Home Grown Cafe - Newark

Cute spot. Service was great. Food tasted good, but presentation was off for me. The crab fries with the crab fondue on top looked fun, but it just makes the fries soggy. Thought the fondue would have been on the side? Then the lettuce wraps.... Wasn't expecting to have to make them myself (they came deconstructed). Would be nice if the menu specified that.

I love the comic art on the walls. Bonus to the awesome staff in accommodating for handicap needs. Forgot to mention we loved the hummus appetizer. The portions were HUGE! Was not expecting that. BBQ mac and cheese and the green goddess sandwich hit the spot. Thumbs up to the kombucha.

The Gardenator veggie burger was terrible. Some of the toppings were so burnt I couldn't figure out what they were and the burger itself was mushy and fell apart. Pretty much it was a mess. The fries were good.

I had a great pre-theatre meal at Home Grown. I'll start at the top. I ordered a side of fries and they were among the best I've had in memory. Shoestring style yellow potato perfectly crisp with a soft interior. I had the Banh Mi steak sandwich. I don't know where they got their roll but it was a perfect combination of banh mi baguette and steak sandwich roll. There isn't a hugh amount of meat on the roll but that allows the other pickled ingredients take center stage. I could only eat half and the rest made a tasty lunch the next day. My friend ordered the Green Goddess sandwich. Regrettably I forgot to ask how she liked it. She really didn't say anything either way but finished every bite. Great beer list and professional pour (you get the full 16 oz) and on a Thursday night at 6 pm with college in session there was a real nice vibe, and the service was the ideal amount of attention on a busy night.

With a name like Home Grown Cafe, I expected to be met with an atmosphere touting healthy living and a variety of organic options. However, the vegetarian options were lacking and it existed as just another restaurant selling American food (traditional breakfast options, nachos, sandwiches, etc. . Nothing about the atmosphere made me feel as though I was eating healthy, something I expected from the cafe. Service was good but not great. Nothing particular stood out as exceptional. The food, I found, was hit or miss. I got the grilled house-smoked chicken breast sandwich with a side of chips. The sandwich itself was fantastic. It perfectly combined flavors, and I especially appreciated the inclusion of onion straws. However, the chips were utterly disappointing. They left a poor after taste, truly letting me down. The nachos were also rather disappointing, with a mediocre chile and a guac that lacked the defining flavors of good guacamole. I think finding a firm brand identity would aid Home Grown Cafe in best reaching and meeting the desires of its target market.