Longtime diners in the Grand Valley will remember getting great breakfasts and lunches at The Crystal Cafe on Main Street. Harley and Carol served great, creative food and treated every customer like guests in their home. One of my favorite meals there was the cinnamon-roll French toast.

When the Crystal sold a few years ago, it left us without any breakfast establishments serving much of anything beyond standard fare. Not that there is anything wrong with standard fare - I like bacon and eggs. But if you wanted something a bit more creative, you might be hard-pressed to find it on a Tuesday morning.

Enter The Dream Cafe. After an extensive remodel, the Dream has opened at the former location of the Crystal in the 300 block of Main Street. The skylight remains, giving the space a light and airy glow. Bamboo floors and splashes of bright color blend to give the modern decor a happy, inviting feel. But the real draw is the food and drink. The menu offers a variety of breakfast and lunch items made from real ingredients. The house-made corned beef hash is delicious and appropriately beefy. The hash browns are made from real potatoes and taste like it, unlike so many convenience potato products these days.

The real standouts are the many varieties of eggs Benedict, mimosas and bloody Marys. You can get traditional Benedict or varieties made with crab cakes, vegetables, smoked salmon and the like. Likewise, there are five or six varieties each of mimosas and bloody Marys.

The lunch menu is centered around sandwiches and includes the very popular portobello mushroom sandwich that once graced the Crystal Cafe menu. The service at the Dream is prompt, friendly and informed, and the overall vibe is relaxed. Prices are reasonable, at $10 or less for most menu items for real food.

The Dream is under the same ownership as Dos Hombres on the Redlands and The Rockslide Brewpub and, in my opinion, the newcomer is the best of the bunch.