A couple of years ago Philip played a Monday night free show at a coffee house in St. Elmo we’d never heard of. It was pretty new and very tiny, tucked into the corner of a building that also contained a flower shop and a restaurant. The name of it was Pasha Coffee & Tea. We bought a bag of their organic, fair-trade whole coffee beans. It was a good thing.
Pasha has been on “the list” for a while but because of its location we hadn’t made it down there yet. Last month there was a Living Social deal for $30 worth of food and drink from Pasha for $15 so I pounced on it. I started thinking about it this week and decided that we needed to skip our normal Saturday morning breakfast at home tradition and head down to Pasha for one of their breakfast sandwiches. We didn’t make it down there until almost noon, so we considered ordering off the non-breakfast menu, but ultimately decided to go with our first instinct (breakfast is served daily).
We decided on the hummus, pita chips, and stuffed grape leaves plate as an “appetizer” (you can also order them as separate items). I’d tasted stuffed grape leaves at a diner several years back-0ne bite-and wasn’t too sure. Philip had them at the home of a friend who’s mother was of Middle-Eastern descent, and he liked them. I am not going to lie….these were different. The flavor was good, the texture was weird. Acquired taste, maybe? I have no idea what was stuffed in them. Hmmm. The hummus was good, nice and creamy, flavored with cumin, which is unique but not unheard of. The pita chips were packaged, not that I’m complaining. I like packaged pita chips. I’d order the hummus and pita chips again, but probably not the grape leaves. Maybe I’ll have to make them at home some time?
I decided to order the eggaprese sandwich-two eggs, pesto, spinach, mozzarella, and tomatoes on a toasted everything bagel. The combination on a breakfast sandwich was definitely intriguing. The ingredients were nice and fresh and the sandwich came out quickly. I liked the flavor of the pesto. I was not terribly impressed by the eggs, though…first of all, I think the sandwich would have been fine with just one egg. Second of all, I am pretty sure the eggs were cooked in the microwave. I am so picky about eggs, that just didn’t do it for me. I wish I’d just ordered the caprese sandwich. Nice concept, though, and I’d like to try to recreate it at home. I ordered a small frosted mint latte and it was delicious…not too sweet, not too milky, not too minty. Just right. Mmmm.
Philip decided on the Janissary-two eggs, feta cheese, turkey, pesto, and cholula (spicy mayo) on a toasted everything bagel. He felt pretty much the same way that I did about the eggs-meh-but really liked everything else about the sandwich. I tasted it. The cholula really did add a pretty strong hit of spiciness to the sandwich. One bite wasn’t too much but I’m betting a whole sandwich would light my mouth on fire! He ordered a mocha, which he felt was very chocolatey….but then, it is a mocha, right?
We also bought a bag of Peruvian coffee beans. The cashier told us that Pasha gets their beans from Bongo Java in Nashville. There were brownies and muffins on the counter as well…they looked delicious but we decided against a dessert item. Our total was around $40, which included the appetizer, two breakfast sandwiches, a small and a large coffee drink, and a bag of coffee beans (and, of course, most of that was covered by our Living Social deal).
Pasha has an interesting selection of sandwiches-curried chicken salad, the Elena Ruiz (turkey, cream cheese, and strawberry preserves), and a spicy BLT, to name a few-and I’m definitely going to have to go back for a sandwich. They’ve really put some thought into their menu. I love their coffee and I love their commitment to the community and to organics and fair-trade items. I don’t love their microwaved eggs. Can’t win them all. All in all, though, I really like this place. You should try it out.
Pasha Coffee and Tea is located at 3914 St. Elmo Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37409. You can call them at 423-475-5482. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.
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