LAKESIDE — When a person dines at a restaurant three times a day, almost every day, that venue has to be something special — at least to that particular individual.
It’s no surprise then that the eatery of choice for David Giesing is the Lakeside Cafe, located on Woodside Avenue, just a few blocks from his home.
LAKESIDE — When a person dines at a restaurant three times a day, almost every day, that venue has to be something special — at least to that particular individual.
It’s no surprise then that the eatery of choice for David Giesing is the Lakeside Cafe, located on Woodside Avenue, just a few blocks from his home.
“I used to come in a lot when it was Annie Oakley’s,” he said. “I had to get used to the new place, but now I’m here all the time. The food is great, the girls (waitresses) are nice and it’s a good place to watch people.”
The Lakeside Cafe, which opened in 2007, is like that. As one of the few locally-owned family restaurants in this area (after the Copper Kettle and the Lakeside Steakhouse closed their doors), anybody who is anybody meets and greets here.
As part of the five diner San Diego Home Cooking network (including the Lake Murray Cafe in La Mesa), the Lakeside store is owned by Mel Makaric, an emigrant from Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia). This is the third diner purchased by her, but the first in she has totally taken over.
And by that, we mean has delegated many of the day-to-day operations to the most qualified people. In this case, manager Samantha O’Brien and assistant manager Cheryl Ancona.
“They are definitely my right and left hands out here,” Makaric said. “I do not get down here very often — not because I don’t want to, but because I do not have to, they do everything so well, there’s no need for me to watch over everything.”
With Annie Oakley’s, the folks around these parts had a homey, comfortable place to dine, hold meetings and sing karaoke. The food wasn’t the best, however, and it wasn’t always the cleanest restaurant in town.
Purchased by Makaric in 2007, the venue was completely renovated and a new menu was established.
This large bill of fare (nine full pages) features breakfast, lunch and dinner items, including Corned Beef Hash (with Eggs and Potatoes, $10.99), the Baja Omelette ($10.99) and the Chicken Fried Steak & Eggs ($11.99). Lunch items include the popular Monte Cristo ($9.99), Reuben ($10.99) and hot, open-faced Roast Beef ($10.49).
Favorite dinners are the Meatloaf ($11.99), Turkey ($11.99) and Liver &=& Onions ($11.99).
The Lakeside Cafe also offers a variety of Hungarian dishes, including Cabbage Rolls and Stuffed Bell Peppers. There are also daily specials.
The cafe is located at 12212 Woodside Ave. For details, call (619) 749-4823.
