Adobe Cafeteria

Bön Appétit took over the management of the Adobe cafeterias from Guckenheimer this year and I think the food quality and taste has definitely improved.
Still have the same variety of salads, soups, sandwiches, grilled items, pizza, and a la minute station (cooked to order. i.e.
).
They even call out the suppliers of many of the proteins and vegetables like many «local» & «sustainable» restaurants do.
One thing I do miss is how Guckenheimer included calorie information in their menu descriptions.
Employees or escorted visitors only.

For my 100^th review, I need to tell you about the uh-​mazing cafeteria food at Adobe.
They serve breakfast, lunch, and free dinner (to employees who work late). I will review the lunch fix’ins.
The selection: soups/​stews/​chilis, specialty salads, design-​your-​own salad and sandwich bar, brick oven pizzas, market specials, burger selection, panini’s, and my favorite… an a la minute (prepped to order) station.
It’s pretty hard to review a specific item because Adobe Café mixes it up with their menu. However, I can certainly tell you that I had a stellar linguini and fresh clams in a white wine sauce with Adobe herbs and cheese (less than $ 7) that practically sent me running to the café. I gobbled up every bite of it! As you can read from my description, the ingredients are quality, locally sourced when possible, and seasonal. The chefs always think of something exciting to do. Gourmet food at a good price.
I am a fan of the soups/​stews/​chilis selection as well. On cold days where I do not want to leave the warmth of my office to find food, I pick up a large bowl ($ 3) of chicken tortilla soup, clam chowder, gumbo, minestrone, or chili; they all managed to hit the spot.
The specialty salads are a fun mix of cheese, fresh leafy greens, meat, and sometimes nuts and fruit. A worker behind the counter will put together your salad to your liking!
At the salad and sandwich bar, exists a rotating selection of seasonal ingredients. They always have lettuce, but sometimes they throw in something exciting like brussel sprouts (hah)! You toss everything onto a plate or a clamshell and pay by the ounce.
Brick oven pizzas. Need I say more? Adobe Café has a brick oven. The pizzas (cheese, pepperoni, veggie, and daily special) are personal sized and they are bomb.
The market specials are always a surprise. One day, I saw a whole salmon laid on the counter for the market special. If that doesn’t scream «fresh», I don’t know what else to say. Everything from Mexican fare, fish, and Indian food are served here.
Three types of burgers are offered here daily: a chicken, fish, and beef burger. The only qualm that I have with this cafeteria is that the burgers are «over sauced.» A blackened snapper with chipotle aioli would be overwhelmed in aioli and make for a sloppy burger. You can always get onion rings and fries to clean up the sauce mess, but I would prefer not to resort to that!
Finally, sushi bar = Thursdays.
Complementary sodas, water, juices, and milk. Spudware utensils and compostable take-​out boxes. Condiments galore. Combine all of the above with killer prices and a naturally-​lit, spacious dining area and an outdoor patio, you have a winning combination for a cafeteria.
So is 5 stars a bit generous? Should I reserve the extra star for a classier establishment than this company cafeteria? Naw, it’s well earned. See for yourself.

Its cafeteria work food. what else would you expect. now with that mentality set in place, the food isn’t half bad. good variety of choices to keep your palettes from getting bored. the price could use some adjustments, i do think that this place charges more for what the food being sold are.

For a cafeteria on campus, I’m impressed. Everything always looks and sounds great. Each of the stations proudly displays their plates for the day, and its usually a tough choice (when I decide to go the plate route). There is a stir fry station, a panini station, a main dish type station usually with chicken or fish of some sort, and one or two other stations I am forgetting. Several of the dishes even list calories and nutrition facts for us more health conscious eaters :) However, I usually opt for the salad bar.
AMAZING salad bar. Fresh variety of choices everyday as well as all the usual staples. The small take out box is plenty for lunch when filled full and is less than $ 4. Thanks for subsidizing us Adobe!
Apparently one Thurs a month there is an on-​site Sushi chef. I passed by last month but didn’t realize he was there until after I had gotten my salad. Oh well, maybe I will cath him next month!

I have to say, of all cafeteria food, Adobe has pretty amazing food quality! It has a nice and spacious outdoor patio. And Adobe is very green (ie. environmental friendly), they even use recyclable utensils and cups for take outs. Most drinks are free, including water, sodas, juices, milk.
Adobe actually makes an effort to keep their daily menu interesting and provide varieties. From Pizza, salad, to chicken crepes, indian food, sushi (they hire sushi chefs from outside to serve!), grill seabass, seared salmon, calamari veggie salad, etc. And each dish is always below $ 8.
For coffee drinkers, ask for the little yellow slip where you can get the buy 10 get 1 free stamp thingy.
I’ll never had like any cafeteria food, but I’ll give an exception to Adobe’s. They also have a Bistro on the 6^th floor in Almaden Tower where you can go for little snacks, sandwiches, and coffee. Oh, and free lemonades and fruit punch sometimes too!
Um. forget to mention. This is not open to the public and only available to Adobe employees and guest visitors. They do check your Adobe badge when you walk in.

You get into a routine and you soon find that you know the menu by heart.
I can’t recall when it happened, other than that one day I realized I wasn’t eating at our cafeteria anymore. When I was bright eyed and bushy tailed, I thought our cafeteria was da bomb, especially since it was supposed to be subsidized. Ok, it’s not Google or Yahoo’s cafeteria, but it’s my cafeteria and the drinks were free. After a while you realize you can choose from main stay of the stir-​fry dishes, the grilled dishes, the pre-​made salads, your own salad creation or sometimes on Thursdays the sushi. On Thursdays they used to have a sushi chef, but now, that’s been reduced to once a month. I used to love getting the combo: 3 california rolls and 4 spicy tuna rolls with avocado. The cook staff is always all wound up and ready to go. Although, in the stir-​fry line, I sometimes felt like I was a victim of the stir-​fry Nazi if I didn’t have my sauce picked out in time… «ummm… give me the hoisen sauce…»
I think next time, I’ll try a grilled cheese sandwich. Do they have a grilled cheese sandwich? I don’t know. Could be something new for me to try.
While theoretically, you could just walk into the cafeteria for a free soda, don’t try sneaking in… they visually scan for IDs.