Lunch at Kayak's Coffee

Chrissy Wilmes

The Lunch: The Aspen, with your choice of an apple and chips for $6.95, or $7.95 with the addition of a side salad.

The Verdict: The café's ski-lodge-themed interior momentarily removes you from St. Louis' steaming hot summer days and provides comfortable seating and full-blast air conditioning. Not to mention a menu of more than sixteen signature sandwiches, all named after various skiing towns or mountain cities.

We decided to visit the "Aspen." The sandwich includes all-natural turkey breast, fresh field greens, spicy-brown-ale mustard, tomato and Swiss cheese, all served on Companion's multigrain bread. We chose an apple as the side, because you know what they say about an apple a day...

The sandwich was light and pleasing, the greens were fresh and, well, green
(unlike the wimpy lettuce offered at many other lunchtime establishments), and the combination of the turkey,brown-ale mustard and cheese was both gourmet and refreshing -- exactly the typeof lunch you could expect at an upscale ski resort in the mountains.

For less than $10, Kayak's offers generous portions, fresh ingredients and a little bit of
the mountain in the middle of the city. Just don't be surprised if you see zombie-like
creatures at the next table; even starved grad students and post-docs have the right
to a good sandwich.