We like spots that keep improving, and Taste has done just that, in a slow steady stream. It's our current place of choice to grab coffee in the morning when we're feeling too lazy to make it ourselves.
The espresso drinks, still DOMA, we've had here have been more than serviceable. The baristi working in the morning seem to respect coffee, which, hey, is more than a plus.
The baked goods and deli case items are all excellent, and we particularly like their frittata -- always fluffy and flavorful. For those with different dietary restrictions, you'll find anything from vegan to gluten-free here too.
What really sets Taste apart from other places that technically opens at earlier in the morning is their preparedness. Too many spots -- many here being a relative term mind you -- in town might open their doors at 7am, but often they'll have nothing ready food-wise. That's kind of too bad. When Taste opens, it truly is open, and you can order food or baked goods for breakfast or lunch. It might seem minor, but the kind of professionalism sets them apart.
In that sense Taste truly excels at being a cafe. That might seem simple enough, but few other spots in town succeed at it. Good on Taste, then, for steadily improving, and for having a clear vision of what they want their business to be.
Original September 2010 review
So we try Taste Cafe again, and this time it looks better than it once did.
It's not that Taste is super unique, yet we don't have many of its ilk downtown. The typical cafe where you can go for good coffee, baked goods and a sandwich. Seems simple enough, but it has been something we've been lacking.
Taste already did an OK job filling the void, but we always felt something was missing, up until our last visit.
The croissant was excellent: perfectly flaky and just the right amount of butter and chocolate (as this, obviously, was a chocolate croissant). The muffins, too, hold a good quality. Anything but dry, and good flavor of blueberries.
More importantly, Taste also carries DOMA, and the espresso based drinks are about as good as you would expect any DOMA friendly place to be.
And while I don't go to many baby showers, the gluten free cake we picked up from Taste for one was great.
So. Not much to complain about here. Taste has stepped up its game from being average to being quite good. That's something we can get behind.