City Streets Cafe, East Windsor

We were trying to find a somewhere to lunch between Matt's parents house (Monroe) and our place (Lawrenceville). Matt's mom suggested City Streets Cafe, located in East Windsor (pretty much exactly in between us) and off we went. It's another one of those places that's located in a nondescript strip mall, but is deceptively large and well maintained within. The front area is very sports bar-ish... lots of TVs, large wooden bar, plenty of beers on tap. The back room was a bit homier, with art on the walls, giant wooden tables and just an overall coziness.

The menu had a tremendous variety... sushi, pasta, steaks, sandwiches, it was kind of all over the map, like a glamorized diner menu. After much debate (and several 'Oh Wait... I didn't see that before' s) we all made our choices; I went for the Reuben sandwich (that came with a soup), Matt went for the pepper jack wrap, his Mom went for the turkey burger, and his Dad ordered the Prime Rib sandwich.

My soup came out first (no one else got any, partially due to the fact that I ordered the special... 6 bucks for soup, sandwich, and drink... make sure to check the day's listings in the menu!) The soup that day was cream of spinach and it was eh... it tasted like cream of chicken soup (you know.. thick and yellow... usually good for making casseroles?) that someone tossed chopped spinach into as an afterthought. Not inedible, just not special. No depth of flavor.

Our food came out and there was a lot of it! City Streets provided us with very large portions which is becoming a rare practice these days. Matt's pepper jack wrap was delightful. The chicken was deep fried but we found a very pleasant surprise in the coating... Ritz cracker! They lent the chicken all their salted, buttery goodness, and it had a terrific crunch to it. Toss that together with some pepper jack cheese, tomato, lettuce and ranch and roll it up and Ta Da! A tasty lunch. Not the most exotic item on the menu but yummy just the same.
Matt's Mom's turkey burger was simple, yet perfectly cooked. Like I've mentioned before turkey is a tricky meat, and ground turkey is doubly so. This place served up a burger that was still moist and tender, which is a lot harder than it sounds. Placed atop a multi grain roll it was a great healthy lunch. To up the health factor, Matt's Mom opted for sweet potato fries instead of the regular kind (City Streets kindly provides the option and doesn't charge extra!) They were crunchy and sweet, not floppy or soggy at all...exactly how a fry of any kind should be served!
Matt's Dad got a sandwich that was large and overstuffed with slabs of meat and grilled onions. I guess I am jaded about steak sandwiches at diner-esque venues because I was expecting it to be either chopped meat or reaaaaaalllllyy thinly sliced. It was neither. When I say slabs I mean honest to goodness cuts of Prime Rib piled up on his roll. There were onions pouring off the thing and they were thoroughly grilled (read: delicious). It was supposed to have a cheese of some kind on it but he opted not to have it, which I believe was a wise choice. You wouldn't want to cloud the taste of the meat. Again, the sweet potato fries were delicious and oh so very crunchy.
Finally there was my Reuben sandwich. It was piled thick with corned beef, sauerkraut and swiss cheese. I asked for the Russian dressing on the side and they were happy to oblige. Nothing really special going on with this one... the bread was a little soggy because there was a touch too much sauerkraut and the meat was was on the salty side. It couldn't compare to a New York style deli, but it was certainly edible... tasty even. Just not memorable. The one thing that it WAS though was huge... remember I got the special... so my unsweetened iced tea, the cup of soup and the giant sandwich shown below were all mine for a mere 6 dollars.

All in all I think that I should have ordered more adventurously. With choices like sushi rolls or seafood in asparagus-lemon sauce I don't know why I played it so safe. Luckily our overall experience there was a good one, so we do plan on heading back. I will be sure to test my limits further at that point! For someone on the tamer side, their salads looked delicious and I can say for a fact that this place makes a great sandwich. It's pretty sure to please any group of people, so try it out and let me know your thoughts!

City Streets Cafe

http://www.citystreetscafe.com/

510 Rt. 130 South

East Windsor, NJ 08520

Phone: 609-426-9400