Review: Green Dog Café

On a recent Sunday morning, my good friend Peppy (no, that's not her "real" name) and I decided to go out to brunch. We had a few too many drinks at Stanley's (in Columbia Tusculum area) the night before and decided to take a cab home and leave her car there. When we went to pick her car up the next morning, we noticed the umbrella tables sitting outside at Green Dog Cafe right around the corner and decided to give it a try.

When you first enter the restaurant, you go to the counter and place your order, and you're given a number to put on your table so they can bring your food to you. If you've ever been to a Noodles & Co., it reminded me a little of that set up. Although the decor is way more interesting and fun. It's contemporary and very colorful with bright abstract artwork throughout.

Green Dog Café has a wonderful menu focused primarily on using quality, local, sustainable and organic ingredients. They have plenty of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, which Peppy- who is a vegetarian - definitely appreciated. Although the restaurant itself is pretty casual, the menu is creative and the food is delicious. The dining experience is far nicer than you'd expect with a walk-up ordering system and casual seating. 

Peppy decided to try the "Rossz Kutya" burrito. This was quite a burrito! It was filled with organic eggs, black beans, fried poblano and red peppers, green and red salsa, white cheddar cheese, potatoes and sour cream. Peppy said it tasted just as good as it looks. The ingredients look and taste very fresh, and even their salsas are homemade. Yum! Peppy even had half leftover to take home and share with her family.

I chose to order the Bacon and Roasted Tomato Omelet - ordered with egg whites only. I started ordering egg white omelets to save on fat and calories when I did Weight Watchers a few years ago, and I decided I actually liked it better than regular omelets! It's one of the few healthy things that I don't consider a sacrifice, so I'm going to stick with it! This omelet was absolutely wonderful. It was filled with chevre cheese (which tasted very similar to goat cheese), rocket (arugula), roasted tomatoes, and pieces of crispy bacon. All the elements combined to make a a wonderful flavor and texture combination! I'd highly recommend it!

The side of potatoes was my one and only complaint. They had the potential to be very good; however they were cold and you could tell they had been sitting a while. They had a good flavor to them and were clearly freshly cut, homemade potatoes. I wish we'd had them fresh out of the oven.

Peppy happened to know one of the guys working in the kitchen, so he sent us out an order of their signature, fresh "cathead" biscuits with jam and honey butter. This was soooo good. It was nice and warm and flaky, and I love that they serve it with honey butter. Such a simple upgrade to add honey, but it's so much better than regular, old butter.

Peppy and I absolutely loved this place. I have nothing but good things to say about the food, the service, the decor and the overall concept of the restaurant. I would highly recommend giving them a try...I know I'll be going back to try their dinner menu in the near future! Oh, and I almost forgot one of the best parts....you can bring your dog with you if you're sitting outside! Oh yeah...and they have Jeni's homemade ice cream shipped in from Columbus! I'll be trying the Salty Caramel next time I go back!

~Kris

Food: 4 (because of the potatoes)
Service: 5
Overall: 4.5