Boise's Hyde Park is about as perfect as urban Idaho gets. Especially in summer, this stretch of 13th Street is a soft collision of concrete and cool, tree-dappled civility, a miniature main street that has actively sidestepped the potholes of big-city modernity.

Smack in the middle of this endless Mayberry moment sits Sun Ray Cafe. You may recognize the place as the former Lucky 13, that beloved neighborhood institution that served mountain bikers, BSU students and stroller-pushing couples for two decades. When Lucky 13 moved to Harris Ranch in 2007, those loyal customers worried they'd lost a local institution. But Sun Ray owner Dave Martin says he's done his best to preserve the eatery's inherent charms.

Apart from a few structural improvements, Martin hasn't physically changed the cafe much since the Lucky 13 days. This former gas station, garage and dairy has all the funky, laid-back personality of its predecessor - including a patio that dwarfs the actual cafe.

From that broad, shady expanse you can hear the hiss of bike derailers and bird song, sip a Fat Tire or a Sawtooth riesling and catch a little live music on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons.

The menu, like the patio, hasn't changed much either. There's appetizers, sandwiches, salads and a long list of pizzas. Many of them are titled in the Lucky 13 tradition of Idaho-centric place names: there's the the Saw-Tooth salad, the Shane of the Selway sandwich and the Brundage Boogie pizza. (Before you get to thinking that Sun Ray has simply ripped off the the best of Lucky 13, Martin points out that his mom, Mary Lou Martin-Gentles, started Lucky 13 back in 1980. Martin-Gentles dreamed up the idea of giving menu items Idaho-centric names, which, according to Martin, Lucky 13 owner Liza Goul inherited when she began running the restaurant several years after its opening.)

Martin himself penned the name Shane of the Selway ($7.95) after a river-guide friend. A pastrami sandwich layered with swiss cheese, onions, mayonnaise, sauerkraut - and accompanied by a couple of bags of Lay's potato chips - that sandwich is good in the same pleasingly unpretentious way of most Sun Ray fare.

The Mckenzie Moondipper ($8.45) leans a little Middle Eastern. A whole-wheat pita wrapped around crisp cucumber, lettuce, sprouts, red onion and savory feta, olives and hummus, it packs a refreshing crunch on a hot July afternoon. Especially dipped in a side of tart, Greek vinaigrette.

The Saw-Tooth salad ($3.25/ half; $7.25/full), though, is a little too tart for my taste. A rather harsh Caesar dressing with nary a hint of a Caesar's signature anchovy back-note, it doesn't do much for me. But the chicken and sausage gumbo special ($3/cup) is just fine. It's full of chicken bits, rice, green pepper, tomato and enough spice to warrant one of Sun Ray's ice cold, on-tap beers.

Still, the pizzas are why I come to the Sun Ray Cafe. There are nine of them, ranging from red sauce and meat to pesto and veggie - with the option to build your own. Now, I can't call them the best in town - they're not altogether unique or made from artisanal ingredients - but these pizzas on this patio are tastier than the sum of their parts. I'm talking pizza in context. Take the Bogus Bomber ($14.95/medium; $19.95/large) for instance: its medium thick crust topped with red sauce, cheese, ham, pepperoni and linguica is plenty good, but layer that with the scent of sagebrush as it slides off the Foothills, a spicy conversation from the table next door and a sweet smile from a neighborhood kid strolling by, and you've got a meal seasoned for a Hyde Park summer.

Guy Hand's "Edible Idaho" show will be on NPR News 91.5 in September. E-mail guyhand@nwfoodnews.com.