1. food & drink: reviews
Scrubs and grub
By Ron Bechtol 03/03/2005
Café Navarro proves hospital cafeteria food
can be good
Hospital food and healing have never seemed to go hand in hand; how much
sustenance is there in Jell-O? Jell-O does appear in the line at Café Navarro, Nix
Hospital's open-to-all cafeteria, but it is the only obvious vestige of sorry-you're-sick
food. Surprisingly, Café Navarro has gourmet aspirations, and they aren't altogether
misplaced.
The sixth floor at the Nix looks much like any other; there are no obvious clues to
anything out of the ordinary. The floor, polished to a mirror shine, seems perfectly at
home, and the clientele, from maintenance men in jeans to medicos in suits and
scrubs, is just what you'd expect. But a quick glance at the menu board reveals that
there's more at work here than Salisbury steak with creamed corn. Though I began
cautiously with a turkey chipotle wrap and a bowl of potato-leek soup, other options
that day included flounder with peppers and onions and beef fajitas with "fixings."
I'd give the soup a couple of stars right off the bat. It was chunky and creamy,
robustly flavored, and supremely satisfying. The wrap wasn't far behind in satisfaction
points, either; there was an abundance of deli-sliced
turkey, the chipotle mayo was just spicy enough,
and the fillers of shredded carrot, lettuce, and
chopped tomato were right in balance. The wrapper,
a large, herbed flour tortilla, lacked any of the
leathery toughness often associated with envelopes.
Only the single peanut butter cookie was less than
memorable. The total tab was $5.66.
Rhula Mitcheltree, director of Food
Services, is credited for envisioning
the changes which have recently taken
place at Café Navarro. In August 2004,
the cafeteria received a face-lift not
only to its menu, but to the decor as
well.
On Thursday, Italian dishes such as
spaghetti and meatballs are available
at Café Navarro. (Photos by Laura
McKenzie)

2. Café Navarro proves hospital cafeteria food
can be good
Hospital food and healing have never seemed to go hand in hand; how much
sustenance is there in Jell-O? Jell-O does appear in the line at Café Navarro, Nix
Hospital's open-to-all cafeteria, but it is the only obvious vestige of sorry-you're-sick
food. Surprisingly, Café Navarro has gourmet aspirations, and they aren't altogether
misplaced.
The sixth floor at the Nix looks much like any other; there are no obvious clues to
anything out of the ordinary. The floor, polished to a mirror shine, seems perfectly at
home, and the clientele, from maintenance men in jeans to medicos in suits and
scrubs, is just what you'd expect. But a quick glance at the menu board reveals that
there's more at work here than Salisbury steak with creamed corn. Though I began
cautiously with a turkey chipotle wrap and a bowl of potato-leek soup, other options
that day included flounder with peppers and onions and beef fajitas with "fixings."
I'd give the soup a couple of stars right off the bat. It was chunky and creamy,
robustly flavored, and supremely satisfying. The wrap wasn't far behind in satisfaction
points, either; there was an abundance of deli-sliced
turkey, the chipotle mayo was just spicy enough,
and the fillers of shredded carrot, lettuce, and
chopped tomato were right in balance. The wrapper,
a large, herbed flour tortilla, lacked any of the
leathery toughness often associated with envelopes.
Only the single peanut butter cookie was less than
memorable. The total tab was $5.66.
Determined to try some of the more ambitious entrées, I returned on a Friday for the
On Thursday, Italian dishes such as
spaghetti and meatballs are available
at Café Navarro. (Photos by Laura
McKenzie)
Rhula Mitcheltree, director of Food
Services, is credited for envisioning
the changes which have recently taken
place at Café Navarro. In August 2004,
the cafeteria received a face-lift not
only to its menu, but to the decor as
well.

3. scallops in a tomato-basil sauce. (Had I gone on Thursday instead, Hunan Chicken with
fried rice or Sesame Pork Tenderloin would have been contenders.) Branches of fresh
basil adorned the steam-table container, a positive sign, and available vegetable sides
included asparagus in lemon butter and roasted red potatoes. Okra and tomatoes,
Lyonnaise potatoes, cornbread, refrieds, and cut green beans - with Spanish rice, the
major throwback to classic cafeteria - have been options in the past. Seafood always
strikes me as something to be wary of in a cafeteria line; it turns to mush so easily,
which was the main reason I ruled out the
catfish with almonds, although it didn't look mushy, mind you. But the scallops held up
beautifully: The fresh basil added the gourmet touch the chef is apparently seeking,
and the surprise discovery of artichoke hearts yielded bonus points. At $4.95, including
a side dish, this was both a bargain and a beacon of hope.
The asparagus wasn't as crisp as it might have been at a $20-entrée joint, but it was
still within tolerable limits, and the potatoes were right on target. Feeling end-of-the-
week indulgent, I also snagged a piece of coconut cream pie. Ignoring the difficulty of
eating pie from a wedge-shaped container, I'd have to hand it to the pie person: The
flavors were fine, the textures good, the total experience, if not platonically pie, at
least far from plastic. Apple was another option, and it looked equally real.
The week's menu is posted just outside the entry to the Café Navarro, so if you're
tempted, you can take the elevator up for a look. Heart-healthy entrées are indicated,
yes, with a heart. As with all cafeteria lines, gourmet glimmerings or not, it pays to be
rational in one's choices; if the green beans look limp, don't choose them (unless,
having grown up on overcooked beans, that's the way you like them). Otherwise, this
is a cafeteria that surprises, and if the attitude makes its way up to the convalescents
After grabbing a tray, customers
who came in on Thursday could choose
between several Italian entrées,
including Chicken Parmesan.