Alexa's Cafe Is Bothell's Dependable, Homey Hangout

----------------------------------------------------------------- Restaurant review / Bothell XX Alexa's Cafe, 10115 Main St., Bothell. ($) Breakfast ($3.95-$7.95), lunch ($2.95-$6.95) 8 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. Nonsmoking. Visa and MasterCard. Wheelchair access. 425-483-6275. -----------------------------------------------------------------

Leigh Henderson (restaurateur, caterer and, on this gloomy weekday morning, the only waitress in the house) is about to get busy, but at 9 a.m. it's still Deadsville at Alexa's. This should be bumming-out the blond boss. It's not. Casual and magnanimous, charmingly chatty, she leads us to a comfortable table in a spacious room devoid, momentarily, of other customers. "Where is everybody? Bothell's dead today!" she complains, good-naturedly. "You want some coffee?"

I couldn't have felt more at home in my best friend's kitchen.

The coffee here (served in mismatched mugs, some big enough to bathe in) is good and strong. I know because although I told her I was already on java-overdose and not interested in more, Henderson examined my face, divined that I was lying, and poured me some anyway. Noting that one side of the menu listed breakfast (pancakes, French toast, eggs galore), the other, lunch (soup, a quartet of salads, a dozen sandwiches), we asked if it was possible to order lunch for breakfast. "Yeah, if you want to annoy the cooks" she laughed, allowing that since she was tending tables we could have

whatever we pleased (cook's grumbling be damned).

Alexa's Cafe, named for Henderson's daughter, and, she jokes, soon to be renamed Heyleigh's ("Because everyone's always shouting `Hey, Leigh!' ") is at once oversized yet homey, country-kitschy, but not obnoxiously so. Imagine a family room big enough for a rainy-day block party and you'll get the picture. There's an alcove filled with toys for the kids, a sofa to while away time with a magazine (there's a wicker basketful), and an odd array of antique geegaws in a showcase near the entrance. The latter are for sale, as is much of the local artwork hanging on the former five-and-dime's exposed-brick walls.

Leaving Alexa's you'll get a big goodbye (and likely notice "Leigh Henderson City Council" posters along Main Street storefronts). Yes, it's that Leigh Henderson. Coffee-klatch and politics? It depends on who's pouring. Too bad I don't vote in Bothell.

BREAKFAST BURRITO: A grilled flour tortilla sandwiching a simple, fluffy, cheddar- and pepper-Jack cheese scramble. Sour cream and "homemade" (you could've fooled me) salsa escort in little plastic cups. Polish off the oniony "Country New Potatoes" and you won't need lunch.

CLUBHOUSE SANDWICH: Considered the tuna melt (nah, too early), the chicken curry on croissant (nah, too fussy) and settled for this. The bread is whole wheat, baked fresh and inches-high, rendering the usual third slice superfluous (and explaining its absence). With bacon this good (lean, thick and maple-cured), I'd hold the roasted turkey and cheddar next time and request a BLT (one of the few classics not listed). The heap of red-spud potato salad screamed for seasoning. We left it screaming.

ITEMIZED BILL: BREAKFAST/LUNCH FOR TWO .

BREAKFAST BURRITO: $5.95 . CLUBHOUSE SANDWICH: $6.95 . 2 COFFEES: $1.90 .

TAX: $1.35 . TOTAL: $16.15 .