Downtown Walnut Creek has a new cafe serving up Asian fusion coffee and tea drinks, sandwiches and snacks — at the public library.

After working in banking and finance for 20 years, Hercules resident Thuy Nguyen has turned the page and started a new chapter as the owner of the Walnut Creek Library’s new Prologue Coffee.

The cafe, which is still in its soft-launch phase, opened for business at the Broadway book haven on June 7, serving up creative drinks, including several dreamed up by Nguyen.

Her Binggrae banana milk coffee, for example, is made with milk, Binggrae banana milk and whipped cream, and her signature Salato foam latte can be customized with vanilla, pistachio, hazelnut or lavender syrup.

The shop also offers brightly colored “superfood” lattes in flavors such as matcha, beet, strawberry, turmeric or blue butterfly pea flowers, as well as energy drinks made with Lotus Plant Energy beverages.

Also on the menu: Vietnamese banh mi, turkey and avocado sandwiches and toasts topped with avocado, smoked salmon or honey almond and banana. You’ll find sweet treats there, as well, including bear claws, cake pops and sticky buns.

Nguyen, who is Vietnamese, says that she’s excited to be blending Asian fusion concepts with artisanal cafe drinks.

Details >> Open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Walnut Creek Library, 1644 N. Broadway in Walnut Creek; prologue-coffee.com.

San Jose’s Kadhai ranks No. 2 on Yelp

Yelp has released its inaugural list of the nation’s best Indian restaurants, and a tiny vegetarian spot in San Jose is ranked No. 2.

Kadhai Kitchen, which started as a food truck making the rounds of South Bay festivals, is a three-table operation in the Berryessa district that fo.cuses on vegetarian fare — mainly for takeout.

Here’s what the Yelp Top 25 announcement said: “This vegetarian-only takeout kitchen offers Maharashtrian and North Indian street food. The small menu specializes in pavs — a soft and puffy slider-sized biscuit made with refined Indian wheat flour. Their specialty is the Vada Pav, stuffed with a potato fritter and topped with spicy garlic-cilantro sauce. Yelpers say it rivals any in Mumbai itself.”

According to a review posted by Elite Yelper Shraddha N., “They even serve it with their own homemade buns, which is a total game-changer!

The nation’s top-ranked spot, according to this Yelp survey, is Mirchi Indian Cuisine, a halal restaurant in Newbury Park in Ventura County. Customers rate it highly rated for its Tikka Masala made with chicken, fish or shrimp.

Although California captured the top two spots on the list, a high number of the ranked Indian restaurants are located along the East Coast, from Essex Junction, Vermont, to Venice, Florida. Other noteworthy options in the western United States include Rutba Indian Kitchen in Las Vegas (No. 7); Little India in American Fork, Utah (No. 10); Tandoori Grill in Puyallup, Washington (No. 15); and Bawarchi Indian Cuisine in Sparks, Nevada (No. 25).

What sort of methodology did Yelp use in creating this list? According to the website, “We ranked (Indian food businesses) using a number of factors, including geographic location and the total volume and ratings of reviews.”

Details >> Open from 4:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday and 4 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday at 2678 Cropley Ave. near North Capitol Avenue and Trade Zone Boulevard, San Jose; https://kadhai-kitchen.square.site/

Habana Express opens in Pleasant Hill

Pleasant Hill has a new Cuban eatery with the opening of Habana Express late last month.

The casual Cuban restaurant draws inspiration and recipes from family roots in the Cuban city of Holguin, says co-owner Aylin Alvarez Torres, who runs the restaurant with her husband, chef Dayron Huerta Pino, and cousin Jose Rodríguez Bacallao. The family moved to the U.S. in 2019, spending a year in Miami — where Alvarez Torres worked at a Cuban bakery — before relocating to the Bay Area.

The most popular dishes at the restaurant include a Habana bowl with ropa vieja, yellow rice, beans, plantains and salad — the restaurant also offers build-your-own bowls Alvarez Torres says.

Details >> Opens at 8:30 a.m. daily at 1966 Contra Costa Blvd. in Pleasant Hill; 925-375-1571.

Brazilian steakhouse coming to Palo Alto

The signs are up, and the tableside carving should begin soon.

Show de Carnes, a Brazilian steakhouse in Sausalito, is opening a Palo Alto location on El Camino Real. This longtime restaurant space was most recently home to Cibo and some years ago, Fresco.

The classic “rodizio” experience will be offered here, with diners first filling their plates at the 50-item salad and charcuterie bar before settling in for tastes of up to 17 cuts of meat, including picanha (traditional, spicy or garlic sirloin) ribeye, filet mignon, lamb chops, leg of lamb, chicken, and beef and pork ribs. Stay tuned for details on opening day.

Details >> 3398 El Camino Real, Palo Alto; www.showdecarnesusa.com

Send restaurant news tips to Linda Zavoral at lzavoral@bayareanewsgroup.com, Kate Bradshaw at kbradshaw@bayareanewsgroup.com or John Metcalfe at jmetcalfe@bayareanewsgroup.com.