People pleasers
The Garnet owner Kristin Von Till said she is honored by recent national attention for the restaurant, which was recognized by People magazine as serving Idaho’s favorite breakfast. (ANDREAS BRAUNLICH/Coeur Voice)
Norah Couch and Paul Barkley of Post Falls enjoy a meal at The Garnet Cafe. (KEITH ERICKSON/Coeur Voice)
This photo of The Garnet Cafe’s Rosemary Toast with lemon curd and raspberry jam, taken by restaurant owner Kristin Von Till, was featured on people.com with a story about favorite breakfasts in every state. The Garnet received the honor for Idaho.
The Garnet Cafe’s house made lemon curd is available for sale by the jar.
Serving up delicious breakfast dishes like corned beef hash, breakfast spaghetti and stuffed French toast, The Garnet Restaurant in Coeur d’Alene’s midtown offers something for every palate.
But it’s the restaurant’s distinctive Rosemary Toast with jam and lemon curd that earned a mention in People magazine’s Oct. 8 issue.
In a feature listing the favorite breakfasts in every state, People proclaims of the Garnet: “At this farm-to-table breakfast spot, the Rosemary Toast with jam and lemon curd is loved as much as the main dishes.”
People contacted The Garnet owner Kristin Von Till several weeks ago asking for photos of the Rosemary Toast. But it wasn’t until the magazine—with a U.S. circulation of nearly 3.5 million—hit the newsstands last month that she learned The Garnet had been selected.
Von Till said the dish is a favorite for many.
“For some people, that’s all they want when they walk in the door. We make our own lemon curd the old-fashioned way—we don’t use any corn starch or thickener. The guys in the kitchen cook it up like anybody’s grandma would.”
Restaurants across the U.S. were scrutinized by the magazine for the writeup.
To determine the winners, People worked with Yelp editors to identify their top online reviews. Those restaurants were ranked according to a variety of factors, including total volume of reviews as well as user feedback and scores.
But it’s not just the Rosemary Toast with lemon curd and jam that lures people into The Garnet. Von Till said one long-haul trucker is smitten for the biscuits and gravy.
“He travels all over the country and he says he never wants to eat biscuits unless he eats them at The Garnet,” Von Till said. “So we’re trucker approved!”
Von Till, who recently purchased The Garnet, has been a server on and off since the restaurant was opened in 2010 by Viljo and Autumn Basso, the culinary minds behind Syringa, The Blue Bird and the new White Pine coffee shop. Justin and Angeline McLane continued The Garnet traditions.
Current owner Von Till, a local businesswoman, is also a full-time real estate agent with Tomlinson Sotheby’s in Coeur d’Alene. She previously worked for 15 years on the business side of the music industry.
“The Garnet features scratch made, upscale diner food, beer and wine, cocktails made with beer and wine, weekly and daily specials, local and wild-crafted food, the best kitchen pirates around, and kick-ass servers who aren’t afraid of a little sass,” says the cafe’s story on its Facebook page.
Von Till said she is honored by the national attention.
“Coeur d’Alene enjoys a good selection of breakfast restaurants,” she said. “It’s nice to be pulled out of the pack.”
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The Garnet Cafe, 315 E. Walnut St., Coeur d’Alene, serves breakfast, lunch, coffee and drinks, Tuesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. (208) 667-2729