March 3, 2006

Brighter Day Sheds Light on the Way Food Should Be

By EMILY C. SIDERS and CHRISTIANA HILDITCH
siderse@marietta.edu and hilditcc@marietta.edu

Brighter Day Natural Foods

10 Tiberway (at Second & Butler Streets)

740.374.2429

http://www.mariettachamber.com/index.php?pg=118

Monday thru Saturday 11:00am to 3:00pm

Closed Sunday

Cuisine: Health Food

Atmosphere: Very Casual

Price: $3.95-$6.50

Most meals are around $5.00

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Atmosphere:

Upon first entering the Brighter Day Natural Foods Store, one might not even realize the restaurant exists. There is a counter located in the back of the store for ordering and an extremely informal dining room located to the left of the store. It was somewhat confusing at first to figure out the process of the restaurant (Should we get our food? Does someone bring it out? Where do we get silverware?).  However, the extremely casual atmosphere made asking for assistance seem natural. The dining room was very comfortable, with various sized tables set up for eating, as well as table for self-service for the silverware and drinks.   

Service:

Although Brighter Day did not have servers, since the restaurant has an Izzy’s style of ordering, all of the employees were very polite and extremely helpful.  Upon walking up to the back counter to order, we were informed by the staff about the menu favorites, as well as offered assistance for any of our questions. The food was brought out to us very promptly, which came as a surprise since we thought we would have to retrieve it.  The restaurant staff all seemed genuine, and we were politely asked to come back as we exited.

Food:

Brighter Day specializes in offering natural foods, and the menu is well balanced between various sandwiches, soups, salads, and entrees. The sandwiches are stuffed full of various veggies, cheeses, and sauces. The salads offer a fresh option, including not only the traditional garden salads, but also a fresh fruit salad, a rice salad, and a linguini salad as well.  A popular menu item, as informed by the staff, includes The Nutty Bird Sandwich (turkey, lettuce, tomato, cream cheese, mayonnaise and sunflower seeds).  We opted for sandwiches, getting the Chipotle Turkey Wrap and a soup/salad combo of a half of the avocado sandwich and a bowl of chicken noodle soup (other combos could be made up of soup/salad, salad/sandwich). Both sandwiches were composed of so many components, that each bite was a rollercoaster of flavor.  Unfortunately, the sandwiches do not come with a side of any kind, but we paid a little extra for fresh seasonal fruit, which was simply delicious.  We also ordered dessert specials, the lemon fluff and a blueberry cobbler, which were savory treats, and nice alternatives to the usual desert offerings.

Overall: