A recent lunch at Michelle's, 324 South Phillips Avenue, was pleasant and relaxing among the mis-matched chairs and tables, overstuffed sofa' plants and abstract art on the wall. The place is completely laid back, but the service is prompt and friendly. Helpful suggestions are passed along with the menu, which is small but offers a lot of variety. Soup, salads and sandwiches are the lunch choices. But don't forget to check out the large coffee menu on the wall.
A huge mug of fragrant dark roast coffee was more than I could handle but it was marvelous. Next I sampled a cup of the soup of the day. The tomato lentil ($2.00) was rich and thick with light lentils, lots of them, tomato chunks,spinach and carrots in a herb-spiked savory broth. I was reminded of my mother's lenten lentil soup which we ate frequently during the lengthy Orthodox fast period. Michelle's was tastier.
An Asian wrap was a white flour tortilla stuffed with marinated chicken, cabbage, red pepper, snow peas,sprouts, sesame seeds, almonds, scallions and a sesame ginger dressing. The combination was a magical mixture of textures and tastes. It was generous and a real value at $5.95)
Equally filling was a House Special sandwich ($5.95) on a crusty baguette. Thinly sliced tender roast beef was piled high along with provolone, mixed greens, oregano, cracked pepper and red wine vinaigrette. It was a winning combination, hearty and tasty in that crunchy but soft roll.
Michelle's sandwiches and salads are original and tastefully constructed. Vegetarians will be pleased with a sandwich of homemade hummus, red onion, cucumbers, black olives, alfalfa sprouts, mixed greens on multigrain bread.
A thoughtful selection of wines, many new to me, and imported beers are available for lunch and dinner quaffing. And the coffee is always fresh and fragrant.
Sitting in Michelle"s and gazing out on Phillips Avenue stirred memories of the glory days of the 300 block, which was a major retail and entertainment segment of the downtown's main street. The queen of the block was the State Theater, of course. The premier movie house was home to first run films from MGM, Paramount, Fox and Warner Bros. On Friday nights it was as popular as the Barrell drive-in, packed with high school students. I"m recalling the 50's, before everything moved out to West 41st Street.
Next to the State was Donahue's furniture store, a long-time fixture in downtown. North of the State was Harold's Photograpy, which displayed portaits of high school seniors in the window. Across the stree was the revalutionary Lewis Drug with open displays of just about every thing not normally found in a drug store, along with the standard pharmacy items. North of Lewis, on the corner of 11th Street, was Lemond"s Restaurant (formerly the Palace of Sweets) which was a popular lunch and dinner spot for people of all ages. After school it was invaded by Washington High School students who filled all the booths in front and a few in the back, visiting and ordering Cokes and sticky caramel rolls.
On the opposite end of the block on the corner of 12th Street was the Nickel Plate, one of the city's original hamburger joints which also served sandwiches, French fries and waffles.
More on downtown Sioux Falls in future blogs. Let me know if you have a favorite place.
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