Woodstock Cafe *

2008-03-21 10:33 p.m.

Woodstock Café, tucked along Bristol Road in the student enclave of Selly Oak, is just the place for anyone, students, office workers or just the average hungry person. Upon entering, you enter Italy and the Mediterranean, but not just any old Italian shop. This is truly the Italy, with the freshest mozzarella, virgin olive oil, chorizo and other Italian ingredients laid in front of you. Though a small establishment, the menu boasts a range of mouth watering crispy baguettes, Mozzarella melts (cheese draped baguette with any meat), freshly made paninis, ciabattas and a range of salads. It’s the healthiest lunch that you can have over here and drinks wise is just as great as the food. The hot chocolate is a must, for it is really churned up into a borth that can only be akin to the chocolate drink described in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . No additional sweetening is needed and if you’re luck to be served by the boss, you’ll get the rim of the mug dusted with plenty of cocoa powder, so you can lick the rim to taste all that goodness.

As I mentioned, the freshest ingredients are laid before you, ready to be mixed into any of the tantalising dishes. My first try when I discovered this place was the ham baguette, since ham in a staple in my diet. It wasn’t just any normal ham sandwich when I took the first bite; it was the mixture of a good heap of ham, lettuce, tomatoes and olives along with creamy mayonnaise. I soon ventured to other baguettes, such as the chicken/Cajun chicken or tuna. Baguettes however, aren’t filling for me, so I soon ventured for the mozzarella melts, which while slightly fatty with copious amounts of cheese, is balanced with a salad of juicy cherry tomatoes, gerkins, a bed of shaved lettuce, olives and topped with either virgin olive oil or special Woodstock dressing, which is simply divine. The baguette is open faced with meat pieces tucked amongst the blanket of cheese.

Oh yes, the meat pieces are all breasts strips, making the salads as healthy as can be. Another weight conscious or health freaks choice would possibly be the ciabatta with a choice of all the vegetables tucked between the two grilled pieces, or the meatball choice. This isn’t your tomato sauced drapped meatmall, but one with either onions or cucumber pieces in it. This dish is a little dry for me though.

If you’re like a wolf who hasn’t hunted any prey for a few days, there’s this platter of chicken pieces, baguette slices and a mountain of vegetables for you to consume. It is the king of all the dishes on the menu and is worth the price if you can finish it.

Oh, you would think one major lunch/dinner dish is missing: soup. This is on the menu and slightly on the expensive side—possibly for the washing up of the bowl. Still, very satisfying.

The establishment is a family run establishment, but despite the small staff present, service is almost always efficient with a smile from everyone. The music played is certainly Woodstock era, but tunes vary from the present to old jazz, Rhythm and Blues, and Spanish salsa music. Even so, an ideal place to rest between lectures or a great study den.

My rating: 4 and a half stars out of five.

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