If you ask longtime Antique Sandwich Company customer Carol Dawson to name her favorite dish, she freezes up. "Very favorite? Whoa!" replied Dawson, who's been coming to the Tacoma restaurant located blocks away from Point Defiance Park since it opened in the early 1970s.

She gathers her thoughts and does her best to narrow down the finalists.

"Their pastries, ice cream, lemon sour cream pie - and their soups are excellent," said Dawson, a University Place resident. "Overall, it's really healthy food."

The Antique Sandwich Company (5102 N. Pearl St., Ruston) has been serving up a wide variety of homemade dishes and eclectic culture for 37 years. The menu features everything from soups, salads and sandwiches to lasagna, quiche, burritos and corned beef. The dessert menu include pies, cakes, bread pudding and anything else owner Tamie Herridge decides to whip up. The restaurant also sells hot and cold coffee drinks (Herridge takes great pride in the fact she had Tacoma's first espresso machine) and a wide variety of teas.

"Everything is made from scratch," Herridge said. "We're always making our own stuff."

In addition to the food, the cozy ambiance of the place makes customers feel right at home.

"You don't feel rushed when you come in here," said April Nelson, a customer who lives a couple blocks from the restaurant and has been eating there for nearly 15 years. "It's very comfortable, warm and inviting."

Antique rugs hang from the walls along with paintings created by former employees or donated by loyal customers. Various antique knick-knacks line a shelf that runs along the outer seating area, and the main bar area is framed by wooden columns and intricate molding, giving the look of an old Western saloon. There is also a wall of fair trade items for sale.

The eclectic feel to the place doesn't stop with the décor. It offers live music on Tuesday nights and Sunday afternoons, and even features a grand piano to the side of the stage area. When the stage isn't being used, children's toys are spread across it, giving customers with children a minute to relax and enjoy their food.

For Herridge, it's all about the customers. Asked to describe her restaurant, she goes back to what she knows best - the people who make the place successful.

"I just focus on the food, the people that work here and our customers," she said. "We have so many great people that work here and a lot of customers that have been coming in since the beginning."

Herridge spends a lot of her time at the restaurant, and usually knows what certain customers want to order before they even step up to the counter. It's a labor of love for her.

"It's really the people that come in here that make it enjoyable," she said.