Café Main: Kind of Insane!!

Lunch date #18: June 8, 2012 (obviously behind on postings…will try to catch up this week!)

What on Earth was I thinking…going to Café Main (401 Main Street; www.cafemainonline.com)  for lunch on the last day of school—of course it was insane! High school students everywhere…but it was actually kind of fun and festive. I even got some good advice from some of Emily's friends for a sandwich recommendation. We lined up to place our order, and were fortunate to get a table outside around the corner.

Location 5 points. Still dining downtown at a perfect heart-of-downtown location.

Ambiance 3 points: This is a tough one. This place has changed hands many times over the years, and has been a coffee house for a while. I remember going to salsa dance classes in the back room many years ago! Now it still is a coffee house, but they do a good restaurant business as well. It retains that order-from-the-counter coffee house feel. The outdoor tables are nothing special-simply metal tables and chairs. I asked Mom for her opinion regarding the ambiance: "It really doesn't have any," she replied. It actually reminds me of the type of coffee house you'd find in a college town—really kind of fun!

Menu selection: 4 points. "No burger for you", I told Mom since he had ordered cheese burgers for the past two weeks in a row. She had been eying that selection, and was tickled at the price. Unfortunately, that was the price for the take-out burger…to sit in costs a bit more (sort of European if you ask me). Fortunately, there were quite a few other good choices on this menu-which actually is pretty extensive for a coffee house/order at the counter sort of place. Selections include sandwiches, soup, salads, and wood-burning oven freshly made pizza.

Service: 3 points. We weren't going to give it any score, but the guy at the counter was friendly and they did find us to deliver our sandwiches. That was where the service ended. No drink refills, nothing else offered, but that is the sort of place that it is. This didn't detract from the dining experience, but is different than that of other restaurants in the downtown area.

Food: 5 points. Since the roasted turkey-cranberry sandwich was highly recommended, we both decided to give it a try. We also split an order of fries on the side. We both felt that the quality of the sandwich was excellent-especially in consideration that it isn't exactly a fine-dining sort of establishment. Very fresh tasting, perfectly grilled sourdough bread, with cranberry aioli, roasted turkey and grilled onions. The fries were cooked perfectly, not greasy and nicely seasoned.

Value 4 points: The prices are fine, however considering that the fries are not included; the prices are actually higher than some of the choices at Pasta's! Also, there is really no opportunity for drink refills, given the self-service sort of place that it is.

Overall score for Café Main: 4 points. We really enjoyed our lunch, despite the hordes of teens present. We did share their excitement that school was out for the summer!