The first time I stopped in for a latte at Café Helios, not long after it opened in the summer of 2002, the shop's namesake god was not cooperating. A steady rain precluded sitting on the sidewalk patio, which just the day before had beckoned so invitingly in the sunshine. I wound up sitting indoors, where the architect-designed decor was decidedly more austere than the landscaped, canvas umbrella-shaded patio. The coffee (Counter Culture, if I recall correctly, just as it is now) was very good, but food options were limited to a handful of locally baked pastries. In short, the place struck me as somehow unfinished.
My, what a difference eight years makes. Colorful impressionist paintings on the walls, baskets on a high shelf, potted plants and French canning jars filled with pickled peppers and vegetables on a sunny window ledge have warmed the look of the place considerably.
A large chalkboard is crammed edge to edge with a varied selection of breakfast, lunch and light dinner fare, supplemented by an eclectic assortment of beers, wines and house specialty cocktails such as lavender thyme lemonade and espresso martini. Perched alluringly near the order counter is a glass-fronted cabinet whose shelves are laden with cupcakes, scones, whoopie pies and other pastries baked by Raleigh baker bittycakes ( www.bittycakes.com).
