Overall very good for a hospital cafe - 4 stars.
1. I have mixed feelings about Bridges Cafe. In general, this facility is impressive. They have a HUGE variety of food options...everything from a fresh fried griddle area, another fresh made area, a salad bar, pre-prepared foods in plastic containers of every type, pastries, cookies, chips, canned & bottled beverages, etc. All of these options are wonderful for people that are stuck in the hospital as a patient or a visitor, not to mention the hundreds of staff.
2. On the other hand, this is a hospital. I wonder about the virtue signaling of the "putting plants forward" initiative (see photo of sign), especially for someone like me that has managed to reverse my metabolic disease & dramatically improve all my blood labs by consciously & explicitly eliminating this stuff with the help of my physician. Worse, they have plenty of chips, cookies, pastries, and sugary beverages. But I also have to keep in mind that everyone has the free will to eat how they choose. And they have plenty of visitors & staff that can eat they way they choose. Hummm...so confusing. I'll let you decide for yourself about the morality all of this stuff. I wouldn't have thought much about these things if it wasn't a hospital and if there wasn't nutrition commentary throughout. Why not just offer the food without the messaging?
3. The dining area is impressive. It isn't fancy. But it has a killer view across the Mississippi and the West Bank (see photo). It's also large with a raised deck area in back.
4. Finally, I had a funny experience with a staff member. I happened to sit at a table next to a medical staff employee in full blue scrubs, face mask, and blue cap. When I sat down, she looked at me, she grabbed her purse, and she moved it from the floor near me to the floor on the side of her other leg, seemingly protecting it. Paranoid? Is there a lot of crime in the cafe? I was definitely worried about my Mom's heart procedure, not plotting to snatch someone's purse! I didn't think I looked scary or like a potential criminal, but I must have looked intimidating that day. Interesting.
Thumbs up.
-Maxx
P.S. There's an awesome coffee shop on the 1st floor! read more