Food: Mildred's Big City Food

There's a curious culinary divide here in Gainesville. East of 13th, you do have some interesting places to eat - Book Lover's Cafe, Juniors, and the smattering of places that crowd downtown. West of 13th, though, you'll be hard-pressed to find anything that isn't a big chain (Archer Road is particularly clogged with them). Mildred's Big City Food is a nice exception to this rule.

Nestled in the corner of shopping center of the University-and-34th intersection, it's a standard bistro (much like Bistro 1245 next to Leonardo's pizza), except the atmosphere is a little more laid back and parking is much easier to find. While you won't have a dedicated waiter, I found the service to be pretty good nonetheless. But the real star is the food.

I had a spinach feta quiche that was pretty good - a thick pie slice with a soft, eggy filling. Along with the quiche comes a good portion of mulligatawny soup, which had lots of spiced shredded chicken inside. Since I knew one plate wouldn't be enough, I also tried the grilled fontina cheese sandwich, which would have been better with more avocado and bigger slices of bread.

In fact, the only serious complaint I have about the place are the tiny portions (okay, it's a big complaint). Many of these bistros simply aren't geared toward providing enough food for an active person who's burning way more calories than the standard 2k. If I were an anorexic supermodel, I'd guess I'd appreciate it, but as it stands it knocks the place down a full notch.

2/4 stars (that is, good enough to eat there again)