Sitting in the Camille's Sidewalk Cafe, a new "fast-casual" chain making its local debut in Oakland, my thoughts naturally turn to Bon Jovi. And the Go-Go's.
Yes, there's Bob FM blaring in the background -- and threatening to take over the foreground. There must be a reason people want to hear "Livin' on a Prayer" or "Vacation" for the 10 millionth time. It must be comforting that you're not going to be surprised, ever, by something you haven't heard before.
Camille's Sidewalk Cafe works by the same principle. It's shiny and new, serving wraps, paninis and smoothies -- the same old hits, slightly repackaged to seem new.
This fast-food concept, fresh from the culinary mecca of Oklahoma, doesn't take chances. That doesn't mean it's bad. Camille's demonstrates how far fast food has come in the past decade, from mass-produced grease-burgers to somewhat healthy places like Camille's.
The Blueberries Cozumel Smoothie ($3.69) was an idiotic choice for a day with temperatures in the single digits. But this frozen mixture of pulverized blueberries, peaches and honey -- then more blueberries -- was still quite good.
My Paris Bistro Grilled Hot Wrap ($6.79), served warm, probably was a better choice. The honey-wheat tortilla was tightly wrapped around brie, green apples, spinach, tomatoes, red onions and some processed ham product -- although, honestly, I could only taste the honey mustard. Unlike almost all the competition, however, this comes in a surprisingly sane size, with a salad of mixed greens on the side.
Maybe we're seeing the vanguard of a shift back to normal portion sizes.
The Veganini ($6.99) ups the ante health-wise. On thick foccacia, there's a medley of grilled eggplant, feta, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomato pesto, red onions and pesto mayo topped with a balsamic glaze. Sure, there are dozen local sandwich shops that do this better, but this is pretty good for fast food.
The thick, rich Creamy Tuscan Tomato Soup ($2.99) probably is the best thing here. The Potato Cheddar ($2.99) isn't any different than anything you could get out of a can.
One thing that Panera, Qdoba, Camille's and the rest of the fast-casual chains have learned from traditional fast food is to make their interiors as uninviting as possible. You can't be fast if people are lingering over their food, so a combination of garish colors, ugly, prefabricated furniture and totally synthetic surfaces all scream "Finish eating, and get out!" Although they do advertise free wi-fi.
Additional Information:
Camille's Sidewalk Cafe
Hours: 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Sat.-Sun.Address: 4570 Fifth Ave., Oakland
Phone: 412-663-0135
I didn't get to try ...
The 'Sunrise Natu-Wraps' include the Herb Garden , which puts low-cholesterol scrambled eggs, jasmine rice, chives and pesto mayo inside a tight herb-garlic tortilla. Jasmine is my favorite kind of rice, but you don't see it too often.
