I had long overlooked Phuel Cafe. For some reason, from the outside I assumed it was just a coffee shop. Surprise! It's not. Phuel's menu is extensive and the fact that they serve breakfast all day is a huge plus. So many vegan/vegetarian options too!
I got the three side meal with the kale salad, orange pistachio rice, and Asian chilled broccoli. The kale and rice were great, but the broccoli fell a little short. The flavor was great, but there were a lot of stalks. A lot. Overall, it was a moderate value too. A pretty dense amount of food for $10 or so.
Food being great, where Phuel fell short was service. I tried to call in a carry out lunch order but the phone was busy for 40 minutes as I kept trying. No big deal. Downtown lunch is busy, I get it. I walked over from my office to put in an order at the counter. The carry-out counter is on a separate side of the restaurant that is open to the kitchen and it was not a pretty scene. What appeared to be the manager was loudly berating a line cook the entire time I was waiting for my food (about 15-20 minutes). It was extremely uncomfortable. The whole experience left a weird taste in my mouth, even though the food was awesome.