Always the promotional opportunist, O'Savio quickly gathered his muffins and rushed them to the station in Greenbelt to deliver them as a birthday present to Simpson. His muffins were an immediate hit.

Now he appears every Friday to deliver his gourmet muffins to Simpson and his staff. The expense: a few plugs for his café.

Thanks to the positive publicity from the show, his business has been blooming.

O'Savio, known as "The Muffin Man," turned his passion, baking and cooking, into a profitable business venture in 1996.

Located at 9434 Lanham-Severn Road in Lanham, the café offers 30 varieties of muffins, along with Caribbean food. O'Savio explained that the road to success wasn't easy, but he is now reaping the rewards of the hard work and sacrifices.

"Knowing that I can provide a living for my family and employment for people is one of my greatest joys of operating the café," O'Savio said.

Initially, the café began as a full-service bakery but patrons frequently asked to order food, not just muffins. In response, O'Savio added several Caribbean dishes.

"Seventy-five percent of the café's business is food, and the muffins do great also," O'Savio said.

So what's so special about the Muffin Man? I decided to find out.

I parked my car in front of the café, situated in the Seabrook Shopping Center that also houses a dance studio, a CVS pharmacy, a bank and other restaurants. As I walked through the swinging doors, I was greeted by the mellow beats of Caribbean music and the smell of spices and fresh muffins.

The take-out café, which seats approximately 14 people, has countertop seating situated around the windows and walls. I spotted the muffins first, which were encased in glass. The muffins are prepared daily and usually are sold out by the end of the day. The assorted muffins cost $1.99 each or $17.99 for a dozen.

The gourmet muffins are available in Caribbean fruit flavors, such as mango, guava, pineapple-orange and key lime, as well as sweet potato, cream cheese streusel, ginger cinnamon and rum raisin. For customers who have a love for chocolate, the Muffin Man offers double chocolate chip, chocolate raspberry, German chocolate and a black bottom muffin, the code name for a chocolate muffin filled with cream cheese.

The café also prepares cakes, which range from $18.99 for a sheet to $70 for a full sheet. The cakes are also available with apple, orange and lemon fillers, or strawberry glaze for an additional $10.

Roderick Mac-Johnson of Upper Marlboro said he comes to the café three days a week.

"Curry goat is my favorite," said Mac-Johnson, who said he visits the café mostly for the food, also enjoys the poppy muffin, his favorite.

Judy Goode of Bladensburg stopped by the café while she waited for her daughter at the dance studio.

"I'm trying to lay off the meat, so I came to get veggies," said Goode, who admitted that she enjoyed the jerk chicken the first time she visited.

The meal

I decided to start out with my favorite muffin, the ever-popular blueberry. I couldn't believe how fresh the ingredients were and how moist the muffin tasted. I also sampled the strawberry streusel muffin, which was very sweet and tasty. I then tried the jerk chicken, wings baked in a spicy pepper sauce; the curry chicken, morsels of chicken sautéed in curry; the Bob Marley, morsels of chicken sautéed in ginger sauce; and the Ziggy Marley wings, smothered in a honey-glazed sauce. My favorite: the Ziggy Marley wings.

All of the meats come in small and large portions, ranging from $7.25 to $10.50. A sampler, which includes all the meats, can be purchased for $15.99. Side orders include Jamaican patties, coco bread, plantains and rice and peas, ranging from 95 cents to $4.50.

O'Savio said he owes the café's success to Simpson, but admits that his yearning to use only fresh ingredients in his muffins is the main reason why his café has gone mainstream.

So take time to visit the café to give your taste buds a palatable experience and find out who is the Muffin Man.