Description
Before the first martini glass or appetizer plate hits the table, the Parasole-owned eatery in the northeast corner of Calhoun Square is, first and foremost, the neighborhood's new commons. Spend a few hours there and you'll be just as apt to bump into an old high school friend as your dental hygienist or your mayor. But don't take Cafeteria's name too literally. There are no serve-yourself queues, no pizza rectangles pooled with ruby-hued grease to sop up with paper napkins. (Though the molded plastic serving trays do make an appearance, as do a few hair-netted "lunch ladies.") Cafeteria is, instead, a full-service restaurant with a first-floor dining room and a rooftop Skybar, which has more wood than a sauna, lots of curvy, pod-shaped lounge furniture, and a gorgeous view of the city. The restaurant defines its menu's theme as "deliciousness," but it's deliciousness of a very specific sort: "as in 'I haven't eaten all day' delicious; stoner delicious; last-meal delicious." Some of these nostalgic classics--meatloaf, turkey dinner, cottage cheese and canned peaches--never rise above their pedestrian roots, but there are several winners on the list including the fried chicken, crab Rangoon, kobe beef hot dog, and chocolate layer cake. If you're feeling adventurous, order the Employee Meal.
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