Review and photos by Ted Broussard
Partial Reincarnation
I had great hopes when I learned that the Renaissance Café right next to the Starbucks at UWT had a new owner last spring. I had tried the previous incarnation (also called Renaissance Café) and was not impressed with either the food or the owner’s attitude. I was never a fan of their “steamed eggs” from their latte machine and I thought the owner was a little rude in his general banter. This new and improved rebirth hits the mark for friendly service in a cozy atmosphere but the food still leaves a lot to be desired.
I love the idea of a sit-down breakfast and lunch place right at the base of UWT and the new owners do a great job of delivering a cozy kitchen type of environment. They feature a serve yourself beverage bar including water, coffee and tea with an inviting sign to “grab a beverage” and “make yourself at home.” Service was friendly and helpful on two recent visits, one for breakfast and one for lunch.
Breakfast options include a few basic selections but the menu clearly invites you to ask for anything else and they will make it if they have the ingredients. I took them at their word and asked them to transform their basic breakfast sandwich ($4.99) into a Mexican Breakfast Burrito. I had the basic idea of eggs and cheese with sausage and the server offered the ideas of adding avocado and salsa on the side. It turned out pretty good although I was disappointed that the tortilla was stone cold and would have greatly benefitted from warming for a finished flavor. The eggs were very light and tasty but I couldn’t get past the cold burrito. Salsa was good but not remarkable and the avocado was a nice touch. No garnish at all so my makeshift breakfast burrito just sat there looking lonely. The house coffee was fine but seemed to suffer from sitting too long in a carafe at the self-serve bar. They feature a couple of house-baked items each day and I chose the apple walnut muffin that was very fresh, tasty and light.
Lunch was also disappointing. Several of the sandwiches sounded good but I had a hankering for a Panini that day. I mentioned it to the server and she pointed out that all of the sandwiches were in fact paninis so I ordered the Avocado Clubhouse ($8.99). The menu described it as “avocado, regionally raised turkey, ham and crispy bacon with cheddar, lettuce, tomato and Renaisauce on a telera roll.” Since I didn’t know what a couple of those ingredients were, I asked the friendly server and learned that “Renaisauce” is their own mixture of basil pesto, blue cheese dressing and a little mayo, and a telera roll is “kinda like Ciabatta.” But being the Food Review Professional that I am, I wanted to know more about the telera roll and checked with Google only to learn that a telera roll is more like a Mexican cousin to a French Roll, generally used on Mexican tortas. Who knew? Bottom line on the sandwich is that the ingredients were delicious but it didn’t come together. The Renaisauce was outstanding and really gave a nice flavor punch. What I can’t forgive them for though is the sandwich was barely warmed on the inside with only the faintest of the signature pressmarks of a Panini sandwich. The cheese was not even close to being melted and I’d be hard pressed, if you will, to say it spent more than a few seconds in a Panini press. The side of fruit tasted like generic food supply company stock vs. anything fresh they could have put together themselves. The other sandwich choice, Smoking Chicken ($8.99), did arrive with a little more time in the Panini press and was warmed through but the roasted chicken was dry and dense and not particularly fresh tasting. Turns out the “smoke” in the chicken refers to a side of ghost pepper sauce in addition to a side of BBQ sauce. Neither of them redeemed the sandwich in terms of flavor.
Given that the term “renaissance” is all about rebirth, I was hoping that this current incarnation would result in excellent service and food. I’m sorry to say that the transmigration was not complete. Renaissance Café has succeeded in creating a welcoming and friendly environment but the food quality and preparation still need a little more work to truly reach perfection.
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