Where does royalty dine when they visit our fair metropolis?
When His Royal Majesty King Abumbi II, the Fon of Bafut visited Minneapolis last month, he stopped and his entourage attended a breakfast organized in his honor at the Sunnyside Deli & Coffee Cafe, 1825 Glenwood Ave. N. in Minneapolis. Actually, the Fon, hereditary ruler of Bafut, in northwestern Cameroon, does not eat in public, so chef-owner James Baker prepared a sandwich for the king to eat later.
The visit got front page coverage in a recent issue of the Insight newspaper – in a story headlined “King, elders connect in Royal visit to community.” (Insight editor Al McFarlane holds informal Editor’s Roundtable meetings at the Cafe on Friday mornings.)
I learned all this recently when I stopped in to sample the Sunday soul food buffet at the Sunnyside. Chef Baker turns out to be a terrific storyteller, with funny stories to tell about his old friends Jim Marshall and Carl Eller, two of the legendary Purple People Eaters of the 70s-era Minnesota Vikings.
The Sunday brunch buffet served from noon on ($11.95) is a pretty impressive spread – corn bread, potato salad, red beans and rice, a hot pasta entree, bread pudding, macaroni and cheese, roast and barbecued chicken, baked beans, collard greens, sweet potatoes, peach cobbler and much more. This is soul food with a health food twist – a nice selection of salads and vegetables, and no pork or lard in the collard greens or red beans and rice. My companion opted for the specialite de la maison, an eight egg Basquais omelet $8.95), stuffed with tomatoes, a colorful medley of peppers, onions, spinach, mushrooms and grated carrots, plus a big bowl of grits on the side. That’s the vegetarian version – the meat eaters’ version also includes ham or bacon. A breakfast buffet ($8.95) is also offered, from 7 a.m. to noon on Saturday, and 8 a.m. to noon on Sunday.
Chef Baker’s main business is Elite Catering, Inc., so the cafe is only open on weekends – Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunnyside Coffee & Cafe, 1825 Glenwood Ave., Minneapolis,.
Leave a Reply Cancel reply