Gran Robbie’s in Ansted is a locally owned café serving breakfast, lunch, coffee and baked goods along U.S. 60, just a few minutes from Hawks Nest State Park. The café has a casual, homey feel, with plants, local artwork and plenty of seating. The menu features reakfast options like frittata sandwiches, French toast and bagels, while lunch brings sandwiches, salads and rotating specials. "Gran Robbie’s choice for espresso is Coal River Coffee Company’s Almost Heaven, a dark-roasted blend of Tanzanian Peaberry, Nicaraguan, and Sumatran beans. Our very own Hawks Nest Roast, a collaboration between Gran Robbie’s and Coal River, is an amazingly smooth and dark combination of Guatemalan and Nicaraguan beans with notes of walnut, chocolate, and apricot. It’s the coffee that will convince you that you like your coffee black," reads the website. I started with a mango-peach smoothie, which I will order every time I see it. Sweet and cold and refreshing. I tried Tim’s Spicy Rice — jasmine rice with breakfast sausage, peppers and onions, seasoned with Southwest spices and topped with corn and black bean salsa, sour cream, green onions and cilantro. And Banh Mi — dry-rubbed, slow-cooked pork loin, thinly sliced and topped with a spicy Asian slaw.

These were both unexpected, but tasty. Each component in the rice dish tasted fresh. Simple. The sandwich was unlike other banh mi that I've had. It felt more like a regular sandwich based on the size and bread. I did love the pickled veggies. Grade: B