Station 22 Cafe

Where: Station 22 Cafe, 22 W Center Street, Provo

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen, Chelsey & Katie

Number of Visits: 2

What We Ordered: Trip 1: Sage Fried Chicken & Waffles and Indian Summer Sandwich. Trip 2: The Ratatouille Sandwich and Tuna Tarragon Sandwich

What It Cost: $17.24

What We Thought:

I've got to admit - I have mixed feelings towards Station 22.

First off, I have mixed feelings towards paying around $8 for a sandwich. Sandwiches definitely have to be on the top 10 list of easiest foods to make, and sure you can throw on a bunch of fancy ingredients, but all you have to do is plop them on top of each other, and BAM - you have a sandwich. So it's going to take a lot to impress me enough that I feel like a sandwich is worth much more than the cost of the ingredients.

So let's start with the best of Station 22 --

Have you ever tried fried chicken and waffles? It's been on my food bucket list for the past couple of years now, and I was so excited to finally try it here in Provo at Station 22! Luckily for me, it lived up to all my wildest sweet & salty imaginations. The waffles provides a slightly sweet and sturdy base for heavenly fried, savory and juicy chicken, topped with crispy bacon and a creamy syrup. Are you one of those people who secretly dips their bacon into the leftover syrup from your pancakes? If so, this is a dish made for you! Every piece of this dish is executed with style and flavor, and it was a wonderfully hearty and soulful lunch. The only thing I was disappointed with was the fact that it was called "Sage Fried Chicken & Waffles," and there was absolutely no sage detected in my meal. Since sage is a pretty potent herb, I assume they just forgot to include it, which was kind of a bummer to me since I love a little sage here and there.

Owen ordered the Indian Summer sandwich which came with roasted pork tenderloin, a pineapple-tomato marmalade, and brie cheese. Unfortunately, this sandwich didn't come close to my chicken and waffles. Overall, we felt like it was way too sweet, the meat was too dry and not very flavorful, and the bread was disappointing. It just seemed like normal grocery store wheat bread, and didn't really add much or seem to go well with the sandwich. Brie cheese is best enjoyed warm, and sadly the brie on this sandwich cooled very quickly and was less desirable by the end of the meal. The sandwich was definitely unique and unlike any other sandwich I've ever had, but still wasn't that delicious to us.

I decided to go back with my friend Katie to see if I could make up my mind about Station 22. Lots of people rave about their vegetarian options, so I decided to go for the Ratatouille sandwich, which seemed to be missing the key tricky ratatouille ingredient - eggplant! I wanted to see if they would be able to incorporate this much-hated vegetable into a delicious tasting sandwich, but oh well. I did enjoy the sandwich, after I was able to devise a strategy of fitting it's hugeness into my mouth. It probably would have been equally delicious and much easier to eat with half the amount of fresh spinach, but I enjoyed the roasted vegetables, basil spread, and fresh ciabatta. I ordered the steak fries on the side too since many people seem to enjoy them greatly, and they were pretty good - a nice unhealthy addition to my somewhat healthy sandwich...Served with fry sauce in classic Provo tradition, they were hearty, flavorful, and served in a portion where you felt like it was worth the extra $2.50.

However, Katie's sandwich proved to be another disappointment. When it first arrived, it looked promising - a nice mix of fresh greens, tuna meat that didn't look like cat food (I am not a huge tuna fan, but Katie is :) and some interesting-looking herbs mixed in. But after the first bite, the sandwich was decidedly way too salty. To me, this is a carnal sin of tuna sandwiches, since tuna is already pretty salty to begin with, and Katie had to remove two-thirds of the tuna meat to even be able to complete her meal. Part of the saltiness culprit may have been the excess of capers mixed into the tuna meat - since capers have such a strong flavor, they really overpowered this sandwich.

What You Should Do: Go for the chicken and waffles. I'm 2 for 4 here at Station 22, but I keep finding myself wanting to like it so much - I like the interior decor, the creative sandwiches, the CHICKEN & WAFFLES, but have to issue caution when picking a sandwich here. I'd say either get the chicken and waffles (am I being obvious enough?) or go for a sandwich that looks like it's served on a good type of bread with vegetables (not the meat) being the highlight of the sandwich. I think I would go for the caprese sandwich next time, or chicken and waffles. Obviously.

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