Ele Cake Company

I'm still not sure how to pronounce the name of this place but that doesn't stop me from enjoying it!

My experience started with a lunch invitation to eat at the café which is inside the West Carrollton location but separated from the bakery counter.

The café is only open for lunch (10-2pm). The café seating area was comfortable and reminded me a little bit of a coffee shop.  If I lived closer to this location I could picture myself coming to hang out and reading a book amongst their comfortable seating.

Soup, Sandwiches, Salad, Coffee, and smoothies are included in their menu.  Ele uses very fresh ingredients and their portions are intentionally light so you have room for dessert!  I ordered a combo meal of ½ Dijon ham sandwich (thinly sliced roasted cider glazed ham, caramelized onions, swiss cheese with Dijon mayo on a toasted pretzel roll) and a cup of the soup of the day.  It was very tasty and light.

After hearing about Ele cupcakes, I figured I didn’t have a good excuse to not try one.  I tried a plain vanilla one because I wanted to be able to measure the freshness of the cake and icing without extra flavor.  I was not disappointed!  The cupcake was moist with a good portion of icing but not too decadent like many other gourmet cupcakes. 

You must visit just to look at the beautiful cakes and bakery items in their display area if nothing else.  In addition to the West Carrollton location, there’s also one in Beavercreek that offers the bakery side of the business but not the cafe.

"4 Starters"

Well I checked out another local coffee shop last night and it was a "forgettable" experience.  When I say that I mean it wasn't great but it wasn't horrible either (because sometimes those experiences make the best unforgettable stories! :-))

We went to "4 Starters Coffee Cafe."  It has changed names and owners in the last year and seems like it is still struggling to find its identity.  The decor seemed thrown together and crowded: moose heads, grizzly bear decor, a clock that changed neon colors, and a hodge podge of different seating including a backyard table and chair set.

                      

The menu included paninis, soup, ice cream, smoothies, baked goods, and oh yeah (almost like it was an after thought) coffee.  The coffee and hot drink selection was not very extensive.  I ordered a mint mocha latte and it was alright but once again "forgettable."  The place seemed less like a coffee shop and more like a thrown together cafe.
 
Location may be the hardest thing for this little local cafe to overcome.  The cafe is located on the end of shopping center that's away from the main road. You really have to be know it's there or be in the shopping center for something else to even see it.

The sign on the door said the cafe stayed open until 8pm during the week (which seems pretty early considering how close it is to a college campus) but the one employee that was working started vacuming and moving things around us at 7:30.  She seemed to be pushing us out the door so we left around 7:45.

One positive thing about the place was that because of it's location there were maybe only 3 other people in there. So maybe if you're wanting to hide out, to study or read in peace it's a good spot.