The fall semester is a busy time for me at work and I am often traveling or getting off late, so I am usually in the mood for a meal that is good, but also quick. For the most part, I am not a fast food fan (other than the occasional Whataburger meal) which is great for my health, but not always convenient when I get off of work late. Thankfully, I have found a few places in San Antonio that offer speedy food at night, but not fast food fried yucky-ness. Tazas Café in Universal City is one of my go-to places.
Tazas is a coffee house that also has food, desserts and hookah. It is a very relaxed environment with warm colors, some small tables and also a few cushy chairs around. You are likely to see at least a few people studying or working on their laptops because they offer free Wi-Fi. It is a casual little place that is comfortable and also has outdoor seating if you would like. They are open until midnight every night, which is a huge reason why I became a fan during college and why I am still a fan today.
Tazas offers many different types of coffee and tea drinks. They also have smoothies and desserts, mostly a large variety of big cookies. They have a food menu that is not large, but includes soups, salads, sandwiches, flat bread pizzas and breakfast items. There are always items and a soup of the day listed on the “Chef’s Choice” board that aren’t on the menu, so there are a few surprises.
I went to Tazas on Monday night after work to pick something up. I’m not a coffee drinker, unless I feel like I may pass out from exhaustion at any minute, so I usually go with tea of some sort. On this particular trip I had an “afternoon apricot” flavored hot tea. I ordered my favorite salad at Tazas, the romaine and spinach marmalade vinaigrette with chicken, along with the soup of the day, which was red pepper tomato Gouda. The only problem with going in later is that they sometimes run out of certain items, like the soup, because it is made daily. Thankfully, they had a cup left. For dessert I ordered a jumble cookie. The food took less than 10 minutes to come out, so I was off to my house to eat in front of my TV in no time.
Tazas often changes up the soup offered, so you can call and ask before you go, but I’ve never had a soup there I didn’t like. The red pepper tomato Gouda soup was one I had not tried before, but it sounded good to me. It tasted like pizza in a bowl!! I thought it may be a bit spicy, but it was mild. It was thick and creamy, with red bell pepper pieces inside. This soup, a nice play on a traditional tomato soup, was flavorful and different.
The romaine and spinach marmalade vinaigrette is always outstanding! I usually add chicken to it for a bit more substance. The salad is simple: greens, grape tomatoes, a little bit of cheese and croutons. What makes this salad ahhh-mazing is the dressing. I don’t think I’ve had orange marmalade vinaigrette dressing anywhere else and it is delicious. It tastes like orange marmalade, but is thin in consistency. It is sweet, but also has a slight tart flavor to balance it and there are very small bits of orange peel mixed in. If they bottled this dressing, I would buy it all the time.
There are always more than a few cookies to choose from at Tazas and sometimes even cake slices and pastries, like cinnamon rolls. The cookies are big and they have some fun flavors. I usually get the jumble cookie because it is a mix of chocolate chunks, coconut and oatmeal. You can’t go wrong when you mix a few of the best cookies together. If you eat at Tazas, you can order a glass of milk and ask them to warm up your cookie. I do every time because it makes the cookie that much better and it makes me feel like a little kid.
I didn’t have enough stomach space to order a sandwich, but so you know, I love their chicken salad sandwich. It has curry in it and is served on a croissant. Tazas is tasty, different and fast. So put that mediocre, fast food burger down and try out Tazas Café! You won’t regret it.
Tazas Cafe, 3126 Pat Booker Rd., Universal City, TX, 78148
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