Strawberry spinach salad with prawns is served at T. Paul's Urban Cafe.

It’s the first thing you see. “Laugh often, eat well, love much.” Emblazoned on the upright piano by the counter, it pretty much sums up the T. Paul’s Urban Café experience. And, I might add, it’s the perfect philosophy for a fun-loving, friendly guy like me who likes to eat.

Greeting me at the door was an über-courteous, smiling waiter who carefully explained that during lunch hour, you order at the counter from the menu and an overhead board noting the daily specials. With folks ahead of me and behind and no place to stand to the side and ponder my next repast, I felt rushed and really didn’t have the time to consider my selection. Besides that, there’s always the anxiety of wondering if you’ll snag a table. Picayune, I know, but you might as well know right up front – I’m a fun-loving, friendly guy who’s picky about where he sits. Also, I’m a sloppy stand-up diner – not so tidy at the table either. However, at dinner, much to my relief, it’s full table service. That said, the rest of my Urban Café experience was superb.

It’s got a delightfully funky décor filled with little surprises such as old windows as wall art and humorous bits here and there. It evokes a comfortable sense of laid-back dining, which it is.

The menu consists of a host of cleverly-named sandwiches such as the Funky Chicken – grilled chicken breast, apple-smoked bacon, avocado, sweet red onion, pepper jack cheese and chipotle ranch on a grilled potato bun at $8.59. Or, for the vegans among you, the Green Goddess – fresh spinach, baby greens, tomato, avocado, red onion, and purple cabbage on eight-grain wheat with mildly spicy chili cream cheese, also $8.59. Almost makes me want to abandon my carnivorous ways.

But faithful as ever, I continued on my omnivorous path, choosing the Urban Cheese Steak. I’ve been to Philly, and let me tell you, I just found the best cheese steak this side of the Mississippi. Thinly sliced roasted top of round and provolone, with grilled caramelized bell peppers, mushrooms and onion, were spiced perfectly and so generously applied they were spilling onto my plate. Incidentally, they have a meat lover’s weekend Fridays and Saturdays serving a rotation of prime rib, lamb and pork.

The Urban Café also specializes in quesadillas, and quite naturally that demanded my further attention. I am, after all, a slave to my work. There are a number to choose from such as the Kick Ass Cajun, for those of you hungering for the spicy taste of Mardi Gras. Or the simply titled Greek for a meat-free, but three-cheese-laced excursion to Grecian shores, both at $8.59.

My choice, however, was the more American-based Honey BBQ Chicken Breast, again $8.59. Marinated in a just-right, sweet and spicy honey barbecue sauce, with jack and cheddar cheese, roma tomato, lettuce and red onion, it’s served with a unique and surprisingly mild blue cheese dip. I recommend.

Another of the pluses here is presentation. Even the side salad, a simple mixed green side, was presented in a lovely shaped dish with veggies carefully separated on top. When good food comes to your table with obvious care about looks as well as taste, that’s a big fat A plus in my report card.

There’s history here too. The T. in T. Paul’s Urban Café is for Teona, niece to Paul. Now P., Paul, has instilled in T., Teona, the value of humor and adventure. Both native Astorians, they early on left River City for Portland town to soak up some urban lifestyle. They sought and succeeded in bringing back some of that big city glam to their hometown without sacrificing what makes Astoria home, a casual lifestyle and friendly folk.

There’s even a comfy coffee lounge in the back of the café where you can plop down and read a book, or even grab the guitar sitting in the corner and strum your T. Paul’s experience into song. I’ll just listen if you don’t mind – great appetite, but a tin ear.