Everyone gather 'round; we're going to take a little test. Please answer true or false to the following questions:
I sometimes prefer a bran muffin to a doughnut.
Feta cheese is tastier than mozzarella.
A chicken breast is sometimes better than a steak.
A salad can be a main course.
I enjoy whole-wheat tortillas.
Adding fish to a veggie burrito is "manning-up."
The granola I buy at the store has twigs and small pieces of bark mixed in.
The correct answer to all of these is, of course, false. If you, however answered true to even a single question, you'd probably have a great time at the Oasis Café, the GPaK Crew's latest Friday lunch destination.
I admit I did not love the Oasis, but it wasn't bad, by any stretch. Really, it is just not my kind of eating establishment. First off, I had a hard time finding something that appealed to me. I was stoked when I noticed that the Oasis served breakfast until 2:30 p.m. Then I actually read the rest of the menu. No waffles, bacon, sausage, buttermilk pancakes or hash browns. I have to admit that the German Pancake sounded promising and I must have mentioned it loudly because a nearby waitress quickly sucked the air out of that idea.
"We're out of the pancakes," she called. Figures.
Next, I got excited when I saw the "Roasted Beef Tower," only to realize after a moment that it read "Beet" and not "Beef." Why anyone would eat a single beet is beyond me, much less a tower of the scary purple vegetables. I finally settled on the safest-sounding entrée, the Oasis Gyro. Too bad the meat choices were chicken breast or Tempeh.
For those who don't already know, Tempeh is made from cooked and slightly fermented soybeans and formed into a patty, similar to a very firm veggie burger. Sounds tasty, eh!? I would have gone for the Tempeh of course, but I already had a steaming Tempeh log for breakfast, so I opted for the chicken.
As far as chicken gyros go, it was fine. The chicken seemed fresh and was seasoned with a mostly appealing tomato and spice rub. The tzatziki sauce (which is one of the few condiments that agrees with my cosmopolitan palate) tasted all yogurty and cucumbery, as it should. The pita was fluffy and warm. Aside from a garnish of lettuce and a handful of olives, that's what I got. It was $9.
Believe me, I've had plenty worse, but I came away less than satisfied. I even had to go grab a second Friday doughnut to take the edge off my lingering hunger. I'm pretty sure the foofier members of the GPaK enjoyed the place well enough.
I suppose the anti-meattites of the world need a watering hole of their own. The Oasis Café might just be the place.
Man-up possibilities: 1
Food quality: 7
Service: 9
Fizz-o-meter of Coke: 4 (courtesy of GPaK)
Overall: 5
I must concur with Brady's review. The food was not bad at all, and in fact, my breakfast burrito was quite tasty. But Oasis is just not the kind of place I would seek out on a regular basis. As my 11-year-old likes to say, "Different people like different things." Too true. And this is not the kind of thing I like.
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, I have had some remorse over statements I made during the meal questioning the rights of a couple of GPaK members to comment on manning up. Of course, manning up also may mean different things to different people. For me, it means piling on the meat and cheese. For others, it may mean piling on the tofu and vegetables. To each his own. I apologize to Wingnut and SuperScrunch.
Especially Wingnut, because I don't want him to post digitally altered photos of me on the blog. I'm not as worried about Scrunch, because it's well-known that he is super-forgiving.
I'd classify myself as a guy that enjoys a cool place to hang out and Oasis definitely has that going for it. With outdoor and indoor seating aplenty, we opted for indoors as a threat of rain apparently rattled somebody (I'm not sure who made that call).
ReplyDeleteAs for the food, I went with the grilled cheese and roasted tomato soup. Definitely not a man-sized portion, but it hit the spot, especially on a cooler day. The crusts were ommitted from the sandwich which seemed odd to me and my only real complaint from the meal. But the water was, in the words of Brady, "watery," which I take to mean it tasted very good — and it did. Refills were faster than you could swallow and the overall service was a polar opposite to Su Casa.
I'd make a return to this "froofy" place, if only to get a rerun of the comedy routine Brady gave us with his review. I seriously was in stitches and woke the baby I was holding at the time with my belly movements.
By the way GPaK, you are, as you assumed, forgiven.
Definitely nice to have a photographer in the bunch. Seriously, they are a great addition to the blog. Especially like the 2x2 of the food.
ReplyDeleteAnd I especially like the photo of me, in which I look like I'm on some serious drugs. If we really want to monetize, I think a "no pictures of GPaK" policy is in order.
ReplyDeleteFunny because I think you had taken some drugs, only in the form of cold medicine or something like that. And I respectfully disagree with the no picture policy. Without GPaK there is no crew, no blog, and obviously no opportunity to monetize.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kudos on the pics my good friends!
ReplyDeleteI loved the Oasis food and especially my breakfast burrito. I've had this meal several times and this one didn't disappoint me.
Yes, the man-up factor is small at Oasis....but I wasn't hungry when I finished. In fact I was very full. The burrito was extremly hardy, filled with tasty rice, beans and cheese. The red sauce drizzled over the top was a nice addition both for my palate and the presentation esthetics.
I should have enjoyed a nice cup of their java with the breakfast meal, but choose a not-so-fizzy Diet Coke.
The service was outstanding! I'm happy we went there and will go again...maybe not with the crew who, for the most part was luke-warm. -wingnut