Bear E Patch Cafe

Homemade breads and breakfast all day. Easiest selling points ever.

Both can be had, and enjoyed, at the Bear E Patch Cafe, a West Ashley favorite, and home to an extensive menu featuring omelets, burgers, salads, sandwiches, wraps and quesadillas.

The decor suggests a mashup of Big Lots and Lowcountry, palmetto tree-lined tablecloths, suitably framed pictures, the floor a green-and-white checkered tile. It's a comfortable lunchtime spot, the food consistent and high-quality.

Sue's Special ($7.95) serves up a fat pancake and two eggs any style, the dish crowded with bacon and fried Patch potatoes. The pancake's plenty filling, let alone the add-ons.

Plus, the restaurant casts an eye toward the sea, whipping up a Harbor Sautee ($9.95) with shrimp and blue crab claw meat, and a Seaside omelet ($9.95), also with shrimp and blue crab, scallops and peppers.

For lunch, a plump Reuben ($5.95) is laden with sauerkraut and Thousand Island, the corn beef and stretchy Swiss cheese wedged between slices of buttery, homemade rye bread. It's a heavenly sandwich.

Same goes for the deli selections, such as the chicken salad on sourdough. Half a sandwich costs $4.95, a full sandwich $5.75. Breads also include whole wheat and raisin.

The fries are good and seasoned with a blend of special spices, lemon pepper, sweet and identifiable.

Other selections look tempting, too, including a pair of Reuben variations, a crabcake melt ($7.50) on sourdough and the Folly Beach wrap ($8.95) with grilled shrimp, scallops and cheese.

Then for dessert: a giant selection of floats and milkshakes, ice cream and homemade pies ($2.95-$3.95), which vary week to week. Take your pick, pumpkin, pecan, caramel, key lime, Boston creme, et al.

Address: 1980 Ashley River Road

Phone: 766-6490

Hours: 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon-Fri, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Sat.