Shouldn’t we all have a go-to cafe where we won’t end up feeling like “Damn, I wish I didn’t eat that” afterward? At work, we usually get food catered or delivered to the office, and more often than not, I have to tell myself to pass on ordering in on the days when P.F. Chang’s or Mr. Pizza Man is knocking on the door. Not saying I have never ordered food on those days, but even though Americanized-Chinese food or pizza aren’t things I normally crave, I know I wouldn’t be able to eat from places like that every work day even if I did. Luckily, Four Cafe is conveniently located right down the street from my office and takes orders online as well as over the phone. Four Cafe is appropriately named as their menu changes four times a year, at every season, incorporating fresh, local, and organic ingredients into some pretty healthy, tasty, and inventive dishes.
I recently had to pass on some tempting cheese enchiladas that I had the option of ordering and instead, I went on Four Cafe’s web site (www. fourcafe.net) and saw that their new Spring Menu was up. I ordered four things to try: from their small bites, the green curry shrimp crostini (chopped shrimp, green curry aoli and lime topped with cilantro on crispy crouton-like toast); from their salads, the spring greens (little gem, butter lettuce, asparagus, radish, egg, feta, avocado, and nixed the hazelnuts), from their sides, the cous cous (with cherry tomato, kalamata olives, feta, mint, cucumber, and lemon vinaigrette) and seasonal fruit salad (mandarin and naval oranges, strawberries…. pure, natural, sweet goodness). The salad was sooo good, I didn’t need to have it with the apple cider vinaigrette that it came on the side. I love how this place consistently changes things up, so I have new things to try every season. Needless to say, Four Cafe’s Menu is craved on the regular, but after eating, instead of feeling regret about eating a bunch of junk, the food actually feels like healthy nourishment for the body.