I have never been to The Center, and I wish I had had the time to look around a little more. The lobby area - where you will find the Bronze Cafe - has the feel of an open library, with some computers available for use against one wall, and book shelves along a longer curved wall. I really liked the atmosphere, it made me feel like I was a little bit more cool just for having been there.
The counter guy was super friendly, and offered us a sample of their lentil soup with veggies. It was very flavorful, and actually light & refreshing, which is quite an accomplishment for a bean soup.
I really like roasted veggies, so I ordered The Good Earth, and I also got an ice-brewed coffee. The sandwich had lettuce, tomato, roasted? mushrooms, roasted eggplant, alfalfa sprouts, an orange dressing of some kind, sunflower seeds, and what tasted like candied walnuts. I love eggplant, but it really wan't cooked well enough. Cooked eggplant is kind of mushy (and delicious!), but this was still pretty firm & spongy, like it was pretty raw. All the other ingredients were fantastic, and even the candied walnuts went surprisingly well with the other ingredients. But for a roasted veggie sandwich, I also would have liked to see something other than just the eggplant & possibly mushrooms. (I am not sure if the mushrooms were actually roasted. I have not heard of such a thing, but otherwise the eggplant would have been the only roasted veggie.) The pita bread was delicious.
My friend had the Tree of Life, and she thought it was awesome.
I can't really judge the ice-brewed coffee, as I have never had it before. I had heard it was much less bitter than heat-brewed coffee and so I really wanted to try it. But it pretty much just tasted like iced coffee but not as watered down. It could be the most phenomenal ice-brewed coffee ever, but it was my first taste so I can't compare it. Personally, I will stick with regular coffee in the future.
Weird, right? I didn't like my sandwich or my drink, but I still gave it four stars. I liked the atmosphere and the service, and I just feel like I happened to order the wrong thing for me. I feel confident the next visit will be a five-star experience.
Finding it: as you drive south on Maryland (one way in this area), The Center is on your left immediately after Lewis Ave. Just turn into the first parking lot you can.