Melissa's Cottage Cafe: Southern delights

Melissa's Doesn't Skimp on the Ingredients or the Portion Sizes

By Jacalyn Carfagno Jcarfagno@herald-Leader.com

VERSAILLES -- It's always embarrassing when some big news operation barges into our territory and tries to beat us on a story.

So, when The New York Times mentioned Melissa's Cottage Cafe in a travel piece about bourbon country, it sort of felt as if we had egg, or at least mashed potatoes and gravy, on our collective face.

But it's an easy trip to Versailles, and area diners are more likely to read to our paper than the Times, so I played catch-up.

On two recent visits, for lunch and dinner, I found Melissa's a pleasant, welcoming place that unabashedly follows its slogan of "simply Southern."

A vegetarian might leave Melissa's hungry and guilt-free, but that's not likely to happen to anyone else.

Melissa's makes a credible nod to modern concerns about calories and carbs with its salad selections, but the heart of the place is what the menu calls "hometown favorites," like meatloaf, fried chicken and fried fish. We'll discuss the desserts later.

In my lunch outing I ordered the meatloaf lunch plate.

If you like meatloaf, you will like this offering. So many meatloafs have been disappointing mishmashes of various fillers with a little ground beef swimming in fat. Not at Melissa's. The dominant ingredient is good beef, and there was no fat residue on the plate or, for that matter, any meatloaf by the time I stopped eating.

The menu refers to a "healthy portion" of meatloaf, which I assume means large in this case because, unless you weren't planning to eat again that day, the portion was beyond what a doctor might order. It's served with mashed potatoes and gravy, bread and a side, all for $7.25.

My companion, less committed to probing the Southern soul of Melissa's, ordered the chicken salad and fruit plate ($8.25). This is not a criticism, but I did think the chicken salad called into question Melissa's Southern cred. It was not sweet. It wasn't packed with diced sweet pickle or overwhelmed by heavy, sweet salad dressing. It was, in fact, good and, again, the dominant ingredient was chicken. The salad was impressive, with a selection of fresh, flavorful fruits arrayed on a bed of crisp greens.

Dinner was a little less satisfying. I ordered pork chops with spiced apples ($11.25). The chops were overcooked and tough. After a few bites I switched to the serrated bread knife to get through the meat without rattling the table. The corn pudding I ordered as a side was a little dense and could have done with more corn.

One of my companions ordered a hamburger, cooked medium, but it arrived well-done. A shame because, again, it tasted like quality beef that would have been delicious with a little pink in the middle.

The hit of the evening was the fried catfish ($7.50). This was so nicely done that it made me sorry I hadn't tried the fried chicken, too. The French fries with the fish and burger, though, didn't have quite the homemade quality of Melissa's best offerings.

The dessert offerings are abundant, both in number and serving size. In my visits I tried two of the pies, and both were good. A pumpkin pie with caramel sauce was a bit too sweet for my taste but otherwise couldn't be faulted. The rhubarb and berry pie with ice cream was a great balance of flavors and textures. In each case one dessert was enough for the table, and then some.

A few final notes: Try the cornbread. It's really a flatcake cooked on the grill, crisp around the edges. The service and atmosphere were generally good, but a pesky fly at dinner detracted from our enjoyment. There is a very limited offering of beers and only one wine choice. Be prepared to be called "hon," but that's OK.

RESTAURANT REVIEW

Melissa's Cottage Cafe

Where: 167 S. Main St., Versailles.

Phone: (859) 879-6204.

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon-Fri., 5-9 p.m. Sat.

Other: Major credit cards accepted, limited offerings for vegetarians.