I like pancakes, waffles and eggs just as much — or perhaps more — as the next person, but sometimes I get hit with an outright bagel craving. What can I say? Sometimes I just need carbs.

Of all the bagels I’ve eaten, homemade ones are the best. Unfortunately, homemade bagels take time to make, time I just don’t have.

So the next best thing is smaller, batch-made bagels, like the ones available at Bagelicious Café, located at 475 Irving Ave. The cafe, a short walk from Syracuse University’s main campus, is inside the Madison-Irving Medical Center.

Breakfast is available any time, which means so are the bagels.

There were several different kinds of bagels available the day I went, including blueberry and cinnamon raisin. I chose an all-seed bagel with cream cheese.

Bagelicious says its cream cheese is homemade, which is confusing, as it uses Philadelphia Cream Cheese and then just adds in different ingredients. Regardless, it was nice having options other than plain.

That day, the cream cheese flavors included concoctions like cheddar chive and strawberry, but I opted for honey cinnamon. My order cost $2.35. My friend ordered a snack wrap and Caribbean Colada Smoothie for $1.99 and $2.79, respectively.

It took a long time for us to get our food, maybe 10 minutes or so. We even had to wait a while just to pay.

Admittedly, it was a little strange to have lunch in a medical building and see doctors and nurses in scrubs as we decided what to order. I worried that because of its location, Bagelicious would have a sterile, cold environment, as medical facilities often do. Thankfully, this was — mostly — not the case.

The cafe is located downstairs and is separated from the rest of the building. Probably in an attempt to seem more welcoming, Bagelicous’ tables all have umbrellas. It kind of made you forget you were in a medical building — emphasis on “kind of.”

Established in1982, Bagelicious has been serving what its website claims to be “the finest water-boiled bagels, fresh, hand-sliced smoked fish and homemade cream cheese.”

Bagelicious serves omelets, sandwiches, soups, wraps, French toast, quesadillas, smoothies and, of course, bagels. I was most impressed with the prices: You can get a bagel for a buck.

The bagel had sunflower and sesame seeds on top, but it didn’t have nearly as many seeds as I expected an “all-seed” bagel to have. I prefer my bagel toasted with a slight crunch when you bite into it. To my disappointment, this bagel was very soft and only crisp around the edges.

I also got more cream cheese than I bargained for. The one-fourth-inch thick layer of cinnamon honey cream cheese on both halves was too much. The cinnamon was also too dominant and honey flavor almost nonexistent.

The snack wrap had turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise in it. My dining companion was impressed with the size of the wrap for its price and I agreed, especially by the quantity of turkey and bacon. As far as taste, there wasn’t much special about it.

The smoothie was also a good deal for its price. My dining companion liked this drink a lot, but I thought the taste was completely artificial. I don’t like chemical flavorings and wouldn’t have ordered this.

Bagelicous is worth visiting if you’re looking for cheap eats, but taste-wise, it’s nothing to call home about. I would consider stopping by one of the cafe’s other locations, since they have more expansive menus, but I won’t be back to the Irving Avenue location any time soon.

Hopefully, though, my bagel craving has been quenched for now.

Tyme-Out Café allows you to grocery shop and grab something to eat, all in one convenient location. And you can avoid the danger of grocery shopping while hungry, which causes an excessive amount of impulse-buying.

Upon arriving at Natur-Tyme, I was taken aback by the store’s size. Natur-Tyme’s Erie Boulevard location is relatively new — it relocated from Bridge Street in DeWitt last year for expansion purposes. Unlike most health and wellness stores, which are pretty compact, Natur-Tyme is almost the size of a regular grocery store.

The cafe, located to the right of the store’s entrance, has an ample amount of tables for customer seating. A sucker for complimentary things, I loved the free cucumber water you could pour at your leisure available at the counter.

The cafe serves smoothies, hot chocolate, gelato, shakes made with the gelato, coffee, soups and chili. The drinks are made on the premise, however the cashier explained the cafe does not have any cooking facilities. The soups and chili are made by a woman living near Albany who makes small batches of each entrée, then ships them to Natur-Tyme a few days or so before they’re sold. Although the soup and stew ingredients aren’t all organic, they are local, which “is just as good,” the cashier said.

In celebration of the warm temperature on the day I visited, I ordered the Mocha Nirvana smoothie for $6.99 for a 16-ounce cup. The smoothie had chocolate milk, banana, raw cacao powder, flax seed, espresso and almond milk.

One of the best parts about most of the cafe’s smoothies is that you can choose what type of milk you want. They have everything from coconut milk to rice milk to half-and-half. For my smoothie, I chose the chocolate almond milk.

I liked the openness of the cafe. You can see the employees making your smoothie, snipping the wheatgrass for wheatgrass shots and preparing fresh-pressed juice.

It didn’t take too long for me to get my smoothie — only five minutes — but I was disappointed with its size. I expected a larger drink for the heftier price tag.

The consistency of the smoothie was good — not too icy, but not too liquid-y, either. I dislike it when a smoothie is too thick, but this one easily passed through the straw.

The chocolate and banana were muted, making the espresso the dominant flavor. I would’ve liked the smoothie much more if they had used a shot of espresso instead of espresso granules, which provided an unpleasant texture. The granules where gritty, which was, well, kind of gross.

Overall, though, I enjoyed the smoothie. It was refreshing and caffeinated, as the title suggested. I also appreciated being able to explore the store while sipping on my drink.

I liked the idea of the cafe more than I liked the cafe itself. Although the smoothie lacked flavor, I support the philosophy of Natur-Tyme and will be back because of that. Any store whose mission is “to empower those we serve to take charge of their own health” can’t be bad in my book.

Ice cream is delicious year-round, of course, but eating something cold when it’s cold outside takes the joy out of it a little. Believe it or not, good ice cream is hard to come by, but the best ice cream is the smaller batch, homemade kind.

As Syracuse residents, our reward for enduring long winters can be found at Gannon’s Isle. Gannon’s has three locations: The Valley, Shady Brook and soon-to-be downtown location opening in mid-April in the Dey’s Centennial Building. The Valley location, at 1525 Valley Drive, is the only one currently open for the season, but the Shady Brook location, at 4800 McDonald Road No. 6, will open within the month.

Run by the Gannon family since 1982, The Valley shop is Gannon’s flagship store and where the ice cream is made daily.

When we pulled up to Gannon’s, it was packed. Customers can order outside or inside, but both lines had about a 20-minute wait. Few, if any, other Syracuse University students stood in line. Located only about 10 minutes from SU, I figured the place would be packed with students, not just nearby residents.

All of Gannon’s ice cream starts with a base of cream, containing 14-percent butterfat, and sugar, according to an article by The Post-Standard. Most ice creams, the article said, have only 12-percent butterfat, which makes Gannon’s richer, creamier and, well, better. Air is mixed into the ice cream to make it lighter, then it is flash-frozen to prevent ice crystals from forming.

Gannon’s ice cream is well known and has received the Syracuse New Times “Best Ice Cream Shop” award for many consecutive years. I felt like a giddy school child as the line in front us became shorter and shorter until finally, it was our turn to order.

The list of flavors was so long that deciding what to order was headache-inducing. We ended up getting two single-scoop cones, Almond Bark and Sea Salt, $3.10 per cone. I also added a waffle cone for 85 cents extra.

We got our ice cream within minutes and headed inside to the seating area. The walls and tables were covered with hand-painted, graffiti-esque images of ice cream and cones coming to life. There was ice cream smiling with cones dancing and having a great time.

The Almond Bark was a chocolate ice cream with chocolate shavings and whole almonds throughout. The chocolate was rich but not too chocolaty, and I could still taste the caramel. There were plenty of chocolate shavings and I loved how they kept the almonds whole, whereas most brands would’ve chopped them up. I did, however, wish for more almonds, as there were only six or so in my entire scoop.

Overall, though, the ice cream was heavenly and I savored every bite.

The Sea Salt cone was like an ice cream version of a sea salt caramel. It was a vanilla ice cream with strong notes of caramel and a slight aftertaste of saltiness. The salt enhanced the flavor of the ice cream, rather than being a dominant flavor. It was salty-sweet perfection.

The portion sizes were perfect, too — big enough where you felt like you were getting your money’s worth, but not too big that it might’ve been hard to finish.

As we were walking to our car, we heard a little boy scream, “I love Gannon’s ice cream!” I found myself not wanting my ice cream cone to end, and even thinking about what flavor to get next time.

Every cup of coffee I’ve ever had has been bad. This realization wasn’t the result of a coffee epiphany, but a visit to The Kind Coffee Company.

The Kind Coffee Co., located at 715 W. Fayette St., isn’t the kind of coffee shop you’re used to. Don’t expect a Starbucks-esque environment or menu.

The Kind Coffee Co. would be easy to miss if not for the vibrant graffiti covering the brick building. Things like “Hot Coffee To Go” are spray-painted on the wall and a black-and-white “The Kind Coffee Company” sign hangs from a dark brown awning.

Upon entering The Kind Coffee Co., the aroma of coffee immediately hits you. You might be thinking, “Well, yes, it’s a coffee shop,” but this coffee smell is deep and intense. It’s the smell of the coffee beans roasted daily on the premise. It’s the smell of which coffee dreams are made.

The shop is cluttered, but it’s a wonderful disorder. Two mismatched, broken-in couches sit perpendicular to one another in a corner. Books and magazines are scattered on all visible surfaces while an iMac blasts music from its speakers. Tapestries hang from the ceiling and photos are plastered on the walls. Odds and ends, like figurines of Betty Boop and Yoda, line shelves on the walls.

Doug Nicolaisen, the owner and sole operator of the coffee shop, greeted us immediately after we entered. He told us to give him five minutes to brew a fresh pot of coffee.

He poured us two cups of coffee and added cream to both — squirted from an old water bottle — and sugar.

Warning: Credit cards aren’t accepted as payment, so make sure to bring cash. The coffee, $2.25 per cup, was rich, full-bodied and slightly nutty without a hint of bitterness.

It was the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had.

Upon finding out my companion didn’t like coffee, Nicolaisen said this was because he probably had never tasted good coffee. Most coffee is too bitter because it is made with cheap coffee beans, and is not what coffee is supposed to taste like.

“Coffee is not bitter,” Nicolaisen said. “Sh*tty coffee is bitter.”

To prove his point, Nicolaisen grabbed a container of freshly roasted beans and handed one to both my companion and me, instructing us to pop it in our mouths, “like a sunflower seed.”

As I chewed the bean, I realized he was right. Every cup of coffee I have had has been pretty inadequate up to this point. And Nicolaisen successfully turned my companion into a coffee convert.

The Kind Coffee Co. sells its beans per pound, so you can enjoy great coffee at home, too. Chocolate rounds with coffee beans or ground coffee are also available to buy. The beans are Nicolaisen’s own, and the chocolate – available in dark, white and milk – is from Oliver’s Candy in Batavia, N.Y. Nicolaisen ships his beans to Oliver’s and has the chocolate rounds specially made for his sale.

I got the Dark Chocolate Round with Ground Coffee for $2.75. The dark chocolate was sweet and rich, and the coffee grounds provided deep coffee flavor without any bitterness.

Nicolaisen is truly passionate about producing the best cup o’ joe possible, which is what makes The Kind Coffee Co.’s coffee so fantastic. A sign in the shop said, “The best cup of coffee on earth.” I have to say I agree.

—Compiled by The Daily Orange Feature staff

1. Dorian’s Pizza and Deli: Greek pizza

If you are walking down Westcott Street and decide not to go inside Dorian’s for a slice of its Greek pizza, stop and reconsider. This pizza is everything novelty pizza should be. There are bursts of unexpected flavor, unconventional cheeses seldom found outside of the salad realm and a doughier crust than the usual cheese-and-pepperoni variety. Every mix of flavors is done just right — the tomatoes, cheeses and spinach complement one another. Whoever thinks the Parthenon was the greatest Greek accomplishment hasn’t tasted this pizza.

2. Varsity Pizza: pepperoni pizza

Solid, simple and reliably good. Varsity pizza is the cornerstone pizza for sports games. It’s the place to go to fill up before heading to the Carrier Dome for the next big basketball game. It’s also a key spot to go to after football wins, as the Syracuse University Marching Band infiltrates Varsity and plays inside. These are reliable pastimes, and reliable is the way to describe the slice itself. Every slice has a yummy blend of cheese, sauce and pepperoni. After a few bites, you aren’t worrying about the massive amount of orange grease on your hands. Though the pizza might not be the best, it’s always good.

3. Franco’s Pizzeria and Deli: Philadelphia chicken pizza

Are those tears in your eyes? Probably. Maybe they’re tears of joy, but more likely the eye-watering hot sauce slathered across Franco’s Philadelphia chicken pizza induced them. Don’t let its name fool you, though. This is no Philly chicken cheesesteak copycat. It’s completely different. Like most chicken pizzas, this one is four-parts hot sauce, two-parts chicken and one-part cheese. While slightly intimidating, this slice is great for spice lovers. The spice lingers, so be ready with a glass of water in hand. But the faint-of-heart should avoid this slice at all costs.

4. Acropolis Pizza House: Buffalo chicken pizza

This specialty slice is worth it: a satisfying Buffalo chicken pizza. It has enough chicken to cover an entire slice and the Buffalo sauce packs a punch, more so than you might expect. But its other ingredients are rather unbalanced. The inconsistency of the cheese and uneven distribution of the sauce lend themselves to either bites of uncomfortably thick cheese or a mouthful of sauce. That’s not to say the sauce is bad. Any Buffalo fan will be pleased with what Acropolis has to offer. And what is lost in the cheese is recovered in the doughy crust.

5. Sabastino’s Pizza: cheese

Nothing too special, but if you’re looking for something just for the satisfaction of sinking your teeth in, this slice will do you right. This particular piece of cheese pizza is a big one, and needs two hands to fully embrace the slice’s weight. The taste itself is a little disappointing. It tastes like a normal slice of pizza. If you’re looking for quality texture, cheese and sauce, this isn’t it. This slice lets you take the big bites, and if you’re hungry, sometimes that’s all you need.

6. Johnny’s Pizza: chicken bacon ranch

Simply put, this is “not-pizza pizza.” As a slice of pizza, it is not even worth contending with some of the other slices featured on this list. But the taste is so out there, one would not go out of his or her way to call it bad. It’s better described as different. The cheese-and-bacon combination give it a strange sort of mac-and-cheese-on-bread feeling. At the same time, the taste could pass for something akin to grilled cheese. So, if you’re looking for something that’s not run-of-the-mill, this could be for you. If you’re looking for an old-fashioned slice, steer clear of this one.

7. Little Caesars: pepperoni pizza

Little Caesars was the only chain restaurant represented in the taste test, and its mass-produced roots really showed through in the pizza’s quality. All the basics were in check, but there was nothing special about it. There was no pizzazz, no distinctive flavors and the crust was the blandest part of the whole slice. It was aggressively mediocre, as mass-produced food is wont to be. Little Caesars is not a bad choice for entertaining a big crowd and maybe ordering a pie or two, but if you are looking for just one slice to satisfy your hunger and titillate your senses, this probably won’t be the pizza to do it.

8. Cosmos Pizza and Grill: cheese pizza

The “famous plain pie,” as Cosmos describes on its menu, is totally lackluster. Actually, it’s worse. Just one bite is enough to twist your stomach into knots. The cheese — too sparse to actually call it a cheese pizza — is bitter and doesn’t mix well with the tomato sauce. Cosmos is right to call it a “plain” pizza because it is just that. With no outstanding ingredients, the slice is overshadowed by others around it. The herbs sprinkled on top do it no favors, either. If anything, they’re an unwelcome, subtle flavor. Do yourself a favor and order something else.

I’d opt for a piece of sashimi over a slice of pizza any day, so I was thrilled upon finding out a new sushi restaurant was opening just a mile or so away from Syracuse University.

Asahi, located at 508 Westcott St., recently opened its doors Feb. 19. The restaurant specializes in “conveyor belt” sushi, which allows diners to choose from freshly made options as they rotate past, including maki, sashimi and hand rolls. Diners can also bypass the conveyor belt and order off of the menu, featuring rolls, teriyaki, hibachi and noodles.

Upon entering Asahi, the restaurant was inviting and, although there were not many people there, the conveyor belt in the center added excitement. Things seemed promising.

The peppy waitress directed us politely to seats of our choosing. She remained attentive throughout the meal, stopping by frequently to refill water glasses and ask the quintessential, “How’s everything going?”

We chose to sit in a booth, which allows access to the conveyor belt and view of the chef, though you can also sit at a table or the less formal bar.

The thing about Asahi is that eating solely from the conveyor belt isn’t cheap. The portions on the plates are tiny, usually three maki pieces or one to two sashimi pieces, so you either have to plan on spending a lot or don’t go there hungry in the first place.

A dish’s price corresponds with the color plate it’s on. At Asahi, yellow is $2.50, orange $3.50, red $4.75, purple $5.75, blue $6.75 and black $7.50. Unfortunately, only a few yellow plates rotated around while we were there. Most of the plates were red, purple and blue.

Ordering off of the menu gives you more bang for your buck, so that’s exactly what we did. First up: seaweed salad, $4.95. Seaweed salad goes with a sushi meal like butter on toast, and it’s supposed to be packed with umami flavor.

Unfortunately, Asahi’s version fell short and was one of the least flavorful seaweed salads I’ve ever had. Grocery store versions have been better. The typical flavors of soy, sesame and rice vinegar were muted and barely distinguishable. The salad’s portion was skimpy and the seaweed was served atop a bed of chopped lettuce, which took away from the seaweed’s wonderful chewy texture.

Asahi has a wide assortment of sushi and sashimi a la carte, which comes with two pieces per order. We ordered the Uni, market price. Uni, or sea urchin, is a must-try for those who have not had the pleasure of doing so. It is luxurious, sensual, sweet and tastes of the sea.

The sushi was mostly Uni, with only a bit of sushi rice, all bound together by a toasted sheet of nori. Although there were only two pieces, they were plentiful with Uni and well worth their $7.50 market price.

We ordered the Dragon Roll, $9.95, for our heftier, entrée-sized dish. The roll is filled with eel and cucumber, and is topped with avocado and eel sauce.

This was probably the biggest flub of the night.

When a roll has eel in it, which is a prominent flavor, you should be able to taste the eel. However, in Asahi’s version, the eel was completely overshadowed by the avocado. I could barely detect any eel at all. Either there was too much avocado, or there wasn’t enough eel in the roll — my money is on the latter explanation.

Since Asahi brands itself as a conveyor belt sushi restaurant, we felt obliged to try something off of the rotating belt. We had a three-piece California Roll on a yellow plate, priced at $2.50.

The crab was real, tender and sweet, and there was a nicely sized portion of avocado in each piece. My one complaint was that the sushi rice was unevenly laid onto the nori, leaving gaps in the rice.

Asahi had only been open two days when we visited, so I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that the errors in preparation are just post-opening jitters. Overall, the sushi was decent and the atmosphere was fun, but if you order off of the conveyor belt, be careful — you could end up spending a small fortune.

A place where customers can satiate their hunger and satisfy their biking needs, Mello Velo is exactly what it sounds like: a bicycle shop and a café. Bicycle photographs hang on the walls and bicycle-centric art decorations are scattered throughout the café, located at 556 Westcott St.

Walking into the café, I was struck by how quiet it was. While this calmness would be nice for studying or relaxing, I like my dining establishment with a little more pizzazz. Thankfully, some music was turned on halfway through our meal.

The cashier made up for the lack of noise with her cheerful attitude and attentiveness. She greeted us with a smile and waited patiently while we decided what to order.

Mello Velo serves breakfast all day, as well as wraps, paninis, soups, salads, smoothies and a plethora of coffee drinks. They also offer both house and locally made baked goods, with everything from muffins to biscotti.

The menu boasts that all of their food is made with organic and locally sourced ingredients whenever possible, and all of the meat-centered dishes can be made vegetarian by subbing the meat for tempeh, a protein made from soybeans.

Most of the tables and chairs, as well as the plates, silverware and mugs, are mismatched, adding to the kitschy and eclectic feel of the café. Mixing and matching adds an unexpected dimension of quirkiness, and livens up the meal.

We waited a fairly long time for our food to arrive, but this was expected, as there is no designated cook at Mello Velo. The cashier is a jack-of-all-trades — she is the waitress and cook. Although it took longer to get our food, I appreciate the café’s effort to be a one-person store.

I have high expectations for cappuccino. There should be a proper ratio of milk-to-espresso-to-foam. Ultimately, there should be less milk, intense espresso and more foam. However, Mello Velo’s version fell short. The cappuccino we ordered for $3 came out before the food, and while the espresso was strong, there was too much milk and barely any foam. The cappuccino was a latte — a lattachino, if you will.

For my main meal, I had the Tempeh Wrap, $6.50, and a side of Asian-style Slaw, $2.25. The wrap was made with tempeh, cucumber, pear, avocado, slaw and vegan garlic squash dressing. When the wrap first arrived, the roasted red bell pepper tortilla was an attractive, vibrant, bright red, and there seemed to be a plentiful amount of filling.

If not cooked properly, tempeh can be bitter, but thankfully this tempeh was tender, sweet and smoky from the grill. I enjoyed the interplay of the sweet pear and the rich avocado. However, the dressing was a major downfall. I could see it, but I couldn’t taste it. The dressing had no flavor and only added a gummy texture to the wrap. The side of Asian-style Slaw, with cabbage, carrots and bell pepper, was doused in an obscene amount of citrus dressing, making it overly sweet.

My dining companion ordered the Mediterranean Wrap, $5.25. The wrap was made with house-made hummus, couscous salad, spinach, cucumber, feta and red onion. I liked the idea of the wrap more than the wrap itself. The couscous was dry and needed to be dressed more. I did enjoy the hummus, which was creamy and delightful.

While the food was mediocre and I probably wouldn’t come back to the café to eat, I would come for the fun, distinctive atmosphere and, of course, if I want to buy a bike.

A food co-op is a collectively owned grocery store with a focus on natural foods that are often locally sourced. The Syracuse Real Food Co-Op’s website lists its local farmers and producers, such as Harvest Home Organics and Ithaca Soy, who supply the store.

The co-op is mostly member-run. After paying a one-time fee, members are required to provide some sort of service — like working a few hours in the store — in exchange for benefits such as discounts.

Still, the friendly staff greeted us with a warm smile when we walked in the door, and were attentive and helpful in finding everything I needed.

The co-op has produce that shoppers rarely get to see, including fresh turmeric and burdock root, and huge packages of tempeh and tofu. Even the bulk food section will rock your world. It has everything from granola to sesame seeds to dried shiitake mushrooms.

To top it off, it’s way cheaper than your average supermarket.

The store offered free samples of homemade Super Black Bean Dip paired with chili-lime tortilla chips on the day we visited. The mass-produced chips were perfectly salty with a sweet tang of lime. Many lime-flavored tortilla chips taste artificial, but this wasn’t the case with this brand.

The dip was flavored pungently with lemon and peppered with feta cheese. The lemon’s acidity went nicely with the meatiness of the beans and saltiness of the feta cheese.

The samples were so good that we ended up buying a bag of chips and a container of dip.

If offering free samples isn’t enticing enough, the co-op has a great take-out section: soups, sandwiches, salads, sushi, noodle bowls, cupcakes, muffins, coffee and dips of all kinds. The list goes on. Vegans, pescatarians and carnivores will all be able to find something among the co-op’s diverse options.

Take-out items are priced by the pound, with every container weighing a different amount. In other words, you can get a decent amount of food for cheap.

We bought several small containers of different items.

The first was vegan chicken salad. I am not a vegan, but I cook with soy products often and know how hard it is to make a non-chicken salad taste even remotely like chicken, and this version was pretty good. The “meat” of the salad was textured vegetable protein (TVP) combined with a decent amount of vegan mayonnaise, carrot, celery, sundried tomatoes and lemon juice. It made for a hearty salad that was both crunchy and creamy.

We also got a small container of the barbeque tofu. To me, barbeque should taste sweet and spicy, but this tofu was much too sweet — it masked every other flavor. I could taste only a hint of barbeque. I did detect some smokiness, which I enjoyed, but I wished there was more. Still, the dish’s biggest downfall was the dry tofu.

However, one of the best parts of the take-out bar at the co-op is the vast array of dips and spreads. There is everything from guacamole to salsa to baba ganoush. I tried the roasted red pepper hummus. The hummus delivered on its title, tasting of pure chickpeas, tahini and red bell pepper. It was creamy and had a nice spice after each bite. Although I wish the hummus had been smoother, it was still delicious.

If you’re going to get one thing from the co-op — get the bread.

There are several different kinds available, like focaccia and baguette, which are baked fresh and delivered to the store daily. We bought a whole wheat loaf for $4.29. It was made with whole wheat flour, walnuts and flax. The loaf was hearty, dense and moist, with lots of seeds for added texture. Essentially, it was everything you could want from whole wheat bread.

Unlike a lot of co-ops, this one doesn’t have a dining area. It’s a little inconvenient, but as long as you aren’t planning on eating there, it’s fine.

At the co-op you can get a portable, tasty meal while doing something even more important at the same time: supporting local business.

1. There’s more than five items on the menu featuring kale.
2. Fresh-pressed juices are available.
3. There’s tofu.
4. It’s across the street from an Urban Outfitters.

Lofo is the epitome of cool. It’s clean, silver and polished. There’s lots of artsy photographs on the wall. The cashier wears a bomber hat indoors.

Located at 214 Walton St. in Armory Square, Lofo was initially going to be a collaborative restaurant with Om Boys Smoothie and Juice Bar. But, as the waitress, cashier, all-around handy person explained to us, Om Boys ended up going under and Lofo opened up. Lofo kept Om Boys’ most popular menu items, so returning customers can keep coming back for their favorite grain bowls and smoothies.

One thing that struck me about Lofo was its efficiency, both environmentally and otherwise. After ordering at the register, you have the option of either getting your receipt emailed or texted to you. Less paper, less waste — I respect that. Bonus cool points were given for the cash register being an iPad.

Lofo is, in ways, a self-service restaurant, giving off more of a café vibe than a restaurant one. Diners pour their own water, filling up empty glasses that sit next to a water cooler-like contraption on the counter. A bucket is on the ground beneath the spout to catch any water runoff.

The eatery serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Its menu boasts that Lofo caters to “a diverse food community offering an array of dishes for numerous dietary preferences,” and it lives up to this promise. There are vegan, gluten-free, paleo-free and lacto-free options. But meat-eaters fear not, bacon is also available.

The breakfast menu has everything from homemade granola to tofu scrambles to fried eggs with toast. When we ate at Lofo at about 11 a.m., they were still serving breakfast. While I opted for a more savory option, my friend tried the French toast for $5.50. The golden brown French toast looked beautiful with a fine dusting of powered sugar on top. When I asked how it tasted, my friend said, after finishing the entire plate, “It was exquisite – reminded me of my grandma’s.”

For my entrée, I had the Kale Miso salad (gluten-free/vegan) for $9. I’ll preface by saying I like my salads huge — big enough to be a filling meal. For the price, this was my hope for the one I ordered at Lofo, but the portion size was much too dainty.

I appreciated that the salad was made with two types of kale: curly and lacinato, which looks purple. The menu advertised the dish as a “massaged kale” salad. Massaging kale softens the leaves, making it more pleasant to chew, but I couldn’t detect any pre-massaging done to this kale. The salad also featured carrots, cucumbers and tough, almost-burnt shitake mushrooms.

But the salad’s biggest disappointment was the popped amaranth topping. Amaranth is a gluten-free grain that, when toasted over high heat, pops into tiny, wonderfully crunchy white balls. However, the amaranth on top of this salad was dark brown. This happens when you try to pop amaranth in a not-hot-enough pot. The amaranth was overly toasted, tough and only some were truly popped correctly. The best part of the salad was the cucumber miso dressing, which was both salty and sweet from the miso.

Lofo also offers smoothies and juices made fresh to order. I had the Pineapple, Greens and Ginger Juice for $6.50. The juice was, unlike the salad, wonderful. I tasted the sweetness of the pineapple, the slight bitterness of the greens and the spice of the ginger — prevalent, but not overpowering. The drink had the clean, crisp and light flavors I hope for in a juice.

I’ll visit Lofo again to try another one of their smoothies, soups or maybe even a sandwich. But given my appetite for monstrous-sized salads, I think I’ll avoid that menu option and opt for a juice instead, which alone is worth coming back for.