Peace on Earth Coffee Compared to Guru's Café

My family and I tend to go to the same few restaurants every time we go out because we know we like them and won't be disappointed. I decided it was time to go out of our comfort zone and start trying different places and comparing them to decide what we like and dislike about them. For this trial, we decided to try out both Peace on Earth Coffee and Guru's Café for lunch on two different days. Below are the things I liked and disliked about each.

Peace on Earth Coffee

(https://peaceonearthcoffee.squarespace.com/)

Environment

I had never tried Peace on Earth Coffee before but had driven past it several times and had heard great things about it from multiple people. I figured it was about time that we actually went inside and gave it a try. When we arrived, there seemed to be a variety of forms of seating and various reasons for people being there. There were groups of people who were hanging out and having conversations, individual college students working on homework, and individual people having conversations with others online. My husband, "C," and I both decided that the atmosphere was what we liked most about this place. It seemed to be the type of place where you could order a beverage and/or some food and just hangout with others or get some work done on the laptop. There were quite a few things on display to be sold by locals. On the board was mention of a ten percent discount to customers who brought their own reusable mugs in. In the corner where we happened to sit, there was a little chalk table and some stools. My son, "A," was able to entertain himself by drawing on the chalk table while we waited for our food.

Food

I ended up ordering the jackfruit wrap for $11, C ordered the turkey bacon avocado for $11, and we ordered a $7 pat-a-cake for A off the lil trolls menu. When our food arrived, it was served on reusable plates and A's pat-a-cake came with a little reusable dish for his syrup. The jackfruit wrap had a variety of flavors and was probably good to other people, but wasn't really something I would order again. If I got lunch there again, I would try something different. C said he enjoyed the turkey bacon avocado, but wasn't necessarily dying to come back to order it again. A seemed to really enjoy the pat-a-cake. He ate most of it and then saved the rest as leftovers. Later during the day when we were back home, he got his leftovers out of the fridge and ate the rest.

Likes and Dislikes

Things I really liked about this place was the laid back environment where you could feel free to do whatever you wanted. It seemed welcoming to all as there was a little dog bowl of water outside, there were dog treats for sale, and dogs were welcome inside. It was very inclusive of vegetarians and vegans as well, with several menu options available to choose from. There was support for locals by allowing them to use space to display and sell their items. I liked that there was a place for A to stay busy while we waited for our food, because it can sometimes be difficult to get a toddler to sit still and be quiet while waiting for food to arrive. Another thing that I loved were the efforts to make their business eco-friendly. The dishes were reusable, there was a discount offered for those who brought in reusable mugs for their drinks, the water cups were reusable, and the containers for leftovers were biodegradable.

I was not really a fan of what I ordered, but if I ordered something else, I might have enjoyed the food more. I would say that I probably wouldn't come back for the food, but if I wanted to just hangout or get something done on my laptop, then I would probably come back and order a drink to sip on. Also, this is definitely more of a parenting thing and not any fault of the business, but if I were to order the pat-a-cake for my toddler again, I would definitely bring him a change of clothes because it was pretty messy.

Guru's Café

(https://guruscafe.com/)

Environment

The environment of Guru's Café was that of most restaurants in the sense that you stand in line while waiting to order and then you sit down and eat, but it was also filled with creativity. It did not feel like a regular building that was rented with the purpose of only selling food, but there was also unique décor with the purpose of creating a creative and peaceful atmosphere. I have actually been to Guru's Café a few times before and enjoyed it, but hadn't gone in a while and thought it would be good to try it out again. There was a sense of welcome as there was a big picture of Gandhi on the wall and I believe there was also a quote. There were quite a few vegetarian and vegan options available on the menu, which provided an atmosphere of inclusivity to those with different diets. There were peaceful little statues along the walls in addition to some plants. There was a little spot on one of the tables where prints were displayed and for sale by a local artist.

Food

I decided to order the Thai veggie wrap for $11, while C ordered the southwest chipotle wrap for $12. Being that A and I are vegetarian, I tried to find something on the little Guru's menu that he could eat, but there was nothing that fit a vegetarian diet. We ended up ordering him a half-sized sweet potato fry off the appetizer menu for $5. Though the Thai veggie wrap wasn't quite as flavorful as I had been expecting, I did enjoy it and would consider ordering it again. C enjoyed his southwest chipotle wrap, and we all tasted a couple of A's sweet potato fries and liked them. A really liked them and ate most of them before he decided he was done eating. Later before bedtime, he ended up eating more and finished them off.

Likes and Dislikes

What I really liked about this place was the variety of vegetarian options on the menu. It gave me plenty of menu items to choose from. I also enjoyed the portion sizes. All of us were plenty full by time we were done eating. The customer service was great as the staff members were very friendly and helpful, which added to the peaceful atmosphere. I liked the peaceful and unique feel that was created by the design and decorations chosen. The food was good and would be worth returning for if we were trying to decide on a place to have lunch. I also really liked that the plates, cups, silverware, and napkins were reusable. It was also nice that there were a variety of sizes of containers for leftovers which were all made of cardboard.

Something that I was a little disappointed in was the lack of vegetarian options on the little Guru's lunch menu. While there were plenty of options for me to choose from, I would've liked it if there would have been an actual child-sized meal we could have ordered for A. Another thing that I would have liked to see different would be reusable little dishes for the salsa and fry sauce that came with our meals.

Conclusion

There were plenty of things that I liked and disliked about each place over the other. By comparing the environments, I enjoyed Peace on Earth Coffee more. It had an atmosphere where you could sense it was more than just a place to get some food or a beverage. Like it was an experience to be there on it's own. If I were to compare the food, I would choose Guru's Café. We felt more full after eating at Guru's Café and enjoyed the food there more. When it came to the children's menus, I liked that Peace on Earth Coffee had more vegetarian options that A could choose from and I liked the prices for the children's options more at Guru's Café as they were cheaper, if they would have had something he could have eaten. Both were mostly vegetarian, vegan, and eco-friendly which I was very happy with.

Which place do you like more?

• Peace on Earth Coffee
• Guru's Café