Still Life Cafe

There are essentially four places to eat in charming little Independence, CA. A diner, a taqueria, a Subway and this fascinating little gem.
It does feel like you’ve been transported to a quirky French bistro… that was once a wild West saloon. The ambiance is a treat. The food and wine were excellent.
Service was a bit slow and the menu fairly limited (made even more so by the fact that we were not shown the specials board) but if you’re not in a hurry and want to savor some wine and jazz in a cozy oasis in the middle of the great big lonely Eastern Sierra wilderness this place is for you.
The slowish service and menu issues would rate fewer stars if this was in a larger town but given the unique nature of this place and the owners’ tenacity to keep this little place going out there in the high desert gives them extra credit. Five stars!

A while back, on my way back to Riverside from picking up a broke down semi at the top of Devils Peak, I managed to find a parking spot big enough for my Tow-​Truck, and the rig I was towing. (About 75-​ft long) On a side road. 2-​blocks from the main strip. With permission from a homeowner to block their driveway. If the people in this town are that friendly, I can only imagine how nice the restaurateurs are here in Independence.
I saw the specials from the sidewalk, and said to myself «I deserve a treat, lets eat here.» Walked in, and it seemed like the place was abandoned. The door was unlocked, and the door crept open with a long squeak like I had just walked into an episode of Scooby-​Doo. «Hello?» I said to no answer. Walked up to the counter, and it was obvious someone was busy in the back. «Hello?» I said again. «Hello!» someone responded. «Be right with ya!» An older Gentleman came out after a minute. «Sorry, didn’t hear you come in!» No worries. I am a bit of a Ninja.
Talked about the place with this Dude for a bit, because it really is unlike any other restaurant I have been to. A little rustic in the back area. But nice and classy in the front. Like a Murder Mystery Theater for 20 people could be held here. I was given a large seat and table, and told that he would be back with some water and bread in a few minutes. Dude brought out a carafe of water, and filled my glass from it. Some of the freshest, tasty, and refreshing water ever. Must be the standard up here.
When my bread was served, I asked about the specials, and what he recommended. «Do you like Lamb?» he asked. «Um, its only one of my favorite things to eat.» Try the Merguez (lamb sausage) then. Make it so.
The Merguez came out about 20 minutes later. With a fresh salad and vinaigrette, and a side of… French fries?! The French fries seemed out of place in what seems to be a classy restaurant serving fine eclectic dishes. Some homemade potatoes au gratin, or a rice pilaf would have made more sense with this dish. This is my only legitimate gripe about this place. French fries are out of place here, unless I’m being served a sandwich of some sort. They weren’t even that good.
The Merguez was nothing less than spectacular! I have yet to find any in Southern California that can compete, and its quite hard to find. It had that lamb aftertaste that lamb lovers crave. It was cooked just right, and the texture was on point. I found myself taking small bites, so as to savor this entrée the way it deserved to be. Bravo!
The salad was great, lots of fresh ingredients, and the vinaigrette tasted homemade. (Don’t know if it was.)
Ate my food alone in an empty room for the most part. Which was fine by me, it was the right ambience at the right time for me. The Gentleman who seated me/​took my order/​cooked my food?/served it to me, conversed with me briefly and it was pleasant. Mostly about what brought me to town, and about the restaurant. Friendly guy.
If I ever make it out this way again on an empty stomach, I would definitely check in and see whats new here. Good stuff.

Well. That was weird. The very aptly named Still Life Café is a mixed bag. Should you not mind waiting so long for a drink and some bread, that your ass hurts, this is definitely the place for you.
The pros:
Walkable from nearly everywhere in this cute little town.
Lovely art.
Quaint décor.
Fabulous food.
HOWEVER.
Glacial service. Like use your college level geology courses to properly measure the length of time that it takes you to get a drink. Rings on trees have formed faster than it takes to receive a basket of bread.
My husband and I were each allotted precisely three ice cubes for our «cold drinks.» Diet coke and sparkling water are never more tasty than when tepid! We were longingly staring at the ice machine at the convenience store across the street. In the time it took to go from bread to dinner, we easily could’ve run over, procured ice, had a child and painted the Sistine Chapel.
My onion gratinee soup came 1 hour, 5 minutes after being ordered and while the soup itself was lovely, the gratinee was really more brûlée, as it came out lava-​hot and burned. Once I peeled off the burned bit, it was nice.
I was scared, that because my soup came out that it would delay the entrees. This turned out not to be the case, which was great because they came out a speedy 25 minutes after my soup. We still had no drink refills. We asked and received in a less tortoise and more slow moving drunken uncle pace.
My burger and my husband’s bolognese were both really good. No complaints there. However, the ceiling fans, picture frames and all tchtochkes are all caked in dust. I can only assume that to clean it would take the very nice but rather abrupt French man who is front of house, at least a year and a half to accomplish.
As we were finishing, cigarette smoke filled the dining room and I started to hear a tiny mewling noise from the side of the table. Shortly after, a minuscule little cat began to prance the dining room. I can only imagine that she was so skinny, because she was waiting for her dinner, too.

Gorgeous food — just awesome! We stopped in Independance for the day — this is the only place for GOOD food and drink, nestled between the Sierra’s and the Inyo mountains. Stunning place — great food! Owners are sweet — French — great sense of humor. We love it here. Come when you are ready to enjoy your time and your food.