Remember when café ads used to say things like “Food like Grandma used to make?” It described that diner from your old neighborhood. But as time goes on, fewer and fewer places can aspire to the slogan—except for The Mustard Seed.

Yes, The Mustard Seed is that kind of place, a familiar Jacksonville eatery since 1958. Locals expressed little concern when chef/owner Jeannie Inman took over in 2010. She instantly proved she knew what to do in the kitchen. Her breakfast menu features blueberry pancakes (or, seasonally, pumpkin), freshly roasted corned beef hash, ten different “scramlets,” savory hash browns, country potatoes, and more. And, of course, her “Nearly Famous Cinnamon Rolls,” baked from scratch every morning and served hot with cream cheese icing. Breakfast customers settle in happily… although:

“If there’s one complaint that we get,” Inman says with a sigh, “it’s that we have to switch from breakfast to lunch right at 11.”

Notice to folks who come in at 11:05 craving Pigs in a Blanket: It Ain’t Gonna Happen. The cooking area isn’t large enough to prepare all orders all of the time, so Inman manages a rigid schedule. “We have a refrigerated ‘build table,’” she explains. “It holds just enough ingredients for us to make breakfasts. At the dot of eleven, we have to switch that stuff out, and bring all the lunch stuff in. There’s not enough room to have it all there. Plus, we have only a 36-inch griddle. Cooking hash browns and burgers on the same surface would make everything taste terrible.”

Inman prepares her soups, from Hungarian mushroom to creamy corn chowder with ham, fresh every morning. With delicious—and surprising—results. “I make them up as I go,” she says, chuckling. “I used to have a notebook of ingredients, in case I wanted to remake a soup. But it disappeared one day. Now even the ones I don’t make regularly, I keep in my head.”

Visitors and locals alike appreciate The Mustard Seed’s cheery ambience as much as they do the food. A chalkboard wall is inscribed with clever sayings, along with specials, many named for local regulars. And everyone joins in the conversations that spring up among first-timers about the floor—covered with artfully arranged pennies—120,000 of them. Looking closely, the image of that ‘almost famous cinnamon roll,’ along with warmly inviting fumes wafting from it, spreads, pennywise, across the room.

Just one visit to this cozy café will convince you that The Mustard Seed really is that place you remember from your old neighborhood. Or maybe Grandma’s kitchen.

MUSTARD SEED CAFÉ
130 North 5th Street • 541-899-2977
Breakfast: Tuesday-Saturday 7:00-11:00am
Lunch: Tuesday-Saturday 11:00am-2:00pm