Copper Bell Cafe - IS CLOSED ON PARSONS - OOPS!

The Copper Bell Cafe, http://www.copperbellcafe.com/, has been open at the corner of Parsons Ave. and Oakfield Dr. for a little over two years. They have a second location in Riverview that opened less than a year ago.

We arrived a little after 1:00PM and there were just a few people eating. All the tables were what I would call high-topped. I don't recall seeing any regular height dinner tables that might be good for anyone unable to mount up on the stools. The table tops were a little sticky too. It was a windy day and the front door kept opening a crack triggering their chime. It got to be annoying. Shut the front door!

401 S. Parsons Ave. in Brandon

Le Menu

While we were there we learned that about 40% of their business is delivery and they don't get much foot traffic from the hospital, which is just across the street. They serve Breakfast and Lunch 7 days a week from 8:00AM - 2:30PM. The Riverview location hours are 7:30AM - 2:30PM (M-F). Weekend hours are 7:30AM - 3:00PM.

The menu offers a nice selection for both Breakfast and Lunch along with daily "special" dishes. We were there on a Friday which is Quesadilla Day. The special was a Meatball Quesadilla with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. That just didn't sound anywhere near appetizing (kind of like a flat Calzone I'm guessing), so we passed on that.

The Soup & Sandwich off of the Combo Menu seemed like a better selection to both of us. You get half a sandwich with the soup selection and pay the price of whatever a whole sandwich would cost. French Onion and Sausage Vegetable were the soup orders. The soups were not cold but also not hot. The two characteristics I generally expect from soup are heat (like I have to blow on it or wait a few minutes for it to cool) and density or body.

The French Onion was very thin, overly spiced and barely had any cheese on it or onion in it. One of the most fun parts of eating French Onion Soup is scraping the baked on cheese off of the side of the serving bowl. Not this time though. They also used a few croutons instead of a nice solid piece of French Bread.

The Sausage Vegetable had a little more body and the  ground Italian Sausage had a spicy hot kick, which I liked. The portion sizes were more like a bowl as opposed to a cup, but I would go for more substance (quality) and less quantity if given a choice.

The half sandwiches were:

The Smothered CBR (Chicken, Bacon and Ranch on a toasted baguette with grilled onions, cheddar cheese and garlic herb mayo) was requested light mayo. That request seemed to be missed in the kitchen but the goop-age wasn't discovered until half the half was eaten. I think ranch and mayo is overkill on the condiment side.

The Copper Club (Triple layer with turkey, ham, bacon, lettuce , tomato and swiss cheese with mayo) came with a choice of breads. I selected the 9 grain bread and it held up fairly well (not home made I expect). I had originally asked for half of a Turkey Club Wrap, but they do not offer the wraps as a half sandwich choice unless you buddy up with your dining partner.

At the end of lunch we were belly full satisfied. We'll back another time to try a breakfast or maybe attend one of their special events. To their credit they do a lot of community related activities. For example, if you wear green on St. Patrick's Day, Saturday, March 17, they will donate $1.00 to the YMCA. I like that in a local business.

On a scale of  YUCK to SUPER I give them an O.K.

Lunch for two with tip, $20.