When Ryan Mason opened Roast Coffee Company almost four years ago, he focused on providing quality beverages in a dynamic space that appeals to students as well as the post-college crowd. His goal was to eventually offer food, and at the end of last year, he quietly unveiled a sandwich, wrap and salad menu.
"We're on the second round of our menu," says Mason, 28. "We got it out in December and then took the winter and spring to bounce it off customers, get input from the employees, and tweak it to what it is now."
In all aspects of his cafe, it seems that Mason's approach is to master before moving on to the next thing. Hence, his new menu is simple, featuring a dozen wraps, salads and sandwiches, most of which are named after bands.
For example, the Jane's Addiction is a cilantro hummus wrap stuffed with red onions, cucumbers and field greens; The Green Day is piled with bacon, veggies, cheddar cheese and homemade chipotle mayo spread. Two salads are aptly named Modest Mouse and The Roots.
On a recent visit, we sampled three of his creations -- the Daft club, FatBoy Slim and Drive-By Trucker -- and found them well constructed, flavorful and incredibly fresh.
The Drive-By Trucker ($5.95) is a smoked turkey and cheddar cheese wrap with red onions, green peppers, field greens and a delicious, creamy basil pesto sauce. The turkey and cheese slices are generously stacked, but not over piled. The pesto sauce is an amazing complement to the turkey.
The FatBoy Slim ($4.95) is a veggie sandwich, complete with provolone cheese, dill mayo, onion, cucumber, tomato and greens. Because of the FatBoy's freshness and perfect portion size, my dining mate -- who is a talented chef herself -- said, "I would be hard pressed to recreate this at home."
Finally, the Daft Club ($6.45) was the high point of our order. With smoked ham, bacon, Swiss, veggies and Dijon sauce on thick and soft ciabatta bread, it just about blew us away. Again, the key word with this sammy is freshness.
The wraps and sandwiches are served in a cool metal basket with classic potato chips on the side. (They tasted like Lay's.) We also sampled the Orange-Cicle ($3.25), a blended drink made with orange juice, white chocolate and ice that claims to be a hangover cure. We weren't hungover, so can't comment on its elixir-like qualities, but it sure tasted good.
Roast is clean, artistically painted (the bathrooms rock) and currently features the art of iconic Milwaukee painter Mike Frederickson.
The service was prompt and friendly, so much so that we spent hours at the cafe, eating, drinking and taking advantage of the free wireless. Technically, Roast offers one hour of free wireless Internet, but Mason gave us unlimited usage.
Mason says he is happy with the new menu, and hopes to take it a step further in the near future with breakfast sandwiches. We would also like to see hot sandwiches on the menu.
"My goal with the food is that it's straightforward, served in under two minutes and really good," says Mason.
Done.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
