You're jittering, tapping away at a laptop in a coffeehouse. The minutes turn into hours. How much joe can one bladder take? And you've tried every flavor and combination the barista can muster. Food is the fuel you need, but a pastry won't fill the tank.
Nutty Beans Cafe feeds the need, coupling the pleasures and convenience of the contemporary java joint (Wi-Fi, a significant amount of caffeinated beverages both hot and cold) with breakfast, sandwiches, salads and desserts.
COFFEE, TEA OR MEAL
Starting at 7 a.m. (8 a.m. on Saturdays), Nutty Beans cranks out French toast, baked egg cake and breakfast sandwiches. A choice of a croissant or bagel houses each of the sammies available in three combinations (egg and cheese, ham and egg, and ham, egg and cheese). Breakfast dishes include a small coffee, and service stops at 11:30 a.m.WHICH SANDWICH?
Lunch or a light dinner can be had anytime. Sandwiches come in hearty form with a bag of regular flavor Lay's potato chips with each order. The customer chooses the bread — sourdough, country wheat, Vienna, eight grain or a baguette.According to the staff, many customers simply go for the tuna salad stacked with lettuce and tomato. The Buffalo chicken finds a cool fried patty nestling with lettuce, tomato and honey mustard between the bread. While the spice is nice, we'd prefer the chicken warm. Try the mozzarella, avocado and roasted pepper wrap. The fragrant bite of light balsamic dressing tweaks the taste buds. Lettuce, tomato and red onion help bulk it up. It comes as a panini, too, the bookends of sourdough bread proclaiming the grill marks.
SALAD SELECTION
Nutty Beans doesn't hold back with its grilled chicken Caesar salad. An admirable amount of chilled wads of bird hides underneath, mingles among and rests on top of romaine leaves. Crunchy croutons and a dusting of Parmesan cheese add to it. Simple, but plenty ample. Regular Caesar, Greek and a Buffalo chicken salad make up the rest.SWEET SNACKS AND SIPS
Most of the desserts come from an outside baker and sometimes rotate. Jumbo slabs of poundcake, scones, fruit, chocolate-chip-laden muffins and more tempt customers from behind a glass case. The blow-your-mind brownies, however, are made in-house. Creamy chocolate icing spreads across the chocolate squares, with walnuts sitting on top serving as a crunchy bonus.Of course, espresso and coffee get big-time billing, from caramel macchiatos to Kona blend coffee. Hot teas (green and chai), blended coffee drinks, iced coffees and fruit smoothies offer even more variety. The young and young at heart should get a kick out of the Kids Kreamz with bubble gum, cotton candy and orange Creamsicle flavors. Don't miss the 20-below hot chocolate, a frozen version of the classic with a whipped cream topper.
Nutty Beans Cafe balances coffee shop standards, imaginative creations and sandwiches, salads and sweets to help please customers who are hungry, thirsty or both.
• Hours: 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Fridays. 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturdays. Closed
Sundays.
• Reservations: No
• Recommended dishes: mozzarella, avocado and roasted pepper wrap, grilled chicken Caesar salad, brownies.
• Prices: breakfast $2.75-$3.65; sandwiches $5.49-$6.59; salads $4.59-$5.89; desserts $1.49-$1.99.
• Verdict: Cream of the coffee joints for the hungry.
