Fellow students and faculty, does a hot French dip fit your fancy on occasion? Perhaps you’d rather not hold out your pinky as you eat. In that case, maybe a pulled pork or a tri-tip sandwich would better suit your tastes.
Tower Café is one of the best options near campus for those looking for high quality, freshly made hot sandwiches.
Since opening next door to the Tower Theater this past December, the Tower Café has modified their space to accommodate for a growing customer base looking to dine-in. Take-out is also available.
The Tower Café is open Monday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. On weekends, night owls can find refuge there. Thursday through Saturday, the café is open from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. The café is among the few food options available to the stragglers of Tower’s last calls.
Tower Cafe’s prices are within reason for most students. Sandwich prices range between $6.50 and $7.50 for most sandwiches. Customers can choose from tri-tip, hot pastrami, pulled pork, chicken sandwiches and much more. Optional sides include an alternating selection of homemade soups, homemade fries, potato salad and chips.
The café is currently offering a combination special for $9. Combinations include a sandwich of your choosing, one side and your choice of soda or iced tea.
The combination plate came with a tri-tip sandwich, clam chowder and a diet soda. The overall size of the tri-tip sandwich was good. The barbecue sauce was incredibly well balanced, not too bold, too smoky or too sweet. The bread was quite good as well.
However, the bread-to-meat ratio was out of balance. This ratio is the key to any tri-tip sandwich. In this case, the bread soaked in too much flavor from the barbecue sauce and meat. Extra meat would have rendered the sandwich as exceptional rather than acceptable.
The potatoes used heavily in their clam chowder; but this is a fairly common fault of most restaurants. That being said, the chowder was delicious and filling. Their clam chowder contained an excellent blend of texture and spices.
The quality and quantity of the food was acceptable. When students consider the total cost however, they may find themselves craving a bigger bang for their buck.
The Tower Café is located on 809 E Olive Ave at the corner of Olive and Wishon.