The Einstein Bros Bagels Cafe
On the UTEP campus, only a few places are devoted to recreational eating areas. The Einstein Bros Bagels Cafe is one of them. It is located inside the bookstore building which is one of the most important landmarks of the campus. We can see it from the freeway from where two exits lead to the roundabout and straight to Einstein. From the outside, the only thing you see are the tables and the umbrellas in the open-air seating area. For the novice, it is difficult to find because there is no mention of it in the Campus Building Directory. But for the veteran students, it is easy to find and to meet people you know. It’s also a picturesque spot for an appointment or to have some drinks and food.
The cafeteria has three entries; the main one is at the roundabout. If you go at rush time, in almost each break time, it will be crowded. You will see people in line even just inside the front door. You will be welcomed by the smell of coffee, cakes, and sandwiches and feel at home. You get in line at your right. You will have plenty of time to choose what you want to buy. The first display cabinet is for the ready-to-go products: cold sandwiches, salads, fruit salads, yogurts or bottled cold beverages such as tea, water, sodas or soft drinks. The second cabinet contains bagels, cakes, and cookies. You can choose from among a lot of types of bagels to make your own sandwich. Then you can also order a beverage of the size and the flavor you want, hot coffee, tea or a smoothie. The third cabinet contains the cash register, the coffee machine, and some baskets with goods for sale. The minimalistic decoration is modern, warm, and friendly. If you have the time to sit or if you find some available tables, it is a great place for a get together, or finalizing your homework or having a snack.
At first, everything looks nice and clean. The bagels, the sandwiches, the salads look like home-made or just made. But in fact you have to pay attention to not using all the sauces they give with the food because they are all industrial and very high in calories. The nutritional value is written on the ready-to-go products because the notice is mandatory but not for the put-together products. The same goes for the cakes. Try for example the blubbery cake; if you hold it more than two seconds in front of your nose it smells like sugar. When you test it, it is like a shot of sugar and sweetness in your mouth. If you are a sugar addict, it is the right place to be. If you are diabetic or if you have hypoglycemia, forget about it! Bring your own snack, lunch or breakfast! Like a lot of cafe food products, the majority of the items are sweet. Sugar is everywhere, even in the salad sauce! It seems like the majority of food producers are subsidized by the diabetes market.
Einsteins's “home-food” is in fact industrial food. We can infer it from the wrapping and the containers of the products they hide in the cabinet under the counter top in the oven area and those we can see if we have a look at the hidden second kitchen when the door is open. It is a small room in the back of the hall in front of the lockers. Inside there is a door that looks like a refrigerated room. Both spaces look very messy, especially at rush time, but it gives us a good idea of what kind of products they use. All the sauces, syrups, flavors, sandwiches, and bagels are industrially made. Everything comes in boxes ready to mix, to warm, or to put together. The fruit salad can stay all day in the display cabinet exposed to the sunlight without getting spoiled. This means that they add some syrup or some preservatives. In any-case, they don't have the room for cooking and they don't have the workers for that either because the employees are not real cooks. Some of them look totally lost if you ask for a special order. They are only there to take orders, payment, and assemble industrial products and warm them. Considering the quality of the goods, the prices are very high, especially for students.
Nonetheless, it is a place to get together. It is open almost all the time when students are present on campus. They offer a variety of warm products that are healthier than those found in the soda and snack machines in some buildings. When we don't have a lot of time and if we have to hurry between classes and want to have something to eat quickly, it is one of few options.
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