Starfoods: Upscale, downscale and everything in between.

French couture meets trailer trash at Starfoods. You can quench your thirst with a passion fruit mimosa ($8) or a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon ($3). You can have venison pate ($8) and duck rillettes ($7) or a pulled-pig sandwich ($8). For dessert, there’s chocolate mousse ($5) or fresh-baked peanut butter cookies ($5).

The cheerful front room sports Aunt Polly’s wallpaper, a bright orange mural, sun through the windows, Space Invaders and diner booths. The rear dining room is cozier and darker, with old lamps and potted plants. There are chatting brunch groups and solo diners digging in with books or the Sunday paper. Paul McCartney’s latest is on the stereo. A space heater is pulled closer to our table by watchful waiters on yet another too-cold day.

The menu’s specialty drinks include a Cel-Ray cup-a mixture of Pimm’s and Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray soda. For less adventurous tastes, there’s a hot chocolate for $7 that’s made with cocoa, chocolate vodka and Bailey’s.

Hot-out-of-the-oven, golden star-shaped biscuits arrive in a bona fide baking tin. They are soon joined by a bear-shaped bottle of clover honey, whipped sweet butter and a jar of Bonne Maman damson plum preserves.

The biscuits are reason enough to visit Starfoods—crisped on the outside, tender within and gratis with your meal.

Pancakes ($7) are browned in spots, stretchy and buttery with toasted pecans hidden between the flapjacks. They’re delectable and more like thick crepes than the soulless breakable pancakes usually found at breakfast. The quiche ($8) is so American that it should be spelled "keesh." No teeny delicate tart this. Rather, it’s a high-standing, pie-crusted wedge of broccoli-studded custard over a sturdy layer of cheddar. Dressed greens with shredded carrot balance the plate.

The grilled white toast that accompanies the smoked salmon and onion scramble ($8) is a nod to the diner world, but it’s better than that—burnt just the way you like it with the lightest schmear of sweet butter instead of a margarine drenching. The eggs are fluffy, swirled and gorgeous, shot through with sweet bits of red onion and topped by strips of high-grade nova with freshly snipped chives over all. A fragrant orange slice sits atop. While enjoyable, the dish should’ve been served hotter. Sandwiches could be taken from a 1950s cookbook: piled high, topped by a big ol’ olive and speared with a ribboned toothpick. Alongside: a generous pileup of just-browned, homemade waffle chips.

You can pick and choose from the menu to assemble a fruit and cheese course; a crusty baguette will be provided. The cheeses are good and in a proper state of ripeness. The raw camembert from Normandy ($5) is soft and creamy, and the St. Maure chevre from the Loire Valley ($4) is fresh with a light tang. The rose-tinged pudgy pears ($3) could serve as a still life—stuck with a big wooden-handled knife—but they are mealy and overly sweet. Each piece of cheese and fruit is served on its own oversized plate, but the booth tables are big enough to handle it. A glass of Cotes du Rhone ($6) goes along well: medium-bodied, dry, and smooth for its price. Lots of Beaujolais on the wine list, and virtually all still wines here are under $40.

Coffee is served piping hot and the waiters are always available for a refill. The brunch menu is also the late-night menu, as Starfoods is open till 4 a.m., except Sunday nights. The dinner menu offers daily specials such as Monday’s chicken and waffles ($14) and Saturday’s prime rib with Yorkshire pudding ($17). Regular entrees include rabbit stew with grits ($17) and pan-seared yellow fin tuna with oxtail-whipped potatoes ($17). On Sunday morning, a dark, frosted homemade chocolate cake beckons from its plate on the bar. But matinee time is nearing, so I’ll meet up with that cake next time.

Cafe Eden

I was pretending to write, and the buzzer rang. It was Barb stopping up unexpectedly, and I had about two minutes to look presentable. I did a quick change and she came in and said let’s go out. I said no, I have cramps. And it’s slushy. She countered with dessert, and I was on my feet.

Cafe Eden—from the Garden of Eden Gourmet Market folks—is a Euro deli-type cafe with an initially overwhelming number of serving stations. There’s an intriguing brick oven for turning out pizzas, and one of those tossed salad counters with the innumerable toppings. There’s also a "giant" baked potato bar, a pasta bar and a soup station. There’s grilling of brochettes and trays of baklava. Cups of chili. And way too many different kinds of juice. You’ve got to be pretty picky not to find something to eat here.

Decor is on the busy side with lots of wicker and copper, with upholstered banquettes along the dining room wall. Lighting is dreary, and while there are plenty of tables, there is no window seating. It’s fine for lunch and a chat, but I don’t see holing up here with a laptop for an extended period. We do, however, see some teatime readers.

The bakery case displays a number of cakes (turtle cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, German chocolate, etc.), fruit tarts, mini-pastries and breakfast treats. Behind it is a super-modern espresso maker urging you to have a good day. A slice of Oreo mousse cake ($2.99) is frosted and rosetted with stiff, solid whipped cream and decorated with a softened, fudge-covered Oreo. The mousse incorporates bits of chocolate cookie and sits over a thin layer of rum-moistened yellow cake. I wouldn’t go out of my way for it, but if you’re in the mood for sweet and creamy, it’s a spot-hitter. Iced lemon coconut cake ($2.99) looks luscious, but its lemon filling is watery and the flaked coconut dry. Certainly the cake is okay, but not worth the calories. Another rum-spiked cake has milk chocolate mousse between the layers. It’s chocolate frosted, decked with chocolate shavings and cherries, and it’s a winner.

Barb wants decaf cappuccino, but alas, they don’t have decaf espresso (although they’ve added it since my last visit). They give her decaf coffee with steamed milk instead, which she likes. My half-caf isn’t hot enough. I sip quite a bit of it before gathering the energy to ask that it be warmed up. The server uses the milk steamer, but that makes the coffee watery. In general, the staff is very helpful and eager to please, but a tad flummoxed on this opening week. On other occasions, the coffee has been quite good.

On a somewhat healthier visit, I find Cafe Eden’s hot roast beef lush and caramelized, but a part of my generous portion is dry and stringy. And there’s too much grease on the plate. Still, the entree is tasty and filling. A side of cooked vegetables is peppered, fresh and crisp tender: carrots, green beans, slices of green and yellow squash and ribbons of red pepper. They are labeled "steamed," but they taste too good—I detect some added oil. Brussels sprouts are sweet, jewel green and nutty with an almost potatoey texture. These are good, and I don’t even like Brussels sprouts; I find they’re often wilted on the outside, hard on the inside and bitter throughout. During "happy hour" (3:30-6:30 p.m.), the hefty platter of meat with two sides comes to $4.87.

A large selection of premade sandwiches and wraps are on offer. The innards of the rare roast beef Vermont ($6.50)—extra sharp cheddar, romaine, tomato and Bermuda onion—form a good combo and feature a homemade and tangy Russian dressing. Its baguette is bland but sog-resistant. Shrimp and cucumber sushi is very fresh and done up with pearly rice, sesame seeds and tobiko. On discount in the afternoon, the serving is $3.47. It would be hard to match the quality of Cafe Eden’s fare at these prices elsewhere in the neighborhood. And I just learned that they deliver, so I’ll never have to leave my apartment again.