![\"The](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/IMG_5833-e1485046050560.jpg\")
<\/a>The “hanging mural.” Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n
This new one looks a little different from the original because the theme of the planned \u201cchain\u201d is different kinds of travel, so each one will have something unique about it. This one has kind-of a camping feel to it, complete with picnic tables and benches, and a giant vintage photo of a VW bus (with a trio of strange people in front of it) being the main d\u00e9cor. We sat in a booth, of sorts, which featured a very colorful \u201cmosaic\u201d-topped table. The whole place is bright and cheery.<\/p>\n
After being greeted like old friends by everyone we had met last time–the two owners, Jeff and Bob, and the managers, Brian and Deborah, (and even some of the staff\u2014the Westwood peeps are helping-out in Eagle Rock for a bit)–and securing a table, Alice and I went up to the counter, and the fun choosing-of-the-food began for us.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Just a few of the ingrediencts you can choose. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n
This is how it works at Spireworks: you walk along the counter, first ordering your basic meal, (of beef, chicken, or veggie patty, in either a sandwich, salad, or rice bowl,) and then choosing your vegetables, condiments, sauces, and sides. The menu pertains to the travel theme I mentioned above, so they refer to the sandwiches, rice bowls, and salads as \u201cdestinations.\u201d\u00a0 You can choose to have a pre-designed one, such as the \u201cBangkok\u201d which Alice loves. (She raved that it features \u201call the flavors of savory, with a hint of sweet kicking it up a whole lot!\u201d) Or you can create you own combination, as I<\/em> did. (Does that mean that I\u2019m a control freak?) \u00a0 After you choose your base, you then go along the line and tell each worker which items you want in it.\u00a0 And that\u2019s it!<\/p>\n The gorgeous meal I came up with! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n We both always get a bowl with greens and<\/em> wild rice, so that\u2019s what we recommend. But a new fun situation there is that, if you order a bowl or salad, as opposed to a sandwich, you can still enjoy their amazing warm sesame-topped bread! Just request a slice of that heaven on the side; it\u2019s no extra charge. (They may actually just offer it to you, but definitely ask if they don\u2019t.) Alice went more nuts over this bread than almost anything else I\u2019ve ever seen her eat! She exclaimed, \u201cOMG! Their freshly-baked bread\u00a0is my new obsession!\u201d I even caught her closet-eating a chunk right out of her take-out bag. She was stuffed to the gills, but just could not help herself when she took another whiff of it! That was so funny to see.<\/p>\n The mini desserts. (The pastel writing is on the front of the counter, to identify the flavors for you. Photo by Alice Farinas, as is the big one of the menu (and the bread!,) at the top of the page.<\/p><\/div>\n Something else new is that they now bake<\/em> their veggie balls, (instead of their former policy of frying<\/em> them,) and they are absolutely scrumptious! And do not miss-out on the white sauce that you can dip them in. (I don\u2019t know the name of it, or, of course, I would tell you what it is.)<\/p>\n As delicious as it all is, my two favorite items remain the same as the ones I found in Westwood: the perfect little crispy potatoes side dish, and the yummy bite-sized dessert cakes.\u00a0 The chocolate ganache is out of this world. (But you have to BYOM\u2014bring your own milk! No worries there, though; if you really do<\/em> need it for dessert, as I<\/em> do, there\u2019s a market right in the same little shopping area.)<\/p>\n Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n By the way, here\u2019s one more fun perk at Spireworks\u2014although they do<\/em> sell bottled water, they have a dedicated water dispenser, near the (exotic) soda machine. It even gives you free sparkling<\/em> water!<\/p>\n Alice labeled the fare \u201cexotic Euro food on a budget,\u201d and deemed it to be \u201csuch a great complete meal.\u201d (That girl has a way with words, doesn\u2019t she?)<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>