Oaks of Rainbow Caf

Patrons have their own reasons for dining at the Oaks of Rainbow Café—the home-style cooking, generous portions and friendly wait staff are a few of them, but now there is one more reason. Owner Terri Smith, who is the driving force behind the establishment, lost her home in a devastating fire on June 30. In a commendable show of support area residents have rallied behind her by not only patronizing the restaurant, but by donating gift cards and other items to help Terri and her family regain equilibrium.

The restaurant, which was purchased by Terri from Bill Seel two years ago, has been a Rainbow landmark for over 40 years. Terri is grateful to Bill for not only passing on the establishment, but his time-tested recipes as well.

The Oaks is famous for its wonderful dinners, but there is more to the repertoire than just dinners. The establishment offers sandwiches, hamburgers and breakfast as well. Cool salads are perfect for a middle of a summer’s day respite.

Cool down with a scrumptious Chinese Chicken Salad for $7.75. The bowl is brimful of grilled chicken strips and the lettuce is topped with Mandarin oranges, water chestnuts, thin slices of carrots, and Chinese noodles. The salad dressing is an original recipe, which has a tangy sweet and sour flavor. It’s a lot more than just lettuce and noodles and — like everything else at the Oaks — tasty and hearty.

Another salad worth a nod is the California Salad, which is a bed of greens topped with avocado, bacon, turkey, ham, hard-boiled egg, diced tomatoes, sliced cucumber and shredded cheeses.

The Oaks of Rainbow is open seven days a week and is located at 4815 Fifth Street, please call (760) 728-8530 for hours.