Breakfast Sando at Allez Cafe

a good sandwich in maybe my golden mean of coffee shops

More and more I think about why I like restaurants; what makes me go out of my way for them or at the very least make it a point to always go when I’m less than a mile away. Allez Cafe is somewhere I’d find a reason to go and it’s also a great place to sit down for a minute. It’s not that big, but the tables are long and conducive to groups and laptops or even low-key craft projects. It’s really cute; the vibe is soft and pinky-beigey-neutral and kind of French, real chill and clean and cozy. Cool but friendly. Modern but subtly vintage. I will stop with the adjective pairings, I’ve been around too many voice and tone guides. Like the space, the menu is small but not minimalist — it’s more well-curated, featuring a mix of standards and amazing-sounding signatures. The coffee and pastries are excellent. And they have a good breakfast sandwich.

Breakfast Sando at Allez Cafe

It’s a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich with smoked gouda, jalapeño ramp mayo, and a hash brown on a potato roll. There’s a lot going on but it’s all pretty harmonious and balanced, taste-wise anyway; the bacon is thick and perfectly cooked, which provides welcome texture amongst the predominating pillowy layers of roll and egg. Let’s talk about that egg: it’s a fluffy, square patty that seems to be coming into style and I’m not mad about it. I didn’t register the hash brown, but maybe I need to eat it again. The mayo is herby and oniony and slightly spicy, which the sandwich needs because it’s super rich. That might be my only critique, and it’s hard to say — it’s a good sandwich! — but it’s 2023, the world is literally burning, we may have to fix our sewer line, I can nut up and share a less than glowing opinion. It’s rich and it verges on too-soft; I thought the bun was brioche at first, I want it to be toasted or tougher or something. This isn’t a sandwich I’d eat every day, I’d have be in the mood for it. But it’s good. It’s real good. It’s got layers and range. And Allez Cafe is the kind of low-key cool and charming coffee shop every neighborhood should have.