So a few weeks ago one
of my best friends Lydia (I've briefly mentioned her in some of my past posts)
recommended I try a cafe that, according to her was, "Out of this world,
yo." With that glowing review how could I not check it out?
I met Lydia at the all
organic restaurant I work at in my home town called Emma's Food for Life.
Emma's caters to a multitude of food allergies, including a range of dishes
that are gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, and vegan (these are not the only
options we have, many dishes have meat, dairy and gluten). She started working
there because she has a gluten allergy along with being lactose intolerant.
While she went to school in State College she found this off-the-beaten-path
Kafe because it also catered to her dietary needs.
The Aardvark Kafe
actually has two separate menus. The first one is your typical cafe fair
including sandwiches, subs, fries, pizzas, and cheese-stakes. On the other
hand, the second menu has exclusively vegan items ranging from cold and hot
sandwiches to salads and vegan pizza. It also indicates when something is
gluten free! (I do realize I'm nerding out right now, just bear with me.)
So today I decided to
make the trek down West College Ave., past Atherton St., to the Aardvark Kafe.
I'm not going to lie to you guys, it's kind of a hike. At first I was starting
to doubt Lydia's wisdom while I was walking there, but please trust my word
when I tell you it's worth it!
When I first made it to
the location I wasn't sure if I was in the right place. The exterior is unassuming, but if you're interested in going there it's right across the street from the second Sunoco on West College Ave.
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| The yellow building the Kafe |
Walking in there, it was safe to say I've never been in a restaurant like this before. Picture it as a cross between a rustic cabin and your grandma's house: small, cozy, and full of eclectic furniture. I walked up to the counter, and was first confused as to where the staff was, but it turns out the guy that owns it only has one person working at a time. After a minute he came out of the kitchen and served his waiting patrons after he showed me where the menus were. Because their niche was the vegan menu I ordered off of there.
I chose the Red, Black, Orange, and Green Wrap that has hummus, black beans, strawberries, carrots, cucumbers, romaine lettuce with your choice of cilantro lime or mustard dressing. I chose the cilantro lime along with an order of Seasoned Hand-Cut Sweet Potato Fries.
After reasonable wait the owner delivered my order with a flourish. Making sure I didn't need anything else, he left me to my meal.
To start, I sampled the fries. Although not as crunchy as I usually like, the flavor was phenomenal. It was salty and delicious with other spices that burst across my tongue.
After polishing off half of those, I moved onto my wrap. With the myriad of flavors it was fantastic. My favorite part was the creamy hummus. In addition, the strawberries add a sweet pop of flavor, while the cilantro lime incorporates a tangy zest.
Because of the amazing food and friendly service I highly recommend that everyone, not just vegans or vegetarians, try out the Aardvark Kafe!
Thanks for reading!
