If there is one restaurant I've received the most suggestions and recommendations on, it's probably Cafe Corner. Cafe Corner is located on 3rd Ave at Pennsylvania. I think I might have been a little bitter because I used to live on Pennsylvania at 2nd and there was nothing in the neighborhood at the time. I used to see that little boarded up building and think of what a great little coffee shop it would be. So it's fitting that a few years after I moved out of Harrison West, Cafe Corner would open up. Isn't that the way it goes?
At any rate, people are always telling me to go to Cafe Corner. A few nights ago, I was waiting on my friend and reader SB and her husband, and they convinced me to go.
Cafe Corner is just a wee spot, but well executed. There is a large patio out front, and the space inside is crammed with tables nestled right up against the cashier.
The menu at Cafe Corner is a little overwhelming - if it's your first time, you might want to check out their online menu (Cafe Corner gets extra props from me for not putting their menu in pdf format). The entire menu is made up of sandwiches; there are breakfast sandwiches (served all day); hot sandwiches, cold sandwiches, veggie sandwiches. One the recommendation of SB, I ordered the truffled egg sandwichrom the breakfast menu. The sandwich contains eggs, sauteed mushrooms, truffle oil and local Swiss cheese on 9 grain bread. The cheese on my sandwich looked curiously like American. I don't care at all for American cheese, but also don't like wasting food, so I didn't ask for an exchange. I have a feeling the sandwich would have been far better with the promised Swiss cheese, but as it was it was very nice. I have to admit to being more fond of truffle salt than truffle oil - truffle oil is frequently far too cloying. However, truffle salt is very expensive. I balanced some of the truffle oil out with a little Frank's Red Hot (there's no shortage of various spicy condiments):
I decided to eat half of the egg sandwich and get another sandwich to go, so that I could try more than one. I seem to remember that Walker Evans (of Columbus Underground fame) was hopelessly devoted to the bacon and avocado sandwich. If there are two more perfect ingredients, I don't know what they are. I love bacon, I love avocados, and I love sprouts. This is from the cold sandwich menu, but the bread is toasted (I like all of my sandwich bread toasted, but then I'm weird like that). Wow. What a sandwich. The salty bacon, the rich avocado (I like to think of avocado as the vegetable version of butter), peppery sprouts and sweet fig jam combine to create a very nicely balanced sandwiches. There was the perfect amount of each ingredient and it was very tasty. I will definitely have to revisit this one:
Today I happened past the Corner again whilst hungry, and the car just pulled right over (it's nice like that). While I was tempted to have the bacon avocado again, I decided it was my responsibility to branch out and try something different. What to choose? The Cuban? The 3rd & Penn? I was stymied. In the end, I settled on the Prosciutto and Mozzarella. This was another winner, but it did suffer from mealy wintertime tomatoes. I would have also fancied one more slice of Proscuitto. The balsamic dressing was nicely tart and soaked into the toasted bread and was a nice foil for the richer fresh mozzarella. I ate half for lunch and the other half 8 hours later, at work, and it fared very well. The bread wasn't soggy or anything:
Breakfast sandwiches are served solo, while the rest of the sandwiches come with your choice of chips or an apple. I also bought a side of a very nice macaroni salad (I am something of a macaroni salad aficionado). This salad was full of celery, onions, and carrots, and was very well balanced with a yummy and light coating of dijon(aise) sauce. If it's pre-made, I'd love to know where it comes from:
Prices might seem a little high (they range from $6.95 - 9.95), but half is plenty for a meal for meal, and the other half makes a great snack while I am at work. Also the ingredients are the good stuff, such as Boar's Head deli meats.
There is limited seating inside but a very spacious patio outside. Go just before or after lunch to avoid crowds. Service is pretty quick - I received all of my sandwiches in around 5-7 minutes; that being said, both times I visited it was around 1:30pm.
Cafe Corner has a great selection of beverages and serves coffee from Stauf's. They are probably the only place in the city where one can purchase Maple Tree Distillate aside from the Clintonville famer's market!
I will certainly be putting Cafe Corner in my rotation of lunch spots. Up next is the Cuban sandwich, upon recommendation of one of my twitter followers.
Cafe Corner delivers, but I am not sure what the delivery radius is.
Info: Cafe Corner 1105 Pennsylvania Ave (at 3rd Ave) 614.294.CAFE (2233)
