San Francisco Chronicle

FOLLOW THE READER: Truckee River perch for new Tahoe cafe

- Compiled by Heather Maddan

Looking for a midmorning brunch/lunch on a trip to Lake Tahoe recently, I found the Crest Cafe, which has been open only for only a few months. Owner Lisa Livingston and Kyle Davis have put together a perfect little cafe right on the edge of the Truckee river. As my wife and I sat at our secluded corner table out on the deck under the pine trees having a warm sandwich and sipping iced tea and an ice-cold draft beer (the cafe serves beer and wine only), we spotted fish in the river.

This perch on the river has fantastic counter service with a big smile: Order, pay, find a seat and bang, it's there. For $7, you can order smoked turkey on a ciabatta Panini warmed with fontina, tomato, caramelized onion and basil aioli; chicken Cobb wrap; Polish or meatball grinders; or mini pizzas -- to name a few. Soups and salads are $5 to $7. The entire breakfast menu is $5.25 or less: bagels, Belgian waffles, homemade granola with all the toppings, egg sandwiches or burritos and scones. You can get grab-and-go bagged lunches for your adventure.

This place is built for the outdoors person or family that wants a great place to start or finish a day in the Tahoe basin. There's good fishing from under the bridge to about a half-mile downstream, and a lovely walking/bike path is a stone's throw away. It's a perfect spot for a picnic.

The indoor dining room has wrap-around booths and boasts large windows that look right down the river. This is not so much a restaurant as a catering company with a great location, and is way above the local average for a quick-stop place.

Contact: The Crest Cafe, 150 Alpine Meadows Road, Tahoe City, CA 96145. (530) 581-3037

DAVID ERDMANN

New Alpine Meadows cafe

Kara Fox

bonanza news service

Smoked turkey panini, meatball grinder and vegetarian chili are just some of the menu items featured at The Crest Cafe in Alpine Meadows.

The recently-opened café sits on the Truckee River at the base of Alpine Meadows and offers fresh, homemade meals every day in a cozy setting. Owners Lisa Livingston and Kyle Davis also offer breakfast items like the breakfast burrito, egg and cheese sandwich and an assortment of bagels. Coffee and espresso drinks are also available.

"Everything is made from scratch," said Livingston, who worked at D'Lish Catering with Davis before opening their own restaurant. Davis, a Johnson and Wales Culinary School graduate who has also worked at Jake's and Sunnyside in Tahoe City, acts as the café's chef. He makes a different soup every day that has included potato leek, roasted cauliflower, tortilla soup, gumbo and beef stew.

"I cook what I like," Davis said, noting that his style is homegrown. "Things just pop into my head. When you've been cooking so long, you know what works. When I wrote the menu, I thought about what people like."

Davis said some top sellers and favorites on the menu include tri tip, roasted vegetable panini, smoked turkey panini and the polish sausage and meat ball grinders. Mini pizzas, quesadillas and salads are also offered.

In addition to the in-house service and box lunches at The Crest Cafe, Davis and Livingston also offer full-service catering. Davis added that they hope to have live entertainment in the summer and deck seating.

"We're in the slow season, but we think it's going to be great," Livingston said.

The Crest Cafe and Catering is located at 150 Alpine Meadows Road.