Cultivate

Last Wednesday I was at an all-day seminar near Campus Parkway and found myself searching for a place to have lunch.  Cultivate is one of a new breed of campus food services that will definitely surprise you.  First, you are greeted at the door with the question, "Do you have a reservation?"  Well, I didn't.  But I was eating alone, so I was offered a seat at "the bar".  As far as I know, they do not serve alcohol, so the bar only looks like a bar, but you can watch the sous chefs at work while seated on very tall chairs.  My only complaint is that the chairs were very cold.  I solved this by sitting on my coat.  Be warned.

Cultivate has a menu similar to decent restaurants serving nouveau cuisine:  salads featuring goat cheese and arugula, sandwiches on good bread, and a variety of fresh, reasonably healthy entrees.  Gluten free and vegan options are available and clearly marked on the menu.  The decor is modern industrial.  Dishes were served on dinnerware with real silverware and cloth napkins.  I ordered the roasted portobello mushroom sandwich with a simple green side salad.

The salad arrived in a reasonable timeframe and, although it was called a side salad, it was sizable, colorful and fresh, with just the right amount of dressing.  It was delicious.  The portobello sandwich arrived shortly after I had finished my salad and the plate was removed.  It was also sizable, warm, fragrant, and quite delicious.  I thought I would only eat half of it, but my baser self won.  I ate the whole thing.

This lovely lunch totaled $9.00 plus tax.  Gratuity is apparently not an option.  All in all, this was a good experience.  Although Cultivate is operated by UW Housing and Food Services, the public is welcomed.

Cultivate