4A ❚ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020 ❚ APPEAL TRIBUNE
Life in the Valley
The Cast Iron Cafe in Mount Angel, Ore. on Nov. 14. PHOTOS BY MADELEINE COOK / STATESMAN JOURNAL
CAST IRON CAFE NEW SPOT
FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH
Emily Teel
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Rise and shine, morning people and
sleepyheads alike, because Mt. Angel
has a new breakfast spot. Joshua and
Elisha Nightingale, owners of Silver-
ton’s Live Local Marketplace & Café,
have branched out to Mt. Angel for their
second act, but instead of opening a
second coffee shop, they’ve scaled up.
Business owners ready for a new
challenge
The Nightingales purchased Live Lo-
cal from the previous owner three and a
half years ago, after seeing a Craigslist
post, said Elisha, when she was looking
to buy some patio furniture.
She called Joshua, then a manager at
Safeway, who was as ready to jump into
entrepreneurship as she was.
The couple had long dreamed of hav-
ing a business. One big investment and
three months later, Joshua had left his
job and Elisha had worked non-stop to
reopen Live Local as their own.
After gaining experience, three years
later, they began looking in Molalla,
Stayton, and Mt. Angel to open a second
spot.
At Live Local, said Joshua, “our
kitchen is so limited.” It was important
they find a second space that could not
only handle its own volume but also
house a bakery for both.
Plus, Elisha added, “we didn’t want to
compete against ourselves.”
They opened Cast Iron Café, located
at 415 S Main Street Mt. Angel, in early
November. The restaurant offers break-
fast all day and lunch from 11 a.m. until 3
p.m., along with a variety of coffee and
tea beverages.
On the menu at Cast Iron Cafe
An enormous skillet hangs on the
front wall at the Nightingale’s new busi-
ness. Windows flanking the front door
and along one wall fill the space with
natural light and the walls are decorated
with prints of photos from their travels.
It was a trip to Portugal that inspired
them to add a machine that squeezes
fresh orange juice to the café counter.
There, they were so taken with the
sweet-sour vibrancy of fresh-made
juice, said Joshua, they had to find a way
to get the same experience at home.
In deciding what the café would
serve the Nightingales wanted to offer
dishes with a coziness to them, but
avoid repeating the same options one
could have anywhere. They strive to of-
fer a balance of hearty comfort food
dishes and those with a fresh, modern
take as well, including options for those
avoiding gluten, meat, or dairy.
The name they selected for Cast Iron
ended up offering inspiration. Much of
the breakfast menu and several of the
lunch dishes as well arrive in miniature
Freshly squeezed orange juice at the Cast Iron Cafe on Nov. 14 in Mount Angel, Ore.
If you go
Where: 415 S Main Street Mt. An-
gel
Phone: 503-845-2300
When: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays
(except Wednesday), 8 a.m. to 3
p.m. weekends, closed on Wednes-
days
Information: Cast Iron Cafe (Face-
book)
cast-iron dishes.
The Farmers Feast Skillet ($12) com-
bines ham, bacon, eggs and herbed po-
tatoes with bourbon cheese sauce. The
menu includes both classic buttermilk
biscuits with sausage gravy ($8) and a
vegetarian version made with mush-
room gravy ($8).
At lunchtime, the Avocado Bowl ($9),
one of the café’s several vegetarian op-
tions, is also served skillet-style. A com-
bination of roasted potatoes and sweet
potatoes, it’s topped with black bean pi-
co de gallo, half an avocado and chipotle
sour cream.
Chili with sweet jalapeno cornbread,
seasonal skillet pot pies, beef stroganoff
with mashed potatoes, and even a mas-
sive cinnamon roll designed to share all
arrive in cast iron.
Executed by cook Michael Guerrero,
the menu also includes sandwiches, a
daily soup, and weekend specials. The
Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich ($11) is
The chicken cordon bleu sandwich at
the Cast Iron Cafe on Nov. 14 in Mount
Angel.
The Bananas Foster waffle at the Cast
Iron Cafe on Nov. 14 in Mount Angel,
Ore.
inspired by the classic dish, a grilled
chicken breast with ham, dill, mustard
and Swiss cheese on a house-baked roll.
Pastry chef Cassi Leland handles the
café’s daily baking, which includes all of
the buns for sandwiches, pastries, muf-
fins, scones, and croissants.
The Nightingales plan to add some
grab-and-go options for those having
breakfast or lunch on the run, and Cast
Iron has a drive-through for picking up
specialty coffee beverages or Metolius
tea.
Even if Mt. Angel is out of your way,
the Cast Iron Café could make getting up
early worth it.
Emily Teel is the Food & Drink Editor
at the Statesman Journal. Contact her
at eteel@statesmanjournal.com, Face-
book, or Twitter. See what she’s cooking
and where she’s eating this week on In-
stagram: @emily_teel