By Deb
I am currently underemployed. Really underemployed. So I’ve decided to put some of my free time to use volunteering at one of my favorite places to eat, A Better World Café. This community cafe, one of only a handful in the country, is located in the Reformed Church of Highland Park (NJ). It was established to make healthy eating accessible and affordable to all. You can choose your portion size and pay accordingly, volunteer your time in exchange for a meal, or have the complimentary dish if you can’t pay or volunteer. You can also choose to pay more than the cost of your meal and that money will go towards those with more limited resources. Volunteers are either put to work doing prep work in the kitchen (I can tell you firsthand that cutting up pumpkins is a great arm workout, while de-kernelling corn gets tedious fast) or serving the customers.
Besides its admirable mission, the food is fantastic, prepared by staff chefs and students from the Elijah’s Promise cooking school in New Brunswick. Fresh, local and seasonal ingredients are used whenever possible. Today some of the menu items included spiced pumpkin soup, grilled cheese with peppers and roasted tomatoes on foccacia, and yellow cake layered with buttercream frosting and covered in chocolate ganache…mmm. One item that’s always available is the Better World Salad, and lots of people come in specifically for that. Describing it won’t really do it justice, but it includes shredded cabbage, scallions, brown rice, marinated tofu, and roasted almonds in a magical sesame-flavored dressing. Note to anyone who ever invites me to a potluck: this is what I’m bringing.
If you're in the area, stop by for lunch...A Better World Café
19 South Second Avenue
Highland Park, NJ 08904
732.510.1572
Open Monday-Friday, 11-3
No comments:
Post a Comment