Eat Café

The Center for Hunger-Free Community is an community outreach program associated with Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health. They partner with universities, public and private organizations, and the community to find sustainable solutions to poverty and hunger. In collaboration with The Center of Hospitality and Sport Management at Drexel University, Vetri Community Partnership, and The Greater West Philadelphia Community, the center recently opened Eat Café  (3820 Lancaster Ave), a nonprofit restaurant that embraces the pay what you can concept. The establishment offers nutritional and seasonal rotating three course meal with the suggested price of $15. I believe the restaurant is anticipating that people of higher economic status will pay or pay more to offset what the lower social economic patrons might not be able to contribute. Or maybe they hope that whatever the less fortunate can afford although less than the suggested price will still keep operation going. This pay as what you can is indeed an interesting idea and experiment. Currently, the restaurant is open during 4pm-8pm Wednesday through Friday.  I am curious to see how this will all pan out. I do wish the pay what you can prove to be sustainable and the organization will be able to open more restaurants or invest in other programs to help the community.

Inside the restaurant, I would estimate that there was a total of 10 tables, ranging from 2 to 6 people seatings. Since the tables are fairly close together and the staff was friendly, it had a warm and homey ambiance. There was also an open kitchen in the back. The night that we went, the place was packed. We were a party of 6 so it was going to be a challenge to seat us. Fortunately, the reservation for the large back table cancelled at the last minute. Hence, we got their table...Yay for people who don't show up.

The first course was between milestone soup or a caprese salad. I chose the soup. The soup was still hot upon arrival. There were beans, carrots, pasta, and tomato in the soup. The soup was not heavy and very tasty. It was great to start the night.

Milestone Soup

For my entree, I ordered the only vegetarian option that evening- Veggie Pesto Lasagna. This dish also came out very hot which I preferred. The portion side was on point for me. It wasn't too little or too much. The lasagna was layers of tendered seasonal vegetables and pasta topped with melted cheese and pesto sauce. The cheese was chewy and went well with the layers. The pesto sauce was a little oily but I didn't mind it. It was a light kind of oil and also the kind that probably kept the meal hot longer. It also added flavor to the overall dish. As sides to share among the table were roasted vegetables and spaghetti. The vegetables were fresh and the right amount of tenderness. The tomato sauce was simple and rich in tomato flavor. I feel that sometimes sauces can be over powdered by spices used in them but it wasn't like that here. It was purely tomatoey and tasted homemade.

Veggie Pesto Lasagna

Roasted Vegetables and Spaghetti

I got the Lemon Sorbet for dessert. It came with a maraschino cherry on top. It was very refreshing but just a little more on the sour side. For the most part, I enjoyed my experience. The food was fresh and good. The only thing was it took a while for our foods to come out; however, that could be because we had a large party. They waited for all the foods to finish cooking before serving. I would like to return and try something else when their menu changes.

Lemon Sorbert