Kiss Caf/ is a friendly new place

Kiss Cafe

2817 N.W. Market St.

789.5477

Weekdays 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Weekends 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

By Patricia Devine and Jim Anderson

In the space vacated by Karma Coffee on the west end of Market Street, Kiss Cafe rises. Locally owned by Ballardites, it's one of the friendliest places around. With a dozen or so wines by the glass ($6.50 - $8) and even more available by the bottle, Kiss Caf/ knows the importance of the grape.

Kid friendly, dog friendly, stranger friendly, middle-aged bald guys friendly, this place welcomes everyone. The idea of the owners seems to be keeping it simple: good sandwiches, hearty soups, local beers (no beer taps, only bottles), and the centerpiece of voluminous wines.

The decor is changed a bit from when the previous owner occupied the space. Although it's still a place where hanging out is encouraged, the new room blends locker room with industrial. A black chain link fence separates the bar from the rest of the seating area, and black curtains keep out the sun when needed. While such dividers might hint at imprisonment, we did feel free to leave at any time.

Waylon, the frisky resident Blue Heeler (or "Australian Cattle Dog"... we prefer "Blue Heeler") sells his own line of little doggie duffel bags locally designed by Oakley Carlson, one of Kiss's owners (www.dingolope.com). The Dingo-Dog-Duffel holds dog toys and the ends unzip to provide water and food dishes. The Dingo-Dog motto is "outside the fence." Hmm, maybe that's where Kiss's fence came from.

While we generally bring a certain puritanistic skepticism to the presence of dogs in bars and restaurants, we come to love little Waylon and his cohort Smitty the Boston Terrier. They run five steps, stop and stare at each other menacingly, and run five more stops. One fakes left, goes right, the other rears up on hind legs like a monster, and so it goes. As we watch and chortle our way through our sandwiches and such, we soften on the concept of animals in restaurants.

But the pets are of little import compared to the jambalaya. This rich southern tempter, one of Kiss's daily features, marries rumply sausage and smooth chicken, and is served by the cup or the bowl (cup $4.50, bowl $8.50). A hearty meal can be had with the jambalaya or the daily soup. We tried the chicken rice with chunks of succulent (and we do mean succulent) breast meat, peas, green beans, carrots and mushrooms in a creamy tarragon spiced base (cup $3.50, bowl $5.50). It sounds Campbellian , but in fact is rich, natural, al dente, and home-style in its goodness.

The bulk of the menu is sandwiches, made with fresh ingredients to order, and served with Tim's chips and a jar of pickles. The Kiss Creation is ham and turkey with Swiss cheese and cucumber on dark rye bread (($8.50) and feels healthy. Thickly sliced pickles come crisp, in a big jar, and served with individual pickle forks, offering a nice UK touch. This brings to mind the old okra jars at the former Burke's on Ballard Ave, now of course occupied by trend-setting Hummer H3 drivers from another planet, following Burke's departure a few years back.

Ingredients are not skimpy in the hearty Kiss Cafe fare, as evidenced by the plentiful bacon portioning on the Cobb Salad ($8.50). This omnipresent and often tiresome creation shows up on every menu in town, yet we continue it order it sight unseen. Maybe it's the reassuringly orderly presentation of the chopped meats and vegetables, each in their own rightful little pile. But putting our own psycho-dietary nuances aside, they do a fine job with this standard at Kiss. The bacon, almost-but-not-quite-burnt, offers a refreshing (can bacon be refreshing?) break from the pub-grub-dub-a-lub versions often found around town.

While there is no separate kids' menu, the regular menu offers some of the best kid options we've seen: Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam on an English Muffin ($3.50), Box of Cereal ($1.50), and Cinnamon Toast ($1). High chairs are offered as well, but are limited to children only.

Patricia Devine and Jim Anderson have spent years visiting restaurants and writing reviews. They can be reached via bnteditor@robinsonnews.com