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The Chicken Walnut Salad is one of the lunch offerings at Fourth & Roma Cafe Downtown. (Marla Brose/Journal)
Folks who eat lunch Downtown seem to fit into one of two categories: those who enjoy the break from their desk and choose food based on their favorite spots and cravings for that day, and those who have court business and forgot their lunch. Both groups want to snag a good meal for a fair price, making it back to work in a reasonable amount of time.
Tameeza Bhanji’s Fourth & Roma Cafe takes advantage of an excellent location to reel in fans of home-style fare for almost 10 years.
Let’s say you have a menu in hand, picked up from the pile at work or handed over from a friend. It’s a short affair, just one photocopied page. Starting with breakfast, the menu is standard and almost boring: burritos, omelets and pastries; indeed, these are perfectly fine, neither disappointing nor outstanding. But then you’ll spot an unusual item such as the Buenos Dias Pizza ($3.99). While breakfast quesadillas are seen more and more around town, this breakfast pizza is still a rare treat.
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Fourth & Roma Cafe LOCATION: 500 Fourth NW, Suite 106 (Bank of America building) HOURS: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Mondays-Fridays NO ALCOHOL |
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Lunch has a similarly staid lineup – sandwiches, soups, salads and a couple of diversions. But having a menu in your hand for a call-in order is no match for walking through the door to chat with owner Bhanji. Her enthusiasm sets the bar for the whole experience – she’s bubbly, happy to be showing off her recipes and glad to see each and every customer.
Her lunch specials appeal to the most picky of eaters while rotating in touches straight out of her own personal recipe collection. One day you might see flaky samosas; another day, lentil soup. Amid it all is a Green Chile Stew ($3.99 bowl) that would be right at home at any New Mexican joint in town.
In addition to the specials, you can always get a tuna melt or a simple deli sandwich on local bread. I like the Chicken Walnut Salad ($7.49), typically composed and a refreshing meal, though not as filling as a sandwich for the same price. It’s one way of leaving room for the best treat on the menu: a Banana Bar ($1.29) that is neither brownie nor banana bread, but rather some addicting nexus between bread and pudding cake. It’s so good she runs out of them well before closing, and any intention you harbor of saving it for an afternoon coffee break will be futile.
Dozens of spots compete for the weekday lunchtime foot traffic, the peak crashing down all at once in the noon hour. A small establishment like Fourth & Roma Cafe needs to be able to handle that crowd but also hang on during the off-hours without appearing deserted, and 10 years of experience is serving them well. I just wish those Banana Bars were made in about double the quantity.
