The Cafe at the Frick is a simple gem with sustainable, simple, quality ingredients

Idyllic: “pleasing or picturesque in natural simplicity,” see: Cafe at the Frick.

In Point Breeze, nestled on the campus of the sprawling Frick Art and Historical Center and former estate of industrialist Henry Clay Frick, the Cafe at the Frick is the picture-perfect spot to dine. Spring and summer are the best seasons to visit, as the tiny cafe with walls of windows spills out on to the accompanying patio.

These warmer months happen to be chef Seth Bailey's favorite time of year in the kitchen.

“It is my favorite season,” says Bailey, as he excitedly describes the soon-to-be arriving morel harvest from his mushroom guy and the ramps he secured in a recent trip to West Virginia. “We use whatever the season brings us.”

Bailey has been at the helm of the Frick kitchen for about eight years, designing a menu that changes several times per season and concentrates on sustainable, quality ingredients. Those ingredients are often local, and sometimes even hyper-locally sourced directly from the on-site greenhouse and garden tended by Grow Pittsburgh. Bailey knows this is a true perk of the job: “I can see what is harvested that day and how I can use it.”

The menu is seemingly different at each visit, but the formula remains relatively the same: soup, salad, sandwiches and entrees, including a fish of the day, which is the chef favorite to prepare as a new fish is brought to the Cafe about every other day.

The current menu iteration features a coconut broccoli soup, which is creamy, thanks to a coconut-milk base. A hint of honey shines through this light starter. The sandwich roundup includes a mushroom burger, pesto chicken and ribeye.

The mushroom burger, while presented beautifully on an Allegro Hearth bun, is on the drier side and would benefit from additional condiments. The chicken offers a more flavorful bite, with cubes of the bird enveloped in a pesto with bits of almond. While it has elements that would lend to a heavy after-eating feeling, like a croissant and mounds of chicken, this sandwich does not weigh you down.

Entrees include a pasta primavera with mushrooms, carrots, beets, peas and pesto cream; tropical chicken served over papaya slaw; and that chef favorite fish of the moment. Additional selections are added for brunch Sundays — this author's favorite day for Cafe visits.

Brunch at the Frick should be on every foodie's list in the 'Burgh. For a prix fixe of $27, you can have a three-course meal and a cocktail. Brunch dishes are never the same, but will never be just run-of-the-mill eggs and bacon. A recent trip offered a chicken crepe paired with a creamy, mushroom bechamel sauce. A heavenly combo. Diners must approach brunch with an adventurous palate, as you never know what might be making an appearance for the day's special.

Another bucket-list worthy outing is the Cafe's afternoon tea. Each afternoon, after 2:30 p.m., the Cafe offers tea service, complete with scones, housemade pastries and tiny sandwiches. If you order the whole shebang, you get a three-tier platter of goodness.

The bite-size sandwiches are the platter kings. These small nibbles offer a range of flavors like beet and lemon, egg salad and peppery chicken salad. You can also just order scones and a tea to match. Truthfully, the scones have a texture more closely related to a muffin, but with the clotted cream and accompanying preserves, they still pack a delicious punch.

Sitting among the elegant ambiance enjoying tea service, it is hard not to feel like turn-of-the-century Pittsburgh royalty. Any visit to the Cafe at the Frick is an escape, a transport to another time or place.

It is hard to believe that this simple gem, surrounded by acres of lush, blooming trees and greenery, is in the heart of the city. But it is. And it is an idyllic trip worth taking.

Laura Zorch is one of the food-savvy ladies of eatPGH.com, who contribute a weekly Dining Out column for Trib Total Media.