Eric Parsons / Star staff The Black and Blue Quesadilla stands out as one of the more unusual items on the menu at Harvard Cafe in Santa Paula.

The word on Santa Paula's Harvard Cafe was that the soups were good and that it has a wide range of daily specials.

After a recent visit, I can vouch for both points.

A friend and I sampled the cream of broccoli and albondigas soups and found them fine — especially the lively broccoli blend. A glance at the menu confirmed the variety.

The cafe itself has the look and feel of a family-run business. Customers enjoying lunch seemed content, and on the mature side, although not all were senior citizens. On the tables were small signs announcing early-bird dinners from 3 to 6 p.m., plus daylong specials for seniors, so the cafe obviously is senior- and neighborhood-friendly.

The food is a mix of American cafe favorites with some Mexican accents. Appetizers include quesadillas and potato skins, and specialties include chicken fajitas and a ground-beef taco salad. More prevalent are traditional dishes like chicken pot pie, liver and onions, and variations on the hamburger. Steaks, ribs, pastas, a Cobb salad, and fish and chips are available, too.

I decided to start our lunch with the most unusual item on the menu, the Black and Blue Quesadilla ($6.99). The described addition of mushrooms and a sprinkling of blue cheese to the usual melting cheeses caught my attention, along with the rest of the ingredients: chicken strips, julienne-style green and red bell peppers, sauteed red onion and fresh tomatoes.

Soon, two slightly crisp flour tortillas arrived, folded over the filling, with little pots of guacamole, sour cream and red sauce on the side. The mushrooms were a definite plus, and the occasional jolt of blue cheese made the quesadillas stand out in the crowd.

We wanted to taste both of the day's soups, the cream of broccoli special and the regular albondigas, so we ordered a bowl of the latter ($4.25) and combined a cup of the broccoli soup with a half-sandwich of tuna salad ($5.99). (Other lunchtime specials were a Caesar salad-chicken wrap and a Philly cheese steak sandwich.)

The cream of broccoli was thick but not thickened to a paste, allowing the broccoli flavor and spicy accents to have their voices heard. The albondigas was chock-full of vegetables, with tender little meatballs, all in a light broth.

Half of a tuna sandwich on good wheat bread was a hearty course in itself. It occurred to me when it came to the table that we hadn't been asked what kind of bread we preferred, but what arrived was exactly what we would have chosen, substantial and full-flavored.

If we had realized how much chicken would come in the quesadilla, we might have selected an entree other than the chicken fajitas ($7.29). Both came with grilled chicken strips aplenty.

The fajitas naturally included more bell pepper and onion, with guacamole, yellow beans, red sauce and two flour tortillas to wrap it all up. My friend chose to eat the fajitas unwrapped, but I enjoyed the combination rolled in a tortilla, with the guacamole, sour cream and cooked-to-a-soft-turn beans bringing the divergent flavors together in a happy whole.

Dessert options were few, but cherry pie was mentioned. I asked if it was baked in-house (no), or who the provider was. Our otherwise efficient and helpful server didn't know. We forged ahead and ordered a slice ($3.25) and a cup of coffee.

We regretted the pie, but not the java. While the pie had good cherry flavor, its filling contained lots of jelling ingredients, and the crust was thick and somewhat sodden from refrigeration. The coffee, however, was better than most diners and a decided plus.

Harvard Cafe also serves a full range of breakfast items — eggs in all combinations, including a pairing with top sirloin, plus omelets, Belgian waffles, pancakes and French toast.

Dinner choices are equally extensive. And at lunch, as firsthand experience proved, the produce was fresh, the service prompt and the prices very reasonable.

— Rita Moran visits restaurants unannounced and pays for her meals. If you know of a new, unusual or just plain good restaurant, please contact her at ritamoran@earthlink.net.