Hope Valley Cafe and Market

I have driven by Hope Valley Cafe and Market many times over the past 30 years. While tempting, my wife and I rarely stopped in.

The rustic building was often just a landmark on a trip the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada.

Debbie and I first stopped inside the cafe Saturday evening looking for the ATM machine. We had just set up camp at Kit Carson Campground on the other side of the highway. Out of checks, I needed cash to pay the campground fee.

Inside, we found a cross between an old High Sierra resort and a place one would love to call home. Hope Valley Cafe could easily become my coffee bar of choice on a daily commute through Hope Valley.

Joyce DeVore of the The Record-Courier best describes the eatery and market:

From the outside, the café looks like a small mom-and-pop convenience store and coffee shop. Stepping inside, one finds a creative dynamo with tousled black hair, proudly displaying cases of homemade pies and a counter laden with monster cookies and cakes. ("Hope Valley chef cooks her pies to order," October 2, 2009.)

The "creative dynamo" behind Hope Valley Cafe is Leesa Lopazanski, chef and shopkeeper. Frendly and willing to help, Leesa and her counter person pointed us to Woodfords Station when the ATM ran out of cash.

I didn't return to the cafe until late Monday morning when my granddaughter and I stopped in for milk shakes. The young lady behind the counter graciously created a chocolate milkshake off menu for us. The regular menu listed cookies and cream shakes, which would've been good.

My third visit came this morning. After making a 25-mile round trip to call my daughter on the cell phone, I didn't feel like cooking. And it gave me an excuse to stop in for breakfast.

After talking shop with Leesa for a few minutes, I have to say she was a pleasant hostess. From the breakfast menu I chose the 3 Egg Scram, "3 eggs, spinach, sundried tomato, meat & cheese -- all scrambled up w/ toast."

Leesa's 3 Egg Scram is reminiscent of Joe's scramble, a popular breakfast dish with ground beef, onions, mushrooms and spinach folded into three large scrambled eggs and topped with cheese.

Sometimes a simple photograph (above) can help you explorer the menu. Listed under the Scram is The Burrito. "Just like the Scram, all wrapped up in a tortilla w/ salsa & sour cream."

We need to return to the Hope Valley Cafe and Market before we leave for home on Saturday. I'll have to try The Burrito.

If you're in the South Lake Tahoe area as we are this week, you need to take the 30-minute drive out to Hope Valley and meet Leesa. She and her staff will make sure that you have a pleasant meal, full of flavor and goodness.

I promise to stop in next time I drive by.