Tah dah!

I think I went to a new restaurant that only the few know. Nestled back on Pulaski Street, Trax Cafe is the new inhabitant of the front of the Leathers Building. I had heard a couple of people say they went there, and I suggested we venture there as an office on Friday.

Here is some basic info:

Location: 675 Pulaski St., Suite 100

Open and Close: Monday-Saturday: 7 a.m.-6 p.m., 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday

Phone:

Best Meal: I’d have to say lunch because that’s when I ate. Didn’t get a chance to see the breakfast menu.

Reservations: They might freak out if you try.

Price: For lunch, expect to pay around $10 if you get a sandwich and a drink. Not sure about breakfast

Around 11:45, the Athens JS crew and two friends from our Atlanta office (yay for Mark and Charlotte Marie!) ventured out into the heat to journey to Trax Cafe. I was really excited about going. Sandwiches are always a favorite of mine at lunch, and I had heard they were pretty good.

After our long drive of three minutes ended, we hopped out of the car and into the building. Trax is on the front right of the Leathers Building, and it is really cool inside. Vaulted ceilings, concrete floors, retro furniture, lots of metal and stainless steel greeted us as we went in. I was unreasonably frightened by the petrified-looking stone animals in the art gallery across the hall. Freaky.

When we told the waitress there were eight of us, we got the typical Athens response. “Oh no. It’s a big party. I guess that means we’re going to have to move the tables around. Ummm, OK.”

If you’ve eaten in Athens, you know what I’m talking about. I’m not saying that kind of response is bad, but it’s definitely something you come to expect here.

Moving on to the food…

I ordered a panini with tomato, red onion, pesto and avocado. I can’t remember the actual name of the sandwich, so I hope the description helps anyway. It came with sour cream and onion Zapp’s chips (which I love!), and it was the perfect size. I’m often weary of ordering paninis because they can be so huge. This wasn’t made on Italian foccacia bread (like most of them are), but it was nice and Americano with good ole’ wheat bread. I think it was a great combination of flavors- especially the pesto.

Other people ordered the Sicilian Turkey wrap (you’ll have to comment and describe it for us), and they also ordered sides of fruit. It came in a retro red coffee mug, and Beth said it tasted like it was tossed in some kind of yogurt sauce. Sounds good to me!

Brian ordered a side salad with his sandwich, and he got the house dressing with is: balsamic vinegarette with orange juice and basil. I’m definitely going to order that the next time I come.

As for the crowd, there wasn’t one. We were the only table downstairs besides a couple sitting by the window. I think there were a couple of people upstairs.

Here’s a fun fact: on Saturdays, Trax Cafe hosts Patio Parties. The patio on the outside of the building is apparently filled with a weekly band and listeners. BYOB, too! Sounds like a plan to me.

I’m definitely going to go back to Trax Cafe. The review in the Athens Banner-Herald says Trax has French press coffee, and you don’t find that anywhere. Anyone want to go for breakfast one day?

In conclusion, Trax Cafe would be appropriate for the following: a lunch date (to show yo’ woman you know other places to go besides DePalma’s), a business lunch, breakfast or maybe even an afternoon coffee break. There you go. Now eat, and report back.

Update: Our friends at Plexus Web Design recently made a blog post about the history of the leathers building.  Check it out!

Yesterday, I finally made it to the new Which Wich downtown.

Many friends kept asking me if I had been there yet, so I fulfilled their wish.

If you want a fun sub, this is the place to go. I decided the taste of the sandwiches are average, but the process of ordering and the speed of the order is what makes going to Which Wich an experience.

I talked about how to order your sandwich in my other post, but it was still fun to pick the bag and decorate it with check marks and my name.

I ended up ordering the tomato and avocado veggie sub on wheat with cucumbers, mustard and lettuce.

My friend, Jaime, ordered the hummus veggie sub on wheat, and we both finished our meals. There was a generous amount of hummus on her Wich, so they don’t cheat you out of your $4.75.

The best thing about all their sandwiches is the speed. The owner, Caleb Soong, promised me every person gets their Wich in four minutes or less. Impressive!

I’m a sucker for toasted ones, and every Wich you order takes a ride in their fun, assembly line-looking toaster.

The inside of Which Wich is bright, yellow and clean. The stainless steel furniture gives it a retro look, and the generous presence of two-person tables suggests great seating for lunch dates.

One of the most exciting discoveries was the crushed ice. I am a firm believer that soft drinks taste best from the fountain with crushed ice, and my Diet Coke was oh so good.

Moral of the story: go to Which Wich for a sandwich, but mostly go there for the atmosphere and the crushed ice. It’s a great place to drop in if you have a break between classes!

Today I got to go to Five Points Deli for lunch! I was meeting my friend, Kelly, and we decided this would be a wonderful way to wrap up our semester.

In case you haven’t heard of Five Points Deli, here’s some basic information:
Location: On South Lumpkin Street, right through the Five Points light
Phizzle Nizzle: 706-546-8915
Web site: www.fivepointsdeli.com
Reservations: No
Price: plan on spending at least $7 for a basic sandwich. It’s more if you add chips and a drink.
Best meal: definitely lunch
Open and close: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.; at their Epps Bridge location, they’re open until 8 p.m.
Group friendly: kind of; it will take a while to get your food, but they have enough space to accomodate.

Today’s special was a rotisserie chicken sandwich with cheese and mayo on whole wheat bread. That’s what struck Kelly’s fancy. I was feeling the veggie sandwich, and it was the best veggie sandwich I’ve ever had. Being suckers for toasted sandwiches, we both asked for ours to be put under the grill. They actually forgot to toast mine, so I had to take it back. Easily fixed, though!

My veggie sandwich was so fun. Hummus, banana peppers, green peppers, red peppers, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce and tomato were squeezed in between two pieces of whole wheat bread. I think provolone came in the original recipe, but I asked for it to be left off. Cheese and hummus didn’t sound appealing to me.

In addition to my sandwich, I asked for a fruit cup. I think I like Five Star Day’s fruit cup better; the one from Five Points Deli had the fruit juice in the bottom of the cup, and I don’t really like the juice. Maybe I should ask them to scoop it with a slotted spoon next time.

Kelly’s sandwich was good, too. She said it was a great combo of flavors. FPD is famous for their rotisserie chicken, and I think putting it on a sandwich was a great idea. She also had a bag of Zapp’s Jalapeno potato chips.

You can see we clearly enjoyed our meal- members of the clean plate club, we are!

Since it was so warm today, there were a lot of people sitting outside on their patio. We opted for the inside seating, but it was fun to people watch.

I have some other favorites from FPD I thought I’d list: seafood salad, black eyed pea salad, the supreme chicken salad (not the regular, it’s too plain) and the cracked sunflower seed bread. It’s good on any sandwich!

So, whether you’re already planning for tailgate season, or you’re looking for a fun lunch outing, FVP is a tried and true favorite. I haven’t been to the Epps Bridge location, but I’ve heard it’s nice!