cafe next to Martsa's on Elm Street?

[ron_newman]

The storefront next to Martsa's on Elm Street, which I think used to be a hair salon, is now some sort of café. Has anyone here tried it yet?

Comments

Bhoja

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

It's a Tibetan coffee/tea shop, owened by the Martsa'a folks. I've been there twice and I like it. I can recommend the spring rolls and muffins, as well as their chai, which they brew in-house. I haven't tried to soups or sandwiches yet, but I plan to.

Re: Bhoja

[unferth.livejournal.com]

I'd been wondering if it was the same management as Martsa. It certainly looked like it, but I was judging mostly from the look of the sign and some of the food options.

They've got an interesting mix of traditional cafe food (sandwiches, biscoti, scones, gelato) and what I assume are Tibetan-influenced versions of things I usually think of as Indian, like samosas.

I wasn't too impressed with their roast beef sandwich (it seemed overly wet, possibly due to some rather drippy onions) but the maharaja chicken wrap was good.

There are a number of vegetarian options (portabella with mango, veggie hummus, tomato/mozzarella/etc, and some tofu combination thing) so presumably that's a mark in its favor for vegetarians.

I wish they'd post their hours, though!

Re: Bhoja

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Ayup. I was there a few days after they opened and had a conversation with the folks behind the counter. As for the signs, give them time -- they're still getting set up. :)

Definitely veg-friendly, though. Vegan-friendly, even! Not only do they post the ingredients for everything, but they had vegan chocolate muffins, so of course a fab friend had to get one for me. :)

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

I went in the day they opened. I just got coffee and a muffin, but they had a lot of interesting-looking stuff in the pastry case and the people were very nice. Not a lot of tables though.

[gilana]

I've been in there a few times now and loved it. I liked the food a lot, and it was great value for the money in this area.

[mrcairo.livejournal.com]

The food is great. The coffee drink I had was truly horrible, and apparently a "large" means "put it in a large cup and add more foam." I mentioned my unhappiness to the waitstaff, and they just shrugged it off.

They're still very new, and very much learning how to run a cafe. I'm not surprised my drink suck, given how much confusion they had behind the counter, and how much time they spent running into each other. In general, they
need to get their flow down on both sides of the counter.

I'll buy their food. It'll be a long time before I give them another chance on the coffee though.

[hissilliness.livejournal.com]

I had a perfectly respectable mocha last week. It was a slow time of night, and the woman serving me clearly had to go think: "Mocha--what's in that again?" but having done so, she came up with an answer to the question that made me happy.

[la-ti-da.livejournal.com]

love martsa's so i have good feelings about this cafe. i had the churue soup, which was really good. and chai latte with soy milk, also good. i like that it's vegan friendly :) it was nice and calm in there, but i guess when it starts getting busy it would be harder to sit and talk.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

I had the Tibetan tea at Martsa's once - never again. They put butter in it (I think), plus some other seasonings, and what it tasted like to me was melted butter with a hint of tea :( Most unpleasant - and I like butter.

[la-ti-da.livejournal.com]

i've tasted it at martsa's also. they do put butter in it, and also salt. i think it's disgusting, but i'm not tibetan. i didn't have a bad experience though, b/c we asked the waiter beforehand to describe it and he did warn us and even brought us a little sample, which we then decided not to purchase.

if you ask, they're very friendly and informative.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Horrified just because something tasted like beef or because she was worried it actually contained beef? Because while they do use dairy in it (I ask about these things), there's no meat. :)

IME, Tibetan flavors in general aren't my favorite, but one of the things I like about that place in general is that they don't seem to quibble over authenticity, and therefore taste better. Perhaps the tea is authentic.

[dani-namaste.livejournal.com]

it tasted like Chicken Broth with milk. And I was horrified because tea shouldn't taste like chicken broth with milk—it should taste like tea.

On all other accounts, however, the cafe is quite lovely.

[tahnan.livejournal.com]

I quite liked it, and found the service to be very polite (contra mrcairo). The masala chai was excellent, with no hint of beef broth.