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
CUAISRITNE
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,