Mars Hill Cafe

Have you ever tried a new-to -you restaurant and always meant to come back but never did? That's me and Mars Hill Cafe. I finally decided to have lunch at Mars Hill only to find out it had moved! What?!?! I did manage to track it down at the new location thanks to Google and Facebook.

I was on Facebook when I saw that they had a special salad. There was candy pecans, spinach, apples, and goat cheese. All the things that I love. It was a really a good salad. There was a good mix of sweet and tart. There was grilled chicken to give it protein. The strawberry salad dressing with absolutely divine. My single complaint is the size of the salad. To me, it looks more like a side salad. If only there was more spinach,  I would have considered it an entree. There was definitely enough toppings to make it so.  Now I did use a coupon so that could be why the size was small but I am not sure. If it is the regular size, I don't believe it is worth the $9.

I also ordered a sandwich. My thinking was I was going to save half of each entree and have it for later for dinner. That did not happen. I ask the cashier which sandwich I should get. I was torn between the Reuben and the chicken pesto panini. She recommended but I get the panini. I also asked about which side and she unequivocally said the turkey queso. I was like "Cheese? Why yes please!" The panini had chicken, feta, I think Swiss and pesto on a flat bread. Ok. So to me, a panini is a pressed sandwich. You can put it between to hot plates, two skillets, a brick and skillet. This was not it. It was a sandwich, no pressing here. But that's a technicality. The sandwich was middle of the road for me. I was not impressed but I was not disappointed either. I did think it was a bit salty but I took off some side of the bread so that may have been it. The star of this plate was that queso. Oh my. How much flavor can you pack into that? Apparently, a lot. I enjoyed every bite with chips and by itself. There was just enough heat for me to go "oh yeah, there is some chili in there" but I don't think it's hot enough to agitate say a child's stomach. I like the queso equally as much as the salad.

Mars Hill is so cute. One side look like a coffee shop, complete with leather seats and coffee tables. It sure does invite one to sit down and take a load off. It is separated by the counter that looks to me like a diner counter then booths on the other side. It was still very inviting. I had my pup with me so we sat outside at the line picnic table. At least there was an umbrella to give it shade. I think it could benefit from a few more outdoor seating arrangements.

Overall, I liked it and hopefully come back sooner rather than later. It's in am out of the way spot so I actually have to keep it at the forefront on my mind to visit again. I heard they do latte art in the mornings. I've always envied those who could work a steamed milk pitcher.