Grand Opening: Joe's Cafe

Walking into the staggering Steiny-D, especially if you're an Arts and Sciences kid, can be intimidating. Through stunning glass doors on the ground floor, around a crowd of spiffily-dressed Whartonites,  is the paradise that is Joe's Cafe. The place is objectively nice, Penn Dining or otherwise.

We have a tour (complete with pictures) after the jump!

Joe's Cafe M-F 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (Reading days and finals: 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.)

As you walk in, on your left is a little nook with three soup kettles. If those kettles don't impress you, proceeding further into the cafe, there is a long counter filled with delicacies.  There's the sushi, yogurt parfaits, and chips typical to any Bon Apetit establishment, but then you see it: the prepared foods section! This makes Joe's kind of like if Mark's Cafe, Houston Hall and Williams had a child.

Today's specials were freshly-made Tandoori Chicken salad, Roast Beef paninis with blue cheese and caramelized onions on an Artisan roll (yes, that's what they called it),  Caprese paninis, and Grilled Salmon.  And the salmon actually looked pretty good! To top off your delicious main, there were small sides of shrimp and tabbouleh salad and marinated olives.  Can we order cocktails here as well?

For those of you not in the mood for a fancy-schmancy lunch or dinner, Joe's Cafe also serves lighter fare.  While they do have the same, sad-looking pastries as the other lowly cafes on campus, the bagels  look way better.  The coffee seems pretty standard as well, but they do have a "Wharton Blend" drip which might appeal to certain people's egos... we mean, tastes.

When you're ready to sit down with your feast, the sitting area--complete with Mies van der Rohe-esque chairs--is honestly the swankiest place you could ever imagine. The atmosphere is definitely a big part of the appeal; to be honest, Joe's is more a lounge than a cafe. The high counters and chic stools make you feel like you're sitting at a bar. Mix in the enormous wall of windows and groovy color scheme and light fixtures, it's hard not to feel cool.

Accepting Penncash, Bursar, Dining Dollar$, and American Express Gold cards, Joe's is a pretty good choice for a study break, or business lunch. And no, Joe's is not related to the man of Smoke's fame; it's named after Joseph Wharton, a fact that seemed obvious to our Wharton friends.

Check it out soon: they had free coffee today, and a basket of (what we think are) magnets!