Spend any length of time with me, and you will know I have a penchant for coffee. More than a penchant, a passion. I can drink coffee at any given time of day during any given time of year (yes, even in the middle of a Tennessee summer day!), and I always drink it black. Unless I'm feeling really adventurous, and then I go for a non-fat au lait, and that's just about as fancy as I ever get. So to say that I am thrilled to work near a locally-owned (read: NOT a Starbucks) coffee shop is slightly misrepresenting the truth.
Berry Hill's Sam & Zoe's gets a lot of my money, as they are within almost-walking distance from my office. OK, so walking is unrealistic, but swinging quickly by the old house-turned-java joint is not. Sam & Zoe's is one of my favorite spots for quick cup of joe on the way to work or afternoon pick me up, but it's spot on my Top Ten list is due primarily to its location. Recently, the place has gone through yet-another change in the quest to find its true identity, and the menu (and the service) has not gotten back up to par.
For my standard afternoon pick-me-up, the medium non-fat au lait hold the cardboard sleeve because I'm trying to single-handedly save the environment, Sam & Zoe's is great. For a quick sandwich or salad, it's not so much anymore.
One of the best things I've found on the revamped lunch menu is the Tijuana Wrap, an overstuffed tortilla filled with black beans, melted cheese, avacado slices, and tomatillo salsa. The warm, gooey wrap is good and comforting, but it is too much. I always overeat and always regret it. For the money, I'd just as soon go next door to Baja Burrito.
The coffee shop offers a homemade chicken salad served on a cranberry pecan bread, which I thought was good until I had The Iroquois from Bread & Company, which is one of the only sandwiches I crave. S&Z's just doesn't quite have the same pizzaz.
My most upsetting Sam & Zoe's happened recently, on a day when I definitely could have and probably should have gone home for lunch instead of eating out. But I wasn't in the mood for PB&J so I opted for a quick bite here. I ordered the Chipotle Chicken sandwich, which I had always heard from really good. I thought it was really disappointing. I liked the chipotle sauce and the fresh sourdough bun but that was about it. The chicken was obviously the pre-packaged kind and had some questionable bits. Gross! I don't quite know what I expected (because they obviously aren't firing up the grill in their tiny kitchen) but when their chicken salad always tastes good and their turkey is pulled and tastes fresh, I just expected more than iffy pre-packaged chicken. Not to mention, on this particular day I had to wait an excessively long time for this lackluster meal.
Despite what my coworker thinks about the quality of their menu, I think I'll save Sam & Zoe's for the quick cup of coffee and maybe the homemade chocolate chip cookies and spend my money on sandwiches elsewhere.
The End Notes:
- Good, reliable coffee
- Staff (almost) always serves with a smile
- Lunch menu is constantly in transition and not as reliable as other bakeries/sandwich joints in the neighborhood.
- I'm neutral about this one.
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