American Pie Cafe s smart theme creates a personality for a suburban restaurant that is clearly made to be duplicated. The bold graphics of the logo and menu, the bright colors and wipe-clean surfaces make it look like a chain restaurant. Indeed, the owners intend to open other Tristate locations. The cafe s food is sometimes very good, certainly better than many chains, but it shares a certain blandness, a choice of mainstream appeal over being different.
Bright blue is the predominant color in the sunny decor.
You can watch chefs busy broiling and grilling in an open kitchen. They re too crisply fried, but with more crab than cake, they approach the real thing. Our waitress said they would cook it any way we wanted, including rare, but my friend ordered it medium. The burger, plenty juicy and thick, is on a kaiser bun that stands up to the half-pound of meat. It can be customized with a variety of toppings.