Review: Newk's Express Cafe

Last Updated on Friday, 23 September 2011 17:42

Written by T.J. Lewis

Newk's Express Cafe: Turkey Breast Meal with Slice of Caramel Cake and Fresh Fruit REVIEW - Newk's Express Cafe opened its doors in Tallahassee a little over a month ago. As is most often the case, I took the liberty of welcoming Newk's to Tallahassee on their first day of business. I did not know what to expect of this place other than what I had seen browsing the company's website - one thing sticking out was the mention of the type of desserts they offered. Despite being made aware that Newk's would offer some very tempting dessert items, I went into my first visit with this idea that they were really about fresher, healthier food.

I put this idea to the test. As I walked into the new location, there were greeters at the entry to welcome me. The dining room was PACKED!! I must say, Tallahassee really knows how to show its new businesses some southern hospitality (good to know a little of that still exists around here). A lovely woman, dressed in black and blue walked me through the various items on the menu and made suggestions. I told her I had my mouth fixed for a "tasty sammich" for which she recommended the "Newk's Q", one of the restaurant's toasty specialty sandwiches topped with white BBQ sauce, grilled chicken breast, Applewood smoked bacon and Swiss cheese. I also ordered a the Lobster Crab Bisque. If I'm not mistaken, this was a Combo meal that ran about $7.75. After paying at the register, I stepped aside and took in the atmosphere of the restaurant as my food was prepared.

Food prep, I suppose is another point to mention about Newk's. Food is made to the order. Chicken breasts are cooked (not already sitting in the back waiting to be scooped out of some container), the warm sauce is applied, the cheese is cut from the block, and the bread is toasted. Despite the fact that this restaurant does all of this fresh cooking, the wait wasn't that long. I waited no more than 5-10 minutes for my order to be served.

Although I was getting my meal to go, the Newk's Express Cafe dining room is rather spacious and there seemed to be ample seating (although most tables were occupied by patrons. It appears to be a family friendly place, although most people in the restaurant at the time were adults meeting for a meal, some clearly on lunch break (as I was) and some who looked retired and relaxed. Already, they seemed at ease with the comforts of this new Tallahassee eatery.

Finally, my food was delivered to me, and I took the liberty of browsing around Newk's circular "bar" which has toppings such as garlic, pickles, bread sticks, and various other accents for the meals. I took the opportunity to scoop up a few sliced pickles then made my departure. In a second I'll tell you why getting the pickles was a mistake.

Newk's Express Cafe: Newk's So I get back to work, I open the bag and neatly place all of my items on the desk for this photo (on the right). Then I open up the cup of Lobster Crab Bisque, an item that I've never had before. I stir my spoon around in it. There were no large chunks of lobster or crab as I had optimistically hoped there would be. Instead, it was a creamy smooth orange color. I put the first spoonful in my mouth, "mmm". Then the next, "mmm". Then another "mmmmmm". Before I knew what I had done, I had hit the bottom of the cup. The sweet, creamy, lobster crab bisque was gone.

Then I went to work on the Newk's Q. The first bite was just okay to me. I recall feeling a tad disappointed at how the chicken was sliced. It was not a whole breast fillet as I'd imagined based on the menu description, but it appeared to be shredded grill breast pieces, and very thin (You can see a small little piece sticking out from the bread in the picture). But the layering of the chicken on top of the bread gave it some dimension. The saving factor for the sandwich, however, was the "white BBQ" sauce. It had a creamy-sweet-tang to it that blended just right with the after taste of the lobster bisque, the mild seasoning on the chicken and the Swiss cheese. Despite my desire to save a little for later, within minutes the entire meal was consumed.

I've made two or three additional visits to Newk's since the experience described above. On the second occasion, my co-worker ordered a pepperoni pizza, and I ordered the turkey breast sandwich (seen in the top photo). Although my turkey sandwich was tasty, my co-worker's pizza really made an impression on me. Not only was it served super quick, but each time she would lift a slice to put into her mouth, I could not help but notice the buttery golden bottom of the crust, wishing that I had ordered that for myself instead.

The other two visits to Newk's were strictly business -- I was there for dessert! On each occasion I tried Newk's Caramel cake. There is a story behind this. My grandmother, the world's best cook, makes the most FABULOUS multi-layered (5-7) caramel cake. My taste buds live for visits to Mississippi and a slice of my grandmother's love. So when I saw this item on Newk's menu, I had to give it a try. I was almost reluctant because I did not want to be disappointed knowing that it probably would not come close to my grandmother's cake. Plus Newk's cake was "only" two layers, thick layers, where my grand mothers cake is several thin layers. Well, I need only to say that Newk's did not disappoint. Not only was their cake as moist as my grandmother's, I believe they stole her caramel recipe! I was IMPRESSED people! Which is why I went back for another piece on my 4th visit!

And those pickles I mentioned earlier, the ones I called a mistake, well... there was a huge jar of them and I scooped up 3-4 of them to try. I had never had a sweet pickle in my life! I've since learned they are called "bread and butter chips". They were DELICIOUS! It was a mistake that I'd only grabbed so few.

If you've not done so already, get over to Newk's and give them a try. If you like places like Jason's Deli, Panera Bread, Atlanta Bread, you should love Newk's.

Member Comments:

Re: Review: Newk's Express Cafe -- gardencat

Monday, 10 October 2011 12:03

I went to Newk's for the first time yesterday and I think I'm in love. They are DELICIOUS. I had the half sandwich and soup combo with the vegetarian club (grilled portabella mushrooms, roasted red and yellow bell peppers, pesto and goat cheese) and tomato basil soup. Both were pefection. The mushrooms were thick and juicy and the bell peppers were soft and flavorful. The pesto and goat cheese were not only tasty, but kept the veggies firmly on the sandwich (a common problem with veggie sandwiches is that the ingredients get squeezed out or fall out). The tomato basil was a bisque so delicious that I almost licked the bowl clean. I got some of their thin and crispy breadsticks off the topping bar to dip in it. I've had a tomato soup of comparable quality only at The Tomato Cafe in Havana. And, just as important as the taste of it all, the meal made for a filling lunch.They take the "express" part of their name seriously. Our food arrived despite the crowd in around 5 minutes. The place was also very clean.

Re: Review: Newk's Express Cafe -- tearose

Wednesday, 28 September 2011 22:09

I recently went to Newk's and I have to say that it is a refreshing take on healthy food. I will definately go there again.

Re: Review: Newk's Express Cafe -- sweetteaandbourbon

Tuesday, 27 September 2011 09:33

A couple of people from my office have visited Newk's and had only good things to say about it. After reading your review I need to make the short trip over there for lunch!

Re: Newk's Express Cafe -- td*

Sunday, 14 August 2011 09:51

All this talk about newks im gonna go try it!

Re: Newk's Express Cafe -- amoret

Sunday, 14 August 2011 06:04

Yeah, those pickles were good. My girls made me go up a couple of times and refill our little tiny cup. I ate too much of the garlic. My wife could smell it radiating from my body last night when we got in bed.