Today my best friend, Cher, and I had a spa date planned. She’s moving up to the Bay Area soon and it had been ages since we hung out (no I lie, we just had lunch last week but before that it had been a while), so we had to spend some quality time together. Our original plan was to chill out at the Spa at the Ojai Valley Inn. Unfortunately, the gods decided to have a cry fest on us Southern Californians and we were limited to what we could do indoors at the Spa since I’m pregnant.
Plan B was to drive up to Montecito and hang out at a spiritual center, but we couldn’t recall what the name of the place was or where it was located. Driving around in circles in the rain looking for something is no fun, especially when you have a hungry pregnant woman full of piss in the car. Plus, what if La Conchita fell again and we got stuck in Santa Barbara County? I can’t sleep without my body pillow, and I have a chicken waiting for me to roast it for dinner tonight.
So, we finally decided to go grab a bite to eat at Fresh & Fabulous Cafe in downtown Oxnard. The cute little restaurant is located in the historic Woolsworth Building, and serves quiches, salads, sandwiches, and baked goods. On weekdays they are open from 7:30am to 2:30pm with extended hours on the weekend.
When we arrived at the establishment, we bee-lined our way to the counter and placed our order. Cher had the Sampler Plate which consisted of bruschetta, tabbouleh salad served on romaine lettuce, and fresh made pita chips with hummus.
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I ordered the salad and sandwich combo with a cranberry pecan chicken salad and a roasted veggie panini on whole wheat ciabatta. My meal didn’t look as eye appealing as Cher’s, but it was mighty tasty!
Cher found her sampler plate to be quite tasty, but would have preferred more cracked-wheat in her tabbouleh salad. I tried a bite, and I have to admit that it was very heavy on the parsley. It wasn’t bad, but it did taste like it would be a very cleansing appetizer.
My panini was awesome with the veggies roasted to perfection. The pesto spread complemented well with the sweet and savory vegetables. I, also, enjoyed the salad which came with a balsamic dressing on the side (this is a plus for me since I hate it when restaurants overdress their salads). I liked how the chicken salad was not overwhelmed by the mayonnaise, and that it was served on a bed of lettuce which gave the salad a nice and light feel to it.
Overall, our experience was good and I definitely plan on going back again to try their quiches as well as the tea service they now offer on Saturdays.
Fresh & Fabulous Cafe, 401 South A Street, Oxnard CA.
