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| - I've been a regular customer at Fair Trade Cafe since they opened. The place has changed a lot over time - their menu is now fully vegetarian, they offer more teas, ice cream has come and gone and they've made massive improvements to the infrastructure inside. The current decor is beautiful and the place feels comfy cozy inside. I immediately want to curl up with a book or a laptop and spend time snuggling up to work whenever I walk in.
These positives aside, Fair Trade has consistently presented some unfavorable traits and is usually my last choice for coffee or a meal. It's often freezing cold inside the space - I know they can't help this, but it's a fact - and that makes it difficult to stay. The service is always very slow. I don't usually mind when I pop over for a cup of Grey Dutchess (my current favorite thing over there, it's the only reason I go anymore), but waiting about 15 minutes for a cup of coffee is a commitment.
If you order food, expect to wait even longer and the menu selections are often hit or miss. Their veggie quesadilla is quite delicious and their smoothies are tasty. Today however, I tried their Thai Summer Rolls which were not good. The tofu inside the wraps is soaked in soy sauce to give it flavor, but it leaves the tofu extremely salty. The peanut dipping sauce seemed like it was nothing more than a tablespoon of organic peanut butter - it's definitely too thick to be considered a "dip" or "sauce" and the flavor of the peanut butter clashed with the salty tofu instead of bringing balance to the dish. The rolls are served with a side salad which was made entirely of healthy dark green leafy vegetables which were delicious, but the salad dressing was nothing more than olive oil and salt.
Fair Trade is a great place to go if you're not in a hurry, don't mind waiting for food and can find the gems among their menu (seriously, try the veggie quesadilla). But you can probably do better.
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