Eat At LJ's

Fried veggies never tasted so good—and the sandwiches are great, too—at a bistro gem in Bolivar.

LJ ’s Bistro in Bolivar is cute. It is not expensive, and it’s not the kind of place where you sit down and are served by an attentive server who asks you repeatedly if you’re doing all right. At LJ’s, the staff is cheery, friendly and helpful at the counter and then leaves you alone. It’s the kind of place where you stand in line, order your food, then seat yourself and gather your own drinks and forks and napkins. But just because you don’t have a server at your beck and call at LJ’s doesn’t mean you won’t get to wrap your chompers around inventive, made-from-scratch dishes that hover somewhere between bistro fare and comfort food. LJ’s isn’t your generic sandwich factory that pumps out recipes from a corporate office somewhere. It’s a little bit bakery, a little bit café, a little bit Grandma’s kitchen and even a little bit art gallery (with boldly colorful paintings by an artist named Amy Soggins on the wall the day we visited), all in a comfortable atmosphere with tall four-top tables, warm navy and taupe colors on the walls with red accents and trendy painted-concrete floors that add a fun and surprisingly appropriate industrial feel.

I ordered the special of the day at LJ’s the afternoon I visited: The pork loin sandwich with a side of fried green beans. The sandwich was served on a dark wheat bread with slices of tomato and red onion, provolone cheese and a whole-seed sweet-and-spicy mustard. Because the sandwich was warm and grilled, the bread was a smidge buttery, which made it a smidge greasy. But it was worth it. The pork loin receives the best compliment I can ever give pork loin: It tastes like my mom’s. It was so tender and flavorful with not much seasoning other than just the right amounts of salt and pepper.

Tiesha Miller ordered a regular menu item: The mushroom panini ($5.99), a hot sandwich on multi-grain bread with a big portobello cap, spinach, tomato slices, lots of red onion, provolone cheese and a garlic white bean spread. She loved it but said that the portobello mushroom could have used a little bit more seasoning (or maybe should have been marinated). I tried part of it, and I thought the garlic white bean spread could have stood out a little more, but overall the sandwich was delicious, with lots of subtle flavors that came together just right.

The menu boasts of “double-fried fries,” but both Tiesha and I went with the fried green beans as our sides instead. (You can pretend fried things aren’t bad for you when there’s a green vegetable inside. That’s science.) Those little guys were truly irresistible. The green bean fries are served with a side of ranch dressing, but they really didn’t need to be dipped in anything. The breading is a tempura-esque and seasoned with big, fat sea salt. The green beans inside tasted so fresh, and they weren’t overcooked, so they had a satisfying crunch when you bit into them. I’d prefer these fried green beans to run-of-the-mill French fries any day.

We wanted to try one of the LJ’s Bistro salads as well, so we split the spinach citrus salad ($5.99). It is made up of a generous serving of baby spinach with slices of mandarin oranges and grapefruit, red onions, sunflower seeds and mushrooms with a side of hot bacon dressing. Neither Tiesha nor I was in love with the dressing, and I think it’s because it wasn’t exactly what we were expecting. It was a lot sweeter than I would have liked. But I wound up eating the salad without the dressing, and I actually really liked it like that. There were enough other toppings to give the salad a lot of flavor, and I loved loved loved the bitter-salty-sweet combo spinach and grapefruit and sunflower seeds together.

On the way out, I took a peek at some of the items behind the glass at the pastry counter. There were sweet treats: Cookies and various kinds of dessert bars, including gooey butter bars(!). And there were savory treats, too, such as a few flavors of breakfast rolls.

I bought a breakfast roll to eat later for dinner (backwards, I know); it was one that was made with asiago cheese, spinach and mushrooms. By the time I ate it, it had been out of the oven for quite a few hours, and it was still delicious. I imagine visiting LJ’s Bistro earlier in the day and trying one of these breakfast rolls fresh from the oven would be a real pleasure. It’s exactly the kind of bad-for-you breakfast food that you shouldn’t eat every day, but as a treat, it’s spectacular. The dough is flaky, with the tiniest little touch of sweetness, and the sharpness of the asiago with the spinach and mushrooms made for a satiating little meal.

The thing about LJ’s Bistro is that you can tell the ingredients they use are good ones. Many a sammich shop will slap mealy tomatoes on tolerable slices of bread and call it a sandwich, but the one thing that both Tiesha and I both noticed right off the bat at LJ’s was how super-fresh all the veggies were, whether on our sandwiches or in the middle of the fried goodness of our green beans. The tomatoes tasted like… tomatoes! No small feat in the middle of January, when we visited. The lettuce was crisp. The onions tasted like they’d just been sliced (not pre-sliced that morning and stuffed into a Tupperware container until someone ordered them). And the bread tasted fresh-baked, homemade and delicious. If you’re a Bolivar local, or if you find yourself passing through as you scurry about 417-land, I recommend making a stop at LJ’s for lunch.

About reviewing
Reviews are written by our editors as a service to readers, without advertising consideration. Visits are as anonymous as possible, and all expenses are paid by 417 Magazine. New restaurants are allowed four weeks to establish themselves before a first visit. To comment, please e-mail editor@417mag.com.