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Cafe is one-stop shop
for brides-to-be

Anyone who doesn't understand the theme-restaurant concept by now is either from outer space or just plain dense. Here are a couple of quick formulas to add to the rest of your back-to-school studies:

Wednesday workshops The Wedding Cafe hosts workshops with bridal vendors, 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays. Guests this week are harpist Pumehana Davis, Tiffany & Co. bridal registry and Vicky Choe, who will present a hair and makeup demo. Call 988-1005 or visit www.theweddingcafe.net.

» Spider rolls + rock 'n' roll = California Rock 'n' Sushi
» American comfort fare + big-screen memorabilia = Planet Hollywood

Got that? Good, but class -- especially for brides-to-be -- isn't dismissed just yet.

I admit to a little confusion when I walked into the Wedding Cafe, and not just because of my runaway-bride tendencies. Instead, I had to wonder, with apologies to Lao-tzu or Zhuangzi, is this a bridal resource center that dreams of being a cafe or a cafe that dreams of being a bridal resource center?

Tanna Dang, who owns the cafe with her husband, Bryson, was similarly confused when she learned about it while working on a bridal magazine.

"The concept was really different, and I really didn't understand it until I became a bride and used it all the time," she said.

"The previous owners (Ray and Karen Kawaji) are geniuses, and brides who come here, they love it because it's a one-stop shop."

The Dangs bought the business when the Kawajis moved at the close of 2004, so modern brides can continue to spend all day browsing through books and magazines and researching 65 vendors of photography and video services, invitations, party favors and wedding cakes, without taking a break to forage for food. It's all here.

That said, there's nothing fancy about the menu, but the food is fresh, simple and light, and well suited for the cafe's clientele. After all, no bride wants to look fat on her big day.

Senior citizens and the university crowd on a budget are also finding their way to the cafe with the unlikely name, and Dang said the food is a draw for prospective grooms who have something to keep them occupied while accompanying their soon-to-be wives.

"Sometimes they'll spend all day here," Dang said, describing a typical dining pattern of coffee and pastries at 10:30 a.m., followed by lunch at noon, a break for dessert at 3 and a couple of sandwiches to go near closing time at 6 p.m.

The space looks like a combination bridal boutique and library, with a few tables and private booths on the left side of the room. If you're just coming to eat, order at the counter in the back and they'll bring it all out when you're ready.

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FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Owners Bryson and Tanna Dang serve a walnut salad at the Wedding Cafe as a bridal shower goes on behind them.

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THIS IS ONE place where super-size entrees are out of place. You can get a whole salad or whole sandwich on wheat bread, but half-portions are the norm.

Brides being such delicate creatures, great care is taken not to upset them in any way, such that a spicy tuna caper sandwich ($3.55 half/$4.75 whole) is not fiery at all. Other sandwich fillings include crunchy chicken walnut ($3.55/$4.75), or turkey and avocado ($3.75/$4.95) topped with refreshing alfalfa sprouts and lettuce, plus mild Swiss cheese.

And the ingredients are right, but there's nothing exotic about a Thai salad ($3.45/$4.85) of romaine, cucumbers, carrots, bean sprouts and peanuts, with the sweet and spicy chili pepper dressing served on the side so as not to overtax or burn the bride-to-be. You can have that topped with chilled grilled chicken ($3.85/$5.65) or sautéed salmon ($3.95/$5.95). Plain, chicken or salmon Caesar salads are also available for $3.25 to $3.85 in half-portions, and $4.65 to $5.65 for full servings.

You can wash it all down with Thai iced coffee ($2.85) or a divine strawberry-banana smoothie ($3.25) made with fresh fruit.

For those whose wedding dates are far off, splurge on a homemade dessert of pumpkin crunch ($2.65) or brownies when they're available. You can also choose from a slice of cheesecake ($2.45) or a couple of scoops of mango sorbet or green tea ice cream ($1.95).

The research and dining concept is not the only match made in heaven here. Tanna says of Bryson: "He was more interested in the food side of the business, and I was more interested in the bridal side. He loves the food side because he really loves people and he's good at taking out food. I can't because I have wobbly hands. I'd probably spill soup on you. But everything ties in nicely together."

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The Wedding Cafe Manoa Marketplace second floor / 988-1005 Food Service Ambience Value Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays Cost: Less than $10 per person