"We’re looking for a restaurant with Dutch food," I told the elderly gentleman at the Windmill Information Center. It was almost time for lunch, but I was hoping to find a place that was still serving breakfast, yearning for an uitsmijter, an open-faced ham and egg sandwich, one of my dad’s favorites. In case that wouldn’t fly, I thought a brootje ("little bread" that is anything but little, piled full with delectable coldcuts) with a bowl of snert (Dutch pea soup) would go down pretty well too. I was brought back down to earth by the answer, "Pella doesn’t have any Dutch restaurants anymore, the only one we had closed." I couldn’t believe it! How could the town that advertises itself as "a touch of Holland" not have ONE Dutch restaurant? We’d seen pizza places, Asian food restaurants, steak houses, and even a Dutchified McDonald’s. "The Windmill Café across the street there is very good, though." "Windmill Café? and no Dutch food?" "No…"
Our stomachs rumbling, so we crossed the street and entered the café, already very busy on this Tuesday at 11:45am. We seated ourselves in a booth as directed and were given menus. The breakfast menu on the back looked yummy, with reasonably priced ($3 to $6) scrambles and omelets, including coffee in the price. But sadly, our waitress informed us that breakfast is only served until 10:30am. The lunch menu included salads, burgers, sandwiches, and pastas. I picked one of today’s specials, a "fruit plate" consisting of three slices of honeydew melon, a wedge of watermelon, and one strawberry, with a chicken salad croissant ($5.50). Bob picked a grilled chicken on a hoagie, substituting fries for chips. A little after noon, we noticed that a line of people waiting to be seated had begun to form at the entrance. We finished our meals and were ready to further explore Pella.
Windmill Café is an adequate restaurant. The food was good but not special, the service efficient but not outstanding, and the atmosphere nice but not noteworthy. Perhaps my lackluster impression was tinged by my disappointment at not finding real Dutch food.
Later, upon browsing through the info we’d picked up at the Windmill, I noticed that there was both a tearoom and a restaurant (open for lunch and dinner) that advertised Dutch selections. Strawtown Inn was closed between lunch and dinner, but at the inn itself, a friendly young lady assured me that they do indeed have very good Dutch dishes. I was shown a menu that featured both American and Dutch selections. We didn’t know it then, but we were to return and enjoy this very special place later on in the week.