Arabica Café
 Wadsworth, Ohio        Date of Visit: 12/15/13        http://coffeeatarabica.com/

Leaving Medina after the fourth step of the goofiest Christmas present process I have ever been along for, we tried to find a place for lunch in Medina but we were far from any options and we headed back to Wadsworth. There is a little coffee shop at Wadsworth Crossing I had been to maybe once years ago and had never really given it another thought.
 

Bubble Tea Started Plum-by But Faded
 

I haven't really see anyone there, but it’s hard to see when you’re cruising down the road so we decided to give it a try. Apparently, on Sunday afternoons, it’s hard to find a seat. There are three ladies working behind the counter and while they seem to be in the weeds, they managed to push tables out in relatively short order.

There have been numerous trips to coffee/sandwich places where you were lucky to get your order in sometime during the first half-hour of your stop as they make one thing at a time. God forbid you’re on an hour lunch break. They seem aware of that at Arabica.

We ordered a couple of beverages, including a bubble tea, a soup, a salad and a sandwich. We first had bubble tea in Philly, maybe 15 years ago. It was better there…you can get the big pearls of tapioca flavored in one way or another instead of the relatively tasteless nuggets in most places. They did have plum which was tasty until the melting ice started to overcome the flavor completely.
 

Steph ordered the pear salad with sweet greens, sliced canned pears, walnuts, feta cheese, dried fruit and a pear vinaigrette. It was a good sized salad and a smart combination of ingredients, you could do way worse. We heard the soup options and the last was odd sounding enough there was really no decision so we had a bowl of pumpkin-apple soup with bacon. Nearly paste-thick and definitely leaning towards the sweet side the pumpkin pie spice blend counteracted much of the sweetness. I would probably have pureed the apple instead of the chunks that were suspended through the pumpkin but the little bits of bacon lent a smoky and salty essence which also worked against the sweetness. It’s not an everyday sort of winter soup but it does make for an interesting break.
 

The cheese steak sandwich sounded good and it was pretty good but far from what you would find in Philly or Chicago. Roast beef, cheddar, and onion pressed in a Panini iron and served with a pickle spear and horseradish mayo. It’ll do.

The dessert display beckoned and we picked up a cherry and a chocolate fold over. The pastry was light and flaky, the fillings were much less sweet than the soup had been which was really nice. The chocolate was dark and dusky, of high quality; the cherries were bright and tart. Add the layered buttery dough and sprinkle of sugar and I would go back for one of these and a coffee. I didn’t expect very much, it was better than expectations and from most little coffee shops we have dined at. Not bad at all.
 

Flaky Dough &