The Wild Card sandwich at Saddles Café was named one of the best vegetarian sandwiches of 2019 by Food Management magazine.
“Food Management features trends and best practices, products and solutions that connect deeply with the noncommercial foodservice professional. Four key onsite segments — College & University, K-12, Healthcare and Business & Industry dining — are the focal points in our coverage. Our audience receives both the big picture information they need as well as segment specific knowledge to run their businesses better,” states the Food Management website.
(Zuvanny Macias | The Poly Post)
The sandwich joined a list that included sandwiches from schools such as Columbia University, Georgia State University and Howard University.
The Wild Card sandwich itself consists of portobello mushroom, eggplant, spinach, mozzarella and ciabatta bread.
“The produce in this stunning sandwich is grown at Cal Poly’s own farm and the flavors come together for a vivid interpretation of farm to table,” states the review by Tara Fitzpatrick in Food Management magazine.
Like many other available food options, the Wild Card incorporated freshly grown produce harvested at Cal Poly Pomona.
The menu at Saddles café is designed by Chef Arnold Zavalza and Chef Tonya Tardd.
According to the Foundation Dining Services website, “Saddles Café serves specialty coffee and tea beverages as well as a variety of fresh pastries, grab n’ go items and a specialty panini menu. Saddles Café proudly serves Starbucks coffee accompanied by pastries and a panini program. The panini program incorporates fresh fruit and veggies grown on the Cal Poly Pomona campus.”
“(The Wild Card was popular) among the vegetarian students,” said Natalie Parada, a third-year anthropology major and worker at Saddles Café.
While the Wild Card sandwich is currently not available, due to unpopularity in terms of sales, there are other options available.
There is no guarantee that the Wild Card will return to the Saddles Café menu, although a lot of students have asked about the sandwich since the beginning of the fall semester.
Saddles has recently introduced a vegan panini that will be available in store starting Oct. 14.
The vegan panini will include sun-dried tomato smear, vegan basil pesto, mozzarella cheese alternative, fresh spinach and butter substitute; all ingredients will be on a sourdough bread.
Saddles Café first opened in August 2018. And the design and concept for the restaurant were developed based on surveys, student inputs and the latest dining trends.
For such a young restaurant, it is already making an impact and being recognized by organizations outside of CPP, such as the stated Food Management magazine.
Saddles Café is located in the Bronco Student Center (BSC), Building 35.
During the fall 2019 semester, it will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 7:30 a.m to 4 p.m. on Fridays. The establishment will be closed Nov. 11, and Nov. 28-29 for holidays.