Backstreet Cafe

Housed in a cozy '30s-era house, Backstreet Café affords several intimate dining areas. The downstairs dining room features a large marble-top bar, intimate banquette seating and views of both the front and back patio areas. Upstairs, the restaurant has two dining rooms for brunch, lunch and dinner seating and private functions. The formerly screened-in porch is now fully enclosed is a wonderful room for everyday dining and private functions, separated from the main upstairs dining room by French doors. Both rooms feature eggplant-colored marble-faced fireplaces and offer diners a view of the front and back patios from the from the breezy crank-out casement windows. One of Backstreet's most popular attractions is the legendary backyard. More often than not, diners opt to eat on the New Orleans-style patio under the spreading camphor tree in the midst of flowering shrubbery. Recent renovations include the Solarium on the west side, vine-covered, handcrafted trellised arbors and dramatic yet nondistracting lighting for evening dining. The patio is also heated in cooler months. "Backstreet Café has come a long way since we opened in 1983," says owner Tracy Vaught. "We were primarily known as a 'watering hole' that served burgers, sandwiches and soups. But today, our kitchen and menu rival any restaurant in the city."