Thursday, April 7, 2005

Cheap Eats:

Ghini's: Get to this gem of a spot before the line begins to form

TANITH L. BALABAN
Tucson Citizen


JEFF STANTON/Tucson Citizen

Spinach tomato Et Feta for $8.95. Eggs Provencale for $6.95. Ham Et Swiss crepes for $6.95. Fresh seared or blackened ahi salad for $9.95. The wine is Routas Wild Boar, $6.50 a glass or $29 a bottle.
What: Ghini's French Caffe
Address and phone: 1803 E. Prince Road, 326-9095
Specialty: French-style food
Hours: 6:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays ; 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays
What was ordered: two regular coffees ($1.75 each), Eggs Provencale ($6.25) with a side ohash browns ($1) and the Ham and Swiss crepes ($6.95)
Comments: Going to Ghini's is always a treat. The service is great and the food heavenly. If you haven't been or it has been a while, do yourself a favor and go. This is one of Tucson's gems.
On a recent Sunday morning, after grabbing a New York Times, my dining companion and I settled at an outside table. We arrived at the perfect time. Almost immediately after we claimed our table, people started lining up and a waiting list went into effect.
The Ham and Swiss crepes came with two delicate crepes, filled with chopped ham and swiss that had oozed out. They were topped with a bechamel sauce (a delicate white sauce). I had a choice of sides: hash browns, sliced hot house tomatoes or sliced oranges. I went with the oranges, which made for a lighter, satisfying meal.
The Eggs Provencale is Ghini's signature dish. You will find it on breakfast and lunch menus. The eggs are fried in any style you wish (scrambled in this case) with hot house tomatoes, garlic and fresh thyme, and they are served with your choice of toast. Delicious!
Don't forget about the lunches. They include savory French classics such as an ambrosial French onion soup, or tried-and-true dishes with a French twist such as the Dindon, a turkey sandwich with a liberal spread of garlic paste. The restaurant is cute, bright and attached to La Baguette, where you can get freshly baked bread, biscotti, cakes, tarts, petit fours and other scrumptious goodies.
Service: Ghini's is popular no matter when you go. Despite expanding its quarters, the place almost always has a waiting list on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The food comes out very slowly, but the staff makes sure your water glass and coffee cup are always full. With a charming companion or something to read, the time goes by quickly. The staff is friendly, even when slammed with customers, and I have never had a bad meal here.
Bar: Yes, wine and beer and during the summer, margaritas
Vegetarian options: yes
Currency: cash and credit
Takeout: yes, and catering
Children's menu: no
Web site: http://www.ghiniscafe.com
JEFF STANTON/Tucson Citizen

April Loverin and David Graffius enjoy a lunch at Ghini's, which offers outdoor dining for man's best friend, in this case Riley, a German shepherd-chow mix. POOCH FRIENDLY PLACES
Ghini's is pooch friendly (it has biscuits and water for dogs) and according to the Pima Animal Care Center, the county has about 110,000 licensed canines. With numbers like that, here are a few other places around town where you can dine with Fido: