Vela Cafe

Vela Cafe Restaurant Review:

With a bright interior, friendly service and fresh food, Vela Café is a shining oasis in an otherwise drab lunchtime dining scene. Despite the cafeteria-like setting --- diners order at the counter and seat themselves --- Vela is a far cry from the metal trays and rubber chicken of yore. White tables pop with lime green chairs, and best of all, employees greet diners with smiles, a rarity during the downtown lunch rush. And then there’s the food. The menu leans towards Mediterranean favorites, with a few international dishes thrown in the mix. The chicken gyro is stuffed with a generous amount of well-seasoned meat, wedged between a cloud-tender pita and topped with a zesty potato garlic sauce. The gyro salad is loaded with flavorful beef and lamb, and nicely offset with the cooling crunch of tzatziki. The pay-by-weight salad bar is a popular choice, the options including grilled meats, house-made soups, a daily hot special and plenty of healthful vegetables. Other possibilities are a selection of sandwiches and, for breakfast, burritos and bagels.