Screw the low-carb diet. How reasonable was that fad, really? Bread of any kind is a dear friend of mine and now, so is the Bread Ladies Café in Irvington.

Friend Ben and I drove too quickly and ate too fast on our lunch date. But even a busy workday couldn't get in the way of some good, old-fashioned bread, outdoor relaxation -- and homespun hospitality.

The mood

Tucked into an angled street off Washington Street, Bread Ladies sits in a tree-filled neighborhood, next door to the Lazy Daze Coffee House.

Old-fashioned, I say? Yes. The people at both the Irvington and Greenfield locations of this joint make their own loaves of bread au naturel. No preservatives. No coloring. No extra...crap. Salads, soups, and desserts are also homemade.

Ben and I read the menu off of dry-erase boards as a "bread lady" and her apprentice stood behind the teeny-tiny counter and workspace. We shimmied around and adjusted as other eaters arrived -- trying to peek at the menu, the cookies or the freshly made desserts.

The food

The sandwich bread was the highlight. I ordered the Irvington ($7.25), new to the menu, and Ben chose a towering Foccacia ($7.95).

The younger of the two women pushed buttons on the old cash register as the other built our lunches and served them on paper plates. We grabbed our sandwiches and chips (Ben's jalapeño chips were 50 cents extra), our drinks and a homemade slice of carrot cake.

My sandwich, on delicious, nutty, eight-grain bread, was packed with cold turkey slices, provolone and crunchy spinach. Roasted red-pepper mayo was served on the side.

Somehow Ben figured out how to wrap his mouth around a sandwich with ham, turkey, roast beef, Swiss, lettuce, tomato, onion, green pepper, carrots and mushrooms.

A fork may have come in handy for him to scoop up the escapees, but we used the utensils to split and devour the moist, frosting-covered carrot cake.

The drinks

Two fancy fountain waters.

The damage: $20.14

Try not to spend too much time lingering in the cuteness here -- work is waiting for you back at the office.