Eat It And Love It is written by 6 friends in Pittsburgh, PA - we have 2 vegetarians, 2 vegans, and 2 omnivores in our group. We don't make any money from the site and do the reviews for fun and to aid others when searching for the perfect spot to eat!
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I read a review in the Pitt News a few weeks ago about a vegetarian coffee shop in Point Breeze that sounded like it was worth checking out. Today after work, Nate and I made a stop there for dinner.
Make Your Mark is a coffee shop and art space in the Point Breeze area of town, right next to Pino's. The door looks like you would be walking into someone's house, but it is very clearly a diner/coffee shop when you enter. Having never been there before, we weren't sure what proper protocol was for ordering food, but it seemed like a pretty casual place and we ordered right at the cash register. They had a list of fairly non-descript items on a chalk board, like a salad and a wrap, so we inquired as to what was vegan on that day's menu. (We learned from the Pitt News article that the menu changes regularly, and also that they buy all of their ingredients from Whole Foods.)
The guy working at the register wasn't sure what was vegan, so he asked the chef - she came out and specifically told us what was already vegan, or what could be made vegan by removing cheese. She even offered to make me an artichoke wrap, which wasn't even on the menu for that day. I thought that sounded good, so I agreed. Nate ordered a veggie pannini. All dishes are around $5-$6 and come with a side. There are several sides to choose from - Nate opted for a black bean salad and I had tabouli.
We had a seat and waited for our food, and that is when I noticed the very Ikea-esque decor of the place. It was almost as if they walked into the kitchen section of an Ikea store and said, "Ok, I'll take that" and bought the whole fake-room set up. I'm not complaining (although Aftertaste Bliss readers should be familiar with my general disdain for shopping at Ikea), but merely trying to get across what the place looks like.
They have free wi-fi, but one of the biggest perks for me was that the entire establshment is non-smoking. There are probably not too many coffee shops that can boast that, so kudos to them. They also had pads of paper on most of the tables and you could use the provided colored pencils to create some artwork for the walls. Fun!
Our food was quite good and definitely an improvement to the kinds of food you might get at the Whole Foods deli (I swear they use the same 4 ingredients for every item). I would likely go back - I can't say that I would become a regular, but I think this would be a good place for a healthy lunch or a light dinner. If you are trying to eat vegan, you will probably have to inquire about what is specifically vegan, as it isn't really made clear on the menu. But as I indicated previously, they seem very accomodating.
Posted by Julie at October 13, 2006 10:38 PM