The Village Café
offers a big Greek
welcome to all
Chocolate Madonna and The Salad Sassinator / Foghorn staff
As college students we can probably all agree that money is constantly an issue. We have tuition, books, bills and, most importantly, appetites.
With that in mind, the Foghorn is continuing its mission of finding the best restaurants within walking distance of East Campus that offer a full meal, plus drink, for $10 or less. This week we decided to walk to The Village Café, at 920 Louisiana Ave. As usual, we’ve gone incognito to maintain the integrity of the review.
Chocolate Madonna
We started our walk from the Harvin Center and it took about eight to 10 minutes. We walked into a very quiet yet welcoming entryway and were greeted and seated within a minute.
The server greeted us and took our drink order but never mentioned her name. She served us complimentary warm biscuits and handed us a handwritten listing of specials that they had to offer for that day. The specials ranged from $6.99 to $8.99 and included various entrées such as pasta, sandwiches and soup-and-salad specials.
Because this was our first experience we asked the server for some recommendations but she said she hadn’t had a chance to try them all. After a few minutes of contemplating we finally decided on our entrées.
I ordered the catfish and had the option of grilled, blacken or fried. My entrée also came with a soup or salad option as well as one side. I chose to go with a house salad with ranch and my catfish fried with a side of fries. After the waitress took our order we took advantage of the free Wi-Fi that The Village offers.
My salad was delivered almost immediately after ordering. It was very fresh and they put on the perfect amount of dressing.
Our entrees came out six or seven minutes after ordering. I received a gracious portion of filet of catfish along with a fresh order of fries. I could tell it was made fresh to order and it was nothing short of perfection.
One of the small complaints I have is that we were not checked on during the meal, and we were not offered refills. However, the great prices and fast service allowed me to overlook it.
After we were done eating we received our tickets and mine went slightly over our $10 limit, totaling $10.89. If you must stay under $10, they have plenty of options including an all-day breakfast menu.
The village will most definitely see me as a regular customer. The checkout process did take a few extra minutes so I wouldn’t recommend dining in if you’re in a rush back to class.
Overall rating – 4/5
Price of meal – $10.89
The Salad Sassinator
The Village Café was quiet and empty when we arrived for lunch. The atmosphere quickly changed when we were greeted by a friendly hostess who turned out to also be our waitress. I had never eaten or even been to The Village Café before, but they made a good first impression.
After being seated the waitress asked us for our drink order and I was already discouraged when I saw that a drink was $1.99 (a little steep for a fountain drink). After we had our food order taken then it was time to play the waiting game. I ordered an appetizer, the chili cheese fries. The food came out promptly six minutes after ordering, and you could tell that the food is cooked when it is ordered. It was comforting to know that my food hadn’t been waiting since 10 in the morning to be eaten.
The chili cheese fries came in a huge salad bowl with A LOT of cheese. When I began mixing my fries to move the cheese around I noticed there was no chili on my chili cheese fries. I became discouraged yet again.
While we were eating I got to enjoy their free Wi-Fi and watch one of the many TVs. The dining area was filled with cute decorations that gave it a family friendly environment. I can definitely see this place with 15-people tables during the Friday night dinner rush.
After we finished it was a waiting game again for the waitress to bring us the check. The only little complaints I have are that that the waitress did not check up on us during our meal and when she did she was already clearing off our dirty dishes. However, I am willing to cut her some slack because it was just her with four other tables.
This cute family café will see me again to try other things on their menu. If I wasn’t on an economic crunch I would love to try their deserts. I would recommend eating here, but not if you are on a time crunch. Come see this family restaurant when you have a leisure break or are done with classes for the day. It is worth the big Greek family welcome instead of the death stares from students in Harvin Center cafeteria.
Overall rating – 3.5/5
Price of meal – $8.64
