Coffee Bene - Feels Pretty Corporate. Sad. Nothing Special.

Coffee Bene - Striving to be special.

A bit overbooked,  I was reluctant when Linda suggested a drive to Coffee Bene.  Perhaps recognizing that early morning fatigue could be offset with caffeine, I finally agreed.  Located near St. Thomas we passed a pretty big 'Tommie' backyard house party at 10 AM.  Well organized, we could see the iconic red plastic cups and a Satellite and a hundred enthusiastic college students.  I would have preferred hanging out with the college kids.

Parking is a bit of a challenge but we found a spot right behind the building.  Coffee Bene's website promotes their orginal maple floor, wood wainscoating, fireplace, paint, etc.  From an ambience perspective it was OK but nothing special.

Ordering at the counter we took a quick look at the pastry, baked onsite, looked at each other and without discussion put that on the 'skip' list.

A small placard on the counter described six or seven breakfast sandwiches.  We chose the Greatest Breakfast Sandwich Ever! and the Southwestern Breakfast Sandwich.

The Food

Greatest Breakfast Sandwich Ever!<<caution

The sandwich name is misleading.  The croissant was flakey and buttery.  The egg patty was wet.  The cheese was non-descript.  Somewhere in there was a small piece of red pepper.

Southwestern Breakfast Sandwich

It remains unclear what was 'southwest' about this sandwich.  The cibatta bread was nice, airy with a pleasant crust.

Generally we felt the sandwiches to be a slight step better than convenience store breakfast choices.

The Drinks
Espresso Con Pana  Fine, but the coffee was a bit bitter.

Cafe Mocha  Over the top sweet.

The Service
The drinks and food were prepared quite quickly.  When set on the counter they call out what it is and you go back up to pick them yourself.  No one seemed particularly interested that we were there; that set the tone for the experience.

Conclusion:  The Tommies lost today to The Johnnies but a nice tribute was paid to John Gargliardi.