Sunday, January 23, 2011

University Park: McKinley's Bakery and Cafe

Of all the spots I enjoy in Fort Worth, one of my favorite places to spend a day lunching or shopping is University Park Village located 2 blocks from the TCU campus. After doing some window shopping, my friends Brandon, Courtney and I visited McKinley's Bakery and Cafe to check out the vegetarian fare on their menu.

When you walk in to the cafe on a Saturday afternoon, the place is busy beyond belief, filled with hungry shoppers from the surrounding stores. McKinley's menu is a simple one, offering soups, salads and sandwiches that remind you of home but served with flair. Saturday's soup of the day was a vegetarian-friendly Tomato, Basil and Rice soup. They have many hot and cold sandwiches to  choose from, the Egg Salad, Veggie and Grown Up Grilled Cheese sandwiches being the 3 vegetarian options on the menu. There are multiple pairing options on the menu, so you are able to order a plethora of sandwich-soup combos to suit your appetite.

Since I am a fan of the classic tomato soup and grilled cheese, I sprang for a cup of the Tomato, Basil and Rice Soup with the Grown Up Grilled Cheese Sandwich. It was amazing! The soup was different from the typical tomato basil and lacked the cream base, which made it lighter (as well as vegan friendly!). With fresh basil leaves, it was both aromatic and delicious.

The Grown Up Grilled Cheese was definitely different from the homemade sandwich, made with tomatoes, cheddar and provolone and grilled on two slices of pumpernickel bread. The sandwich also came with a small serving of fruit with a sweet dip, potato salad, and a tiny zucchini muffin, all of which were worth the $7.95 paid.




This trip to McKinley's made me wonder if I was just a fan of the grilled cheese because I am a vegetarian or because it is a comfort food that most Americans can identify with. Growing up, this was a typical "feel good food" for my family. Is there ever a point where you are too old to eat a grilled cheese sandwich? Let me know what you think on my poll.

3 comments:

  1. The soup was definitely lighter. And that grown up grilled cheese was delish.

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  2. Those are great pictures by the way :-)

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  3. Yes, they are! Way to go, Brandon. Mad photography skills.

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