SchoolGrounds Cafe

In a word: Classic.

The specs: #01042  
4691 County Hwy N, Cottage Grove 53527
Details at Yelp, Facebook

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JM ate a cookie and some lemonade.
Nichole and Sharon each ate a crepe, and Nichole had a coffee.
The bill was about $8/person, plus tip.
JM gave SchoolGrounds Cafe a C+; Nichole gave SchoolGrounds Cafe a B+; Sharon gave SchoolGrounds Cafe a B (see our grading rubric).

SchoolGrounds Cafe in Cottage Grove feels like a downtown Madison coffee shop, but in Cottage Grove. According to Sharon, our Cottage Grove insider, SchoolGrounds rebranded and changed their menu in the month before we visited. It mostly consists of crunchy, organicky-type versions of standard breakfast fare: pancakes, biscuits & gravy, etc., along with standard set of coffee drink offerings.

We went on Saturday, though, and the whole menu for food could be just thrown out since they only make crepes on Saturday and JM didn't want a crepe, so he settled for a chocolate chunk cookie which the staff comped him since his expectations were dashed. It was a little dry, but overall was fine. But don't pull the pancakes out from under him, please. He was able to get a lemonade, but it was made with brown sugar and ended up latte colored. The taste was fine, though.

The ladies got two savory buckwheat crepes with cheese, spinach and mushrooms, one with ham and onions. The coffee, always the key metric, was hot, tasty and served by friendly baristas.

SchoolGrounds has some nice art on the walls and other boho trappings. And there's a spiral staircase of doom!