CRITIQUE OF THE WEEK – Café Fresh

Jay Arcansalin/UVU Review

This week my assignment took me to Orem’s very own Café Fresh, located at 500 South State, in the same building as Good Earth, just up the road from last week’s critique of the week restaurant, Pho Plus Noodle House.

Type of food – Boasting a wide variety of fresh, healthy food, Café Fresh is great for both Vegans and omnivores (sorry fast-food-ivores, no burgers and fries here). This place offers a diversity of both vegan and not-so-vegan choices from Rice Bowls (like coconut curry chicken) to wraps (both hot and cold) to salads and sandwiches. Did I mention quesadillas and hearty soups? The food is fresh, primarily organic, and healthy. An example: I could actually pronounce all of the ingredients in the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (and none of the ingredients had colors, numbers, or chemical compounds in their name).

Environment – I walked into a very busy lunch rush which did result in my meal taking a little longer to prepare than anticipated. Unfortunately, this isn’t an area where I wanted Café Fresh to shun the concept of fast food. Then again, the environment didn’t engender all the hustle and bustle of a fast food place. The individuals filling the chairs and tables of the café included the likes of businessmen discussing prospects, a few old couples and a group of ladies eating out for a nice casual lunch.

Overall impression – The wait was more like that of a sit-down restaurant but was certainly worth it. As the old adage declares, you can’t rush art. The food was a little more expensive than, say, a McDonald’s Combo meal (about a buck fifty more) but this cost was easily justified by the fact that the food is of much higher quality than any fast food place (not to mention that I actually felt nourished by the meal rather than slowed down for a few hours by some greasy garbage). All in all, when considering the value of food quality and quantity in regards to price, Café Fresh takes the cake (read as “dairy-free cake” for vegans.)

Final verdict – I got what I paid for and then some. This food is fresh and delicious. Best of all, it’s guilt free and a great retreat for your lunch break.