The food at Twin Sisters Bakery and Café is good, but the real attraction is the café itself. Eclectic and noisy, it showcases local artworks on its walls and often has live music. With its groovin' décor and healthy menu options (lots o' salad and soups), it's been a mainstay of the cutting-edge crowd for more than 15 years. It's a great place to meet friends, since the menu is varied, and it's a comfortable spot to eat alone as well.

What: Twin Sisters Bakery and Café; (210) 822-2265 (Alamo Heights) or (210) 354-1559 (downtown). On the Web at: hotx.com/twinsister.

Where: Original location: 6322 N. New Braunfels. There's a second location at the corner of Broadway and Travis downtown.

Hours: 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat.; 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday

Taste Sensation: Meals come with your choice of bread, and the cornbread is every bit as good as your Granny used to make. The tortilla soup is warm and oozing with melted cheese. Salads are crisp and overflow the plates, and the bakery part of the operation churns out comfort-food cookies and muffins.

Tums-Worthy: Service is hit or miss. On a recent visit to the Alamo Heights location, my friend and I waited a good 10 minutes for a waiter. Then, he vanished, leaving our tea glasses unfilled. Then, he slopped soup on the table and made us wait another 10 minutes for our salad. Other tables seemed to have better luck, though. Maybe it was me. Or maybe he was just a crappy waiter.

The 210 Take: Good food, reasonably priced and an atmosphere that makes up for its shortcomings. Take a copy of 210SA and curl up in a booth for the afternoon. Just be ready to ask for better service.

Jenni Roolf Laster | Contributor