80-00 Cooper Avenue
Glendale, New York
(718) 894-3263

I had initially planned to write about Orange, the cafe/bistro/bar on the Atlas Park green, only after I wrote about Q, and for two reasons: One, I recently wrote up Atlas Park's Pasticcio; and Two, I wanted to keep the reviews of places very near me spread out, so that I can maintain the illusion that this particular foodie goes everywhere. Of course, all one needs to do is look at my review map and they'll know that that is regrettably untrue. Finally, there just isn't much to say and (sigh) this will be little more than a elongated blurb with photos.



I ended up choosing to do the Orange review because of the weather. I went on a Sunday. A hot, ninety-degree Sunday. Going for a bike ride wasn't an option, but sitting on my butt in the breezy shade of an umbrella and trees sipping ice-cold soda and having lunch was. Off to Orange at Atlas Park.



I'm not really sure what to call Orange. It's a cafe-slash-bistro in that it had a limited menu of sandwiches, paninis, salads, and desserts. Since it also has a bar and wine list, I'm tempted to put it in the bar-that-serves-food category. I'll spit the difference. Orange is a cafe-bar. Well, whatever it is, you're not there for the food, but for the ambiance, or at least for a place to sit and suck down a mojito while your significant other is trying on skirts at White House/Black Market. You go because it's nice to sit there and eat with a friend or whoever and chat. Forget the shopping, I'd go for evening late night drinks if they were open late enough to serve late night drinks. There's a definite chillness to it all.



And "it all" is very chic. Everything fits in with the orange and black theme. The walls inside are orange; the waiters wear black; the menus are orange; the tables are black; the umbrellas are orange; the dirt the tables are on is orange; the straws are black. The copper outdoor fireplace that warms patrons in the cold weather is orange.



As I said, Orange serves food in addition to drink (don't tell anyone, but the people I sat next to that afternoon got waayyysted). And it's not the cheapest food in town. The few times I was there, I ordered a panini, which has become the must-have food for any establishment that serves lunch these days. After all, what's the point of having a sandwich if there's no risk of having a razor-sharp corner of toasted bread slice a chunk out of the roof of your mouth? The panini I had this time was the roast beef one, which was a tidge dry, so follow my lead and ask for honey mustard to dip it in. Very good. And for more than $8... but it came with a nice little side salad. Plus a diet coke, and I ended up parting ways with $13. Again, you pay less for the food than for the feeling you get while eating the food.



In the colder months, or if you crave an air conditioner, there are plenty of seats inside, too. Failing that, sit at the bar.

I wholeheartedly enjoyed Orange. Really relaxed, nice attentive staff, decent-enough food; but don't forget, this is not somewhere I'd suggest going for dinner. Snobs may snort at the fact that it sits, sort of, in a mall or doesn't serve anything requiring a full kitchen, but they'd be missing the entire point. And that's fine with me. If they came there may not be a place for me to sit.