serve items such as a Breakfast Pretzel Roll, a Country Omelet, a Breakfast Burrito, a Signature Scrambled, a Decidedly Deep Dish Quiche, a Chicken Pecan Tart, Belgian-Style Malted Waffles, Baked French Toast and other selections, each of which has its own special twist. At 11 a.m., lunch offerings begin with sandwiches that are served with seasonal fruit or a kale salad, and range from Handcrafted Roast Beef to their Baked Ham and Swiss Melt. Their popular Honey Chicken Salad Croissant and their Turkey Cinnamon Tea Sandwich are exceptional. The entrée salads, which are accompanied by homemade buttermilk biscuits and Wildflower honey butter, come with your choice of house-made maple, balsamic, raspberry vinaigrette, honey mustard or buttermilk ranch dressing. The Vermonter salad with white cheddar, bacon, Fuji apples, dried cherries and roasted pecans is favored by many. The Decidedly Deep Dish Quiche and the Chicken Pecan Tart are among our go-to entrées. Their then serve guests on your own dishes. You can pick up pre-prepared items, veggies plus fresh local CeeBee’s Citrus products and interesting shelf items next door at their new Marketplace. You’ll find dried Cranberry Walnut Chicken by the pound and their Gorgonzola and Berries salad by the portion to spoil your family and guests at home. They even have a Croque Monsieur en Casserole for 12 with layers of ham, Swiss, croissant, eggs and cream, served with maple syrup. Their table-ready trays of sandwiches, Baked Brie en Croute and Tortilla Spirals are sensational, as are the seasonal specials to enjoy at home or the office. Something new is being created there at almost any moment. On our last visit, we took home some “whoopie” cake that is hard to find outside of New England. The Wildflower Café is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and on Sunday for brunch from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is also available for private parties from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The adjoining Marketplace is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Menu items can be ordered before 11:30 a.m. and after 1:30 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays. 9 EDITOR’S NOTE: Wildflower Café and its Marketplace are located at 1465 South Fort Harrison Avenue in Suite 105 (the south side) in Clearwater, (727) 947-4497. Vegetarian Tomato Basil Bisque is the perfect accompaniment to any of these selections. There are daily soup specials and other items that we will leave for you to discover because we now want to talk about their outstanding baked goods. Their Muesli Bread and Warm Butter Croissants, as well as their Untraditional English Scones, cookies of all types, brownies, Hello Dalís, Gluten-Free Coconut Almond Pongaroons, cupcakes, fruit breads and muffins such as Black Cat Lemon or Banana are incredible, while their cakes, that include Hummingbird, Carrot, Toasted Coconut, Key Lime and That Chocolate, are out and out diet killers. We can’t say no to any of them. In addition to their in-restaurant food service, Wildflower Café offers remarkable “grab ‘n’ go” selections to take home and casual catering. If you want to entertain without the fuss, just let their talented staff do the cooking,
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