Cafe Nova

I used to walk by every morning on my way to work so it became a frequent stop for coffee and breakfast. They may make the most delicious egg and cheese sandwich I’ve ever had. Not your typical kaiser roll deli concoction, but a delicious interplay of slightly runny fried egg, gourmet sliced cheese, ripe tomatoes, and a crusty/​chewy baguette-​style roll. It’s a miracle I didn’t gain 20 pounds when I had that job.

I am extremely fond of this place. It’s close to where I work, and one of my colleagues and I end up going there at least a couple of times a week even though there are dozens of other lunch options within the same 8-​block radius.
Food-​wise, it’s totally delicious and fresh, especially the grilled sandwiches, the fresh-​made personal-​size pizzas with whatever toppings they decide to throw on (yesterday it was asparagus), and the top-​notch salad bar mentioned in the previous review. The baked goods look delicious too although I don’t think I’ve tried any of them. And the coffee is very strong, which I appreciate.
Service-​wise, as far as I have seen (at least M-​F during lunch hours) the same woman is always the only one working there and although it’s true she is not exactly chipper nor does she convincingly display a sense of urgency regarding people’s orders (be prepared to wait 5 – 10 minutes for sandwich preparation, depending on how many people are in there), she is very nice and helpful and I would definitely not describe her as surly. In fact, seriously, when i think of that Nova woman, my heart swells with affection. For example even though it’s a deli-​style place, she will bring your food out to you when you’re sitting at one of the very pleasant and comfortable tables inside or one of the rickety little café tables outside on Court St. And one time she gave me a free Evian because she felt sorry for me asking her to fill up my water bottle at her sink. (Note: That’s the only type of water they have, so I recommend bringing your own water if you are like me and don’t like the taste of Evian.)

Little café with maybe five tables has an excellent salad bar. It’s $ 8.99 per pound and has several meat and vegetarian options (like teriyaki salmon, mustard chicken, etc.) and vegetable side dishes (like beets, carrots with ginger, wakame salad, etc.) The food is good — sort of seems homecooked — but nothing extraordinary. They also make sandwiches, bagels (H&H), etc. There is coffee and a big selection of bottled juice, water, etc. Baked goods are fresh and tasty.
They don’t take credit cards and the service is fairly surly. I give three stars for predictably good food (takeout style, no table service) but less-​than-​stellar service.