One of my favorite coffee shops in town is stepping up its food game. Patika (2159 S. Lamar Blvd.) has expanded its menu, and last week introduced a more robust breakfast and lunch service. While the cafe has mostly focused on coffee drinks and pastries since opening two years ago, owners Andy Wigginton and Nick Krupa had envisioned a broader concept, inspired in part by the cafes they encountered on their travels to Australia.
“We’ve loved their use of efficient spaces, using fresh and generally local ingredients in a small but satisfying menu,” Wigginton said in an email. “Typically, these include lighter fare emphasizing vegetables and local produce, served with delicious fresh breads or on toast, and with items that transition smoothly between breakfast and lunch.”
To that end, Patika has partnered with Alan Delgado, a veteran of Launderette, Sway and Clark’s Oyster Bar to devise a menu that includes breakfast sandwiches; avocado toast with sprouts and poached egg; a fancy “PB&J” toast with stewed sour cherries, almonds and ricotta; vegetable-topped grain bowls; and fettuccine with pork belly and mushrooms.
The new items join the strong pastry program overseen by baker Bria Jones with a rotating selection that includes French onion biscuits, chocolate cherry scones and Sunday-only cinnamon rolls.
Patika is serving breakfast and lunch Thursday and Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the first few weeks and then expanding their hours and eventually adding a weekend brunch menu.
