zephyr cafe

zephyr cafe
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

when natalia, our hairdresser (mike and mine), recommended the zephyr cafe, i was excited to discover a good vegetarian eatery in long beach. we don't often frequent downtown as much of it caters to tourists, so when we found ourselves in the neighborhood, we had to check it out.

located on 4th street in a small enclave known as the arts village in downtown long beach down the street from a health store and across from one of the new downtown lofts, the cafe looked down to earth and promising. we came in around 2pm, so were surprised to see the nine widely spaced tables occupied.

the cafe had a more coffee shop feel, with customers queuing up to the counter to place their orders, but definitely specialized in serving healthy vegetarian fare. mike grabbed us a table while i ordered him a portabello burger and and myself a grilled vegetable bowl. after five minutes, a guy with a laptop who appeared to be a regular (i deduced this by his comfort level chatting with various strangers who happened in the cafe, plopping his laptop on one occupied table and plugging in) asked if we would trade tables with him so he could have the table next to the outlet. we thought it was rather forward, but didn't really care either way, so we moved to a smaller table by the window where we ended up waiting an hour for our food.

i really wanted to like the place. the food was simple but healthy, fresh and tasty. luckily, we had had a large lemon blueberry waffle breakfast so were not starving. i didn't mind waiting until it was getting on to the hour mark.

you have to understand that time for me is crucial. i am a type A person who is painfully aware of my own mortality. i cut back on my time working so that i could spend more time on my art and my portfolio for grad school. i'm not always good at it, but i manage my time.

it was so disappointing to not want to come back to this place because of how long it took for us to get our food. there aren't any other decent purely vegetarian places i know of in long beach. i don't understand why it took so long. there were a good number of people, but not a lot, and there were four people busily working behind the counter. the guy who took my order was extremely apologetic when our food finally came, but i felt confused that no explanation was offered as to why we waited an hour for our food.