Center Street Cafe brings simple, sophisticated lunch options
The Brooklyn Reuben served at the Center Street Cafe in Provo.
The Sweet Green Chili Chicken Wrap served at the Center Street Cafe in Provo.
What a glorious day for a springtime picnic! Trees all in bloom, grass greening up, park playgrounds filled with energetic kids — April is a great time to pack up a delicious lunch and enjoy a beautifully peaceful lunch hour outdoors.
The enticingly warmer weather prompted a great idea for my lunch earlier this week. Instead of simply eating a Lean Cuisine on the picnic table just outside the office, why not grab a gourmet sandwich and sit amid the blossoming trees and break up my usual lunchtime routine.
When planning my picnic I immediately thought of a new favorite grab-and-go stop — Center Street Cafe in Provo.
Located inside the Utah Valley Convention Center, right on the corner of Center Street and Freedom Boulevard, this cafe is a hidden treasure sure to delight everyone’s tastebuds. While the little cafe may look unassuming, the lunch options are gourmet deliciousness, all created by the Convention Center’s master chef. This is not your typical grilled cheese or hot dog fare.
How do you like your sandwich? Do you prefer hot or cold? Panini-grilled or tortilla wrapped? No matter your preference, Center Street Cafe has a delicious selection.
On my first visit to the cafe I chose the Mediterranean Chicken Panini. This toasted sandwich is packed with grilled herb chicken breast, smoked bacon, provolone cheese and fresh lettuce and tomato, but the flavors are all swirled together with the tasty help of a fresh basil aioli. Served on a large sourdough ciabatta roll, I was smart to choose the half portion of this giant sandwich.
What is the perfect complement to a delish hot sandwich? A cup of steaming soup, of course. Center Street offers a perfect half sandwich/soup combination for just $7. By cutting down my sandwich portion, I was able to add in a cup of some of the best Creamy Tomato Basil soup I’ve ever enjoyed.
For my most recent, picnic-themed trip to Center Street Cafe, I decided to stick with the half-sized sandwich portion and add on a flavor-packed pasta salad for an extra $1. My sandwich choice this time around was the Cranberry Chicken Salad. I love chicken salad and as a result have become kind of picky about the combination of flavors, textures and sweet or crunchy additions to the mixture. This cranberry-rich version, served with fresh lettuce and tomato on a toasted sourdough ciabatta roll, was a great example of a chicken salad sandwich I can’t wait to order again.
Other menu items that sound tasty include the Provo Roundup with its heaps of slow-roasted brisket covered with caramelized onions and drizzled with the cafe’s own barbecue sauce. Served on jalapeno bread, this hot sandwich is sure to be a local favorite.
The Sweet Green Chile Chicken Wrap will most likely be my next lunch choice at Center Street Cafe, with its tantalizing grilled chicken breast that’s sauteed with their own Sweet Green Chile sauce and topped with lettuce, tomato and pepper jack cheese. Served in a chipotle tomato wrap, this sounds like a zesty choice.
Be sure and ask about the soup of the day, too, when ordering. I tried an incredible sample of a roasted chicken and veggie soup with quinoa.
No matter what sandwich or soup combination, the menu at Center Street Cafe makes for a perfect picnic-friendly lunch option, whether you decide to pack your meal to your favorite secluded park or even dine just outside the convention center on Center Street for an hour of great people watching. Now is a great time to start enjoying the spring weather.