The Down Low: Today’s coffee shop is solidly identified by its bohemian
artists and laptop-clad frustrated writers – generally this makes for a great
spot to pool creativity but is a little too raucous for those who want a cup of
joe before heading back to the office. Metro coffee is coming back to Orlando
with Daily Grind at 807 N. Orange Ave. downtown (right by the Citrus building),
where the digs aren’t hipsterific, but the creative coffee concoctions and
tasty sandwiches still make it a place to go.
The Digs: Finding free parking on this block of
The Delivery: All the sandwiches are pre-made and sitting in the cooler,
meaning your meal is just a microwave ding or grill press away. The service is
friendly but efficient – they’re here to serve you, not to chat you up.
The Dish: I started with a cup of the cheddar
broccoli soup ($3.75), and while it was satisfying it was definitely from a
bag and not from scratch. How could I tell? As more was eaten the soup lost its
heartiness and became runny in traditional condensed soup fashion. Still, it
tasted fine and was a big serving for the price.
One of my guests had the chicken
salad on a croissant ($6.25), which was accented by some lettuce and
tomato. The croissant was a bit of a wuss and started losing its salad and
falling apart as soon as eating commenced, but it was flaky and savory. The
chicken salad itself was a little dry and light on spices, but it was still
filling.
My other guest’s beef and
cheddar on a baguette ($6.25) looked dry in the refrigerator, but that’s
because we couldn’t see the tangy bistro sauce loaded inside. The sauce really
set off the beef and cheddar, and when coupled with the crunchy and soft
baguette it created a wonderful sandwich that was hard to eat slowly.
I had the marinated chicken on
ciabatta (also $6.25, which is the going price for all their sandwiches
except for the veggie baguette at $5.25), but the marinade is still a mystery. It
came topped with roasted red peppers, provolone, and a pesto-mayo sauce, making
for a slippery and delicious combo. The pesto-mayo sauce was more pesto than
mayonnaise, but I didn’t mind as that lent it better to the other ingredients
than mayo would anyway.
And for a dessert we had an iced
chai tea smoothie ($3.75). I’m normally not one for chai, but the sweet and
refreshing drink was a good capper to the meal.
The Damage: With cans of soda at $1.25 and sandwiches fixed at $6.25, Daily
Grind is a pretty inexpensive and quick lunch for downtown.
The Deduction: Daily Grind hands out free scones
and coffees to morning travelers every now and again, which definitely helps
this already decent coffee shop feel more like a part of the neighborhood.
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