Each week, the Budget Epicureans select an eatery, take-out establishment, or recipe that we feel represents high quality and solid value. Bonus points are awarded for healthy options.

As the latest installment in the renaissance of downtown Wilmington, the New Castle Arts and Antique District—the section of Castle Street roughly between South 3rd and South 7th streets—now sports a number of eateries to feed a variety of people. Jester’s Café, located at 607 Castle St., seems to appeal to all of the above, making it one of the area’s more popular brunch and lunch destinations. This past weekend, the Budget Epicureans decided to see if Jester’s would deliver the goods.

Jester’s gives the expression “making one feel at home” an entirely literal twist: it’s housed in what was obviously once a residence, and the current inhabitants seem mainly to have left it that way. The street-facing front porch is ideal for warm-weather people watching, with three interior rooms corresponding to a living room, foyer and main dining area. The inside décor reflects the name with purple, diamond patterned wallpaper and jester themed paintings and bric-a-brac. It’s like going to your weird, artsy friend’s place for a meal.

Jester’s offerings can best be described as comfort food with an edge—a substantial cut above the greasy-spoon diner. Jester’s egg-and-cheese-heavy brunch menu features daily homemade quiches ($7.50, broccoli-and-tomato and smoked sausage were this week’s offerings) and soup ($3.50-$5.50, seafood gumbo was the daily special) along with mostly in-house desserts. Lunch features a wide variety of sandwiches (from a traditional grilled cheese to an exotic spicy black bean burger) and specialty salads with both the usual and homemade dressings.

We came early for the brunch menu, starting with a lovely cup of dark roast and a standard hot chocolate with whipped topping. Main course selections were the Jessie sandwich ($3.95, avocado, tomato and melted smoked provolone on a jalapeno bagel) and eggs benedict ($8.25, poached eggs, lox and hollandaise sauce over a toasted English muffin). We liked both the meal selections, but the star of the show may have been the accompanying redskin potato home fries, which were possibly the best in the universe. Our server was friendly and efficient, though likely new to the staff, and the portion sizes were solid enough to make dessert seem unnecessary.

Jester’s worked for us, both in its own right and as an antidote to the dreary sameness of corporate chains. All menu prices include tax, making it one of the very few places that can provide a quality sit-down meal for two, everything included, for $20. Jester’s even gets coveted Budget Epicureans bonus points for combo options and fresh fruit sides that allow for engineering calorie counts into diet-compatible ranges. A warning to stragglers: because most items are made fresh daily, many menu choices are unavailable later in the day.