Good food, good friends at Williamsville’s Blucat Café
Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got. Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot. Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, And they’re always glad you came. You want to be where everybody knows your name.
—”Where Everybody Knows Your Name,” by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo (“Cheers” lyrics).
Shortly after visiting the Blucat Café in Williamsville, I began hearing a melody in my head. It was familiar, but I couldn’t place it or remember the words. Then I remembered: it was the “Cheers” theme song. I was puzzled.
“Cheers,” the television sitcom, had run from 1982-1993. I’d watched the show occasionally, but wasn’t a regular viewer. I realized that my subliminal mind had made a connection that my conscious mind hadn’t: The Blucat really is a place “where everybody knows your name.” Whether they’re small-town diners, coffee shops, or neighborhood bars; or big city cafés, coffeehouses, or pubs, places where folks regularly congregate over food and/or drink have always been an essential element of the “glue” that creates and sustains a community. Sadly, many such places are dying, as drive-throughs and fast food joints have driven them out of business. Some, however, still carry on the tradition, though it seems they’re far more rare here in central Illinois than in other parts of the U.S., particularly in the South.
The Blucat Café has pulled it off. What’s really extraordinary is how quickly it’s achieved that vibe: The Blucat opened just six months ago. It’s not some kitschy, faux old-timey wannabe, either. True, the building itself is old. But owner Jill Manning, along with family and friends, spent months before opening gutting the entire place, doing tile work, paint treatments and refurbishing to create a space that’s contemporary, eclectic and inviting. There’s an open kitchen in the back, framed by a counter with menus, pour-it-yourself water and iced tea, and a few stools perched in front. A pile of battered, obviously well-used, cookbooks have been tossed onto the top of a drinks cooler.
Manning does most of the cooking, along with some of those same family and friends (who also help with the serving). She’s not a trained chef. Manning has just “always liked to cook”, and she does a very good job of it. The Blucat’s menu is simple: sandwiches, burgers, soups, horseshoes, salads and pies, the same things that can be found on countless other menus in the area. What makes the Blucat’s food exceptional is the care with which everything is made. The buns and most breads are made in house. The chicken tortilla soup I had on my first visit was delicious, although a bit too thick (classic tortilla soup is a brothy concoction with numerous garnishes). But the beef vegetable soup I had on a subsequent visit was masterful. Most beef vegetable soups are hohum as far as I’m concerned, but the Blucat’s featured a rich (though not at all fatty) beefy broth chock-full of tender meat and vegetables
