Cafe on Main serves can't-miss fare in Sharpsburg

Its mod-ish purple and green facade makes Cafe on Main hard to miss. Inside, however, the colors are restful, with white wainscotting and iron and wood trellises hinting at a French country inn or an art museum cafe.

Cafe on Main in Sharpsburg serves breakfast Wednesday through Sunday and lunch Wednesday through Saturday. Owner Laura Sams seems to be going for the hat trick: her place has an easygoing, neighborly atmosphere, reasonable prices and comfort food made from scratch.

Visitors will find a bright, spacious dining room, where a bay window gathers morning sunlight and Cezanne-style paintings of fruit hang on the chartreuse walls. There's a high tin ceiling painted a dark wine color, and the tables are spaced far enough apart for reasonable privacy.

The breakfast menu consists of hotcakes, omelets, grits and steak and eggs. Lunch can be a Reuben ($7.75) or Grilled Atlantic Salmon ($8.25). Salads are a big part of the menu; the cafe's front display counter might tempt customers with the Main Street Salad ($6.25), made with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, roasted peppers, mixed greens, fresh basil and house Italian vinaigrette dressing.

Chef Blakley Gove studied at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., and apprenticed at the Fairmont Hotel in Boston.

Her skills are evident in the blueberry hotcakes ($4.50 for a short stack of two). They're nearly as large as dinner plates, but their texture is light, more akin to a crepe.

Choose from a list of international omelets, all priced at $8.25. Each omelet comes with two pieces of toasted ciabatta bread and a choice of home fries, grits or fresh fruit.

The Italian omelet features fresh mozzarella, basil and tomato, while the Mediterranean omelet incorporates roasted tomatoes, onions, sausage and Kalamata olives.

The delectable Greek omelet is a plump, fluffy confection featuring spinach, mushrooms and feta cheese. The fruit option included slices of pineapple and orange, grapes and a strawberry florette.

The staff members are efficient and welcoming. Don't rush through breakfast or lunch.

Additional Information:

Cafe on Main

Location: 914 Main St., Sharpsburg

Hours: 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays; 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturdays; and 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sundays (breakfast only). Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Details: 412-782-2248.