I just love the word serendipity, dont you? Making a lucky discovery in a seemingly accidental way is serendipity and a rather perfect term for the bright, cheery cafe of the same name in downtown Warrenton.

Serendipity Caffe has become a popular Warrenton eatery, and it filled an otherwise empty market niche: reliably tasty breakfast and lunch, fast friendly service, and a pleasant, spirited atmosphere. Longtime residents will remember when the building was a U.S. Bank; in fact, the bank vault, with its heavy steel doors and giant turning lock, is still in the building. Serendipity is the sort of place where regulars come after church on Sundays or pop over for lunch in the middle of the workday, and the servers remember you and know your regular order. Like the Cheers of television fame, it is the place in Warrenton where everybody knows your name.

On the day I visited, my family and I arrived around lunchtime and sat in a cozy, corner booth. Our server took our orders quickly and delivered them quickly, checked back in on us a time or two, and refilled coffee and drinks summarily, without even being asked. This is the kind of service I like to see in a diner-style restaurant friendly and steady, but unobtrusive and I appreciate it.

My daughter, by all accounts the worlds pickiest child, had a muffin and fruit off the kids menu and was positively enchanted with it, as was I; a warm, house-made muffin with candied nuts and cinnamon was positively yummy, and the selection of fruit, strawberries, watermelon, and apple slices was clearly put together by hand and not from a pre-made mix.

Also joining me on this day was my mother, who is, by all accounts, the worlds pickiest adult. Once while visiting New Orleans, for example, she and I ate at Emerils, and I believe her word for the experience was meh, accompanied by a shrug. So when she took the first bite of her chicken strip salad, with large chunks of breaded chicken, tomato, cucumber and cheese, with toasted garlic bread, and she proclaimed it absolutely delicious, you know that it must be so.

I was in the mood for a toasted sandwich and selected hot pastrami with Swiss cheese on toasted rye bread, served with French fries. Simple and perfectly tasty, the sandwich was the definition of hitting the spot.

My father sampled the soup of the day, a chicken gumbo. I found the broth a bit on the salty side and flavored perhaps too heavily with chicken bouillon, but the large pieces of tender chicken, rice and red pepper lent a pleasing consistency and spice.

Next up was the Jack Hammer, one-third pound of beef topped with grilled ham, jack cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion on grilled French bread, obviously a sandwich for a big appetite. It did not disappoint, and though it wasnt stated on the menu, the beef tasted of better-than-average quality, more like ground sirloin than traditional chuck, and had been seasoned well.

Rounding out the meal was the bleu steak wrap with flat-iron steak, bleu cheese, lettuce, green onion and tomato, wrapped in a tortilla. I was blown away by the immensity of the wrap, which was easily enough food for two meals. The overall marriage of flavors was outstanding; bleu cheese is always an ideal accompaniment to steak.

I was far too stuffed for dessert, but there is a daily rotating selection, house-made desserts, including cakes and cobblers, and each looked heavenly in the dessert case.

Though I enjoy food of all sorts, from the kind served in newspapers to the kind served on a white tablecloth, one thing is certain: Good food is good food, and it doesnt have to be fancy to be good. At Serendipity Caffe youll find just that: Simple. Tasty. Good no luck required.