Written by Kelsey Gaus
Located across from the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist on Abercorn Street, Mirabelle’s Café seems to be a secret Savannah has yet to reveal to SCAD students. Although the after-church crowd will create a line out the door on Sundays and the Saint Vincent School girls flood the petite café every weekday at 3:00 p.m., it is otherwise quiet. An order takes only five minutes from kitchen to customer, a welcomed change from the typical Bull Street coffee shop wait. What seems stranger still about this place remaining unknown to students, is that the food is delectable, yet affordable.
Mirabelle’s is in fact the only place for real Belgian Liege Waffles in the city. Different from the standard Belgian Waffle for the simple fact that the batter uses Pearl Sugar, the crispy pastry produced is caramelized, leaving it light and extra sweet. Customers can choose from fresh fruit toppings or spreads like Nutella. Salads cater to those not wanting the carbs, but the most popular items on the menu are the Paninis.
Grilled cheeses are a staple in the poor college student’s diet, but for a mere $7.50, students can upgrade to the café’s gourmet version, the Grown Up Grilled Cheese. Although it is normally served on Le Café Gourmet bread, the only thing outsourced, customers tend to substitute for waffles. The blend of the mellow Muenster cheese mixes with Provolone to swallow the caramelized onions in a good way and then ooze through the waffle’s iconic square holes with perfect elasticity.
While menu staples like the Grown Up Grilled Cheese do not change, baker and pastry chef, Zack Powell, likes to keep customers guessing. Ingredients are bought fresh and locally, causing many of the desserts to be modified weekly. Take the waffle bread pudding for example. Forty pounds of waffles are soaked in coffee, eggs, and typically, salted caramel. This week though, Powell substituted caramel for chocolate chips and marshmallows, a sinfully sweet treat that will only set you back $3.50.
The Mirabelle’s Café is open daily from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Make sure to bring your SCAD I.D. during midterms and finals, staff will apply a 10% discount for students to sweeten the deal. To check out the menu, visit their website.
Kelsey is a Writing graduate student from outside Philadelphia and a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. She works in tandem with the Assignment Editor to pitch engaging story ideas and co-manages with the Editor in Chief. In her free time, Kelsey enjoys reading nonfiction and traveling.
