[Food police] Christmas lunch at X

By Marjolein van der Veldt & Connie van Uffelen

Restaurant: Café X
Day: Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Time: 12:38
Meal: Chic steak sandwich & Arabian beetroot wrap. On the side: French fries and banana pancakes

Just before Christmas, we feel like a bigger meal than usual in a more atmospheric setting than the average TU Delft canteen. We decide on Café X and take a seat next to the Christmas tree. Unfortunately, with only a few lights, the tree looks a little bare. Apart from the sandwich and wrap we also order some French fries and afterwards, the banana pancakes.

Temperature
Arabian beetroot wrap 6
The temperature of a wrap is hard to measure. The thermometer gets stuck at 35 degrees Celsius. Not surprising for a wrap filled with hummus, spinach leaves and falafel. The falafels prove to be a bit warmer than we expected, so pass the test.
Pancakes 5-
The banana pancakes don’t make the 30 degrees Celsius. Okay, they are flat and cool down quickly on a cold plate. But still, we had expected more. Butter should melt on pancakes and it didn’t. Pity.
Chic Steak –
We stick the thermometer in a piece of steak and quickly see that it is a cold dish. Put away the thermometer and get your teeth into the steak.
French fries 10
Amid loud applause, we note a personal record. Boiling hot and just out of the hot oil, these golden bars are an incredible 70 degrees Celsius!

^{It looks a little aggressive – a knife stuck right through a beetroot wrap.}

Texture
Arabian beetroot wrap 7-
The wrap itself is just as a wrap should be – thin but firm enough to contain a filling. You can eat it easily with your hands without spilling. The filling consists of slightly crispy falafel in a fairly wet ras el hanout hummus and raw spinach leaves. Our first bite is only wrap, spinach and hummus. We understand that we will not get a mouthful of falafel with every bite. By the way, there is a too large and misplaced blob of sauce on the raw vegetable salad next to the wrap.
Pancakes 4+
The oatmeal banana pancakes are very dry and not light and fluffy at all. One of the two is very dark, in fact it is black and burnt. Even the underside. So at first glance there is no visible banana, but we do taste it. And yes, there are also blueberries! The pancakes also have honey and an unannounced lump of sour Greek yoghurt. Luckily we like stroop (syrup) so that lubricates our throats.
Chic Steak 6
The first thing our teeth dig into is a slice of beef. A moment of pure joy for carnivores, even if the meat does look a little wilted. The salad is crunchy between the teeth but the bread is, in our opinion, a disgrace. While we wanted the firm bite of a hard bread roll, we have to make do with a slice of corn bread.
French fries 5
The promised fries with skins have been replaced by ordinary fries out of a bag. It doesn’t matter, we were having a drop the diet day anyway. Despite the attractive gold yellow colour, the fries were not crispy and were actually quite floury.

Apparently the word ‘chic’ pushes up the price of this sandwich by a euro.

Taste
Arabian beetroot wrap 8-
We really enjoyed the practical filled wrap. The ras el hanout hummus was just right – not too strong, not too bland but exactly what we wanted. The spinach leaves, well, there could have been more. Good thing the raw vegetable salad was placed next to the wrap, though the one dollop of greasy sauce was a pity.
Pancakes 6-
The one burnt pancake should not have been served. We should have sent it back. But the other one tasted quite good. You taste the banana and, occasionally, the sharp taste of the blueberries. Of course with our sweet tooth we poured stroop over our pancakes and this made up for a lot. The sour Greek yoghurt with honey and the mint leaf were a pity. We shoved most of it aside. Just like the black burned mistake of a pancake.
Chic Steak 7
The meat tasted as if it had just come off the grill. We enjoyed it. The sauce too scored well even if we could not taste the promised basil.
French fries 5
Well what can we say. They were simply fries from the freezer. A shame that the floury insides negatively impacted our taste.

These fries come with as much sauce as you want, FREE!

Quantity/proportion
Arabian beetroot wrap 7
It was a well-filled plate, the wrap and salad. But we were still happy to have ordered the side dishes. Certainly if you’re hungry. The wrap could have had more falafel and definitely more spinach.
Pancakes 5
For breakfast or lunch, it’s fine. You know what to expect if you order pancakes: usually a pile of 3 small ones or 2 larger ones. This was 2 pancakes, of which we had to shove one aside. This means minus points. As they are made from oatmeal, they are quite filling.
Chic Steak 5
We counted on our fingers and didn’t get further than one hand – just 5 slices of steak for 2 slices of bread. This is too little. It will not satisfy hungry students.
French fries 8
If this is your only meal, it is more than enough. As a side dish, it’s perfect to share. And … it comes with as much sauce as you want, FREE!

Price/quality
Arabian beetroot wrap 6-
Your plate is quite full, but if you are really hungry, just this wrap is not enough. So EUR 4.75 is quite expensive.
Pancakes 4
If you get 2 not burned portions, you will have quite a good meal. Oatmeal is quite filling and you get to boost your daily intake of fresh fruit. We found EUR 4.25 for our version of banana pancakes too expensive.
Chic Steak 5
As the most expensive sandwich (EUR 6), you expect more than 5 slices of steak and a lump of vegetable salad on 2 slices of bread. Apparently the word ‘chic’ pushes up the price by a euro.
French fries 8
For EUR 2.20 you get a portion that is bigger than the container at the snack bar and you have unlimited sauce. A winner!

In hindsight, we should’ve sent this dish back.

Presentation
Arabian beetroot wrap 8
It looks a little aggressive – a knife stuck right through a purply pink (Is it purple? Or pink? Let us know if you know!) wrap. We like it. Just like we like the sheet of newspaper underneath. Did they know that Delta’s Food Police were planning a raid?
Pancakes 4
Not the best. Two flat, bare pancakes with a dollop of Greek yoghurt in the middle. Luckily the yoghurt didn’t cover up the fact that one of the pancakes was burned. Maybe a little banana and some blueberries next to it next time?
Chic Steak 6
As journalists, we were thrilled that the sandwich was served on a bed of ‘newspaper’. But this positivism did not last long. As soon as we cut the first piece of bread, we ended up with a piece of paper on our knife.
French fries 8
Attractive container, nice sheet of newspaper. Only, where do we put our sauce? Tip: give a plate or a recyclable cup for the sauce.

Experience
All the dishes 7
Café X is definitely more pleasant than the canteen in the Aula, but why are the tables in such long rows? Okay, we understand the arrangement of an X in this café, but sometimes you just want to enjoy eating away from the rest. And when we finish, are we supposed to clear away or not? A little more clarity would not hurt. Just like when we stood helplessly at the wrong counter and everyone walked away. Great, a beeper that goes off when your food is ready, but a little explanation for us 2 n00bs would have been very useful.

Overall rating
Arabian beetroot wrap 7-
Pancakes 5+
Chic Steak 6
French fries 7+