Saratoga News

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Bev Rouse, who was the inspiration behind the Village House and Garden, shows a luncheon plate featuring grilled chicken, fruit and vegetables.

Village House offers a luncheon getaway

By Suzanne Cristallo

Warm spring weather has been attracting the lunch crowd to the patios at the Village House and Garden Restaurant in Los Gatos. Shaded by leafy trees and umbrellas, guests are offered a choice of sandwiches, hot entrées and salads prepared and served over the course of the year by 228 volunteers, aged 14-85, in support of Eastfield Ming Quong.

Since 1967, the Service League has operated the quaint cottage and charming garden restaurant, serving lunches on weekdays and offering special events evenings and weekends.

"It all started because someone had lots of teacups," recalls Los Gatan Bev Rouse, charter member and the inspiration behind the endeavor. "So we thought maybe we could have a tearoom." That idea evolved to a lunchroom, which had more of a potential for making money.

Rouse enlisted a board of 18 women who became the core group. They were eager for a place to start, but it took two years before the details could be worked out and the building on Village Lane--once home to a women's club, later Elks, then Moose--could be made charming.

Today, up to 110 lunches are served each day, involving teams of 20 volunteers. Each team spends three to four hours twice a month preparing and cooking the meals, serving them and cleaning up. A paid staff of three oversees the operation and does the buying. A committee of volunteers creates a set menu of three items that change three times during the week.

"Dining here is a very positive experience," says Barbara Duren, a Service League member for 10 years. "The food is gourmet and fresh daily and is served with innovative flair."

Duren, who enjoys working in the kitchen, cites the gateau florentine signature dish on the menu for April 24 as an example: a seven-layer crepe of spinach and mushrooms steeped in creamy Swiss cheese.

Also on the month's menu is apricot dijon chicken and chicken béarnaise served with freshly baked yeast rolls and soup or salad--all for $7.95, the same price for the past four years. Dessert pies like lemon ice cream, mocha fudge and apple crumble are $3.50. A light lunch for the calorie-conscious is $5.95.

Last year, the Service League earned $33,000 for the programs of Eastfield Ming Quong, the nonprofit agency that works with troubled children and their families.

Village House and Garden Restaurant, 320 Village Lane, Los Gatos. Lunch weekdays only, 11:45 a.m.- 2 p.m. Open to the public for bridge-playing and coffee, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. 354-1040.