Phantom Gourmet: Pressed Cafe In Burlington

BURLINGTON - Just because you need to east fast, does not mean your meal can't be tasty and fresh. If you are pressed for time, lay your worries aside and get to Pressed Cafe.

With locations in Nashua, New Hampshire and Burlington, Massachusetts, Pressed is the brainchild of Roi and Miri Schpindler, a husband/wife team who believe that just because something is served quickly, it doesn't have to suffer in terms of quality.

"Pressed would be a quick service restaurant," Miri explained. "We're fast, but we're not fast food, because everything is fresh."

"Basically, what we're doing here is we're taking high end ingredients and we're making them in a 3 to 5 minute ticket time," Roi added. "All our soups, all our sauces, everything we do here is from scratch."

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Whether you order online and pick up, or grab something to enjoy in their high energy dining room, the menu has something for everyone.

"We have what would be traditional American food. We definitely have a lot of Middle Eastern flair to the menu, but we also have classic Asian flavors," Miri described.

There is no better way to get your day started than by popping into Pressed for breakfast. They have healthy options like the Acai Bowl topped with strawberries, bananas and granola; smoked salmon on an Everything bagel with sliced tomato, cucumber and capers; and tasty Avocado Toast.

"Just mash up that fresh avocado, put it on the toast, a little feta cheese, tomatoes, Za'atar on the top. It's just a great, healthy way to start your day," Roi said.

For something more substantial, there is thick cut Challah French Toast topped with powdered sugar and strawberries, and a breakfast burrito that will not only fill you up, it may change your life!

"I literally had a customer come up to me and tell me that the Chipotle steak and egg burrito was 'life-changing,' and he was not kidding!" Miri shared.

For a breakfast dish near and dear to Roi's heart, try Nana's Egg Sandwich.

"When I go back to Jerusalem, my grandmother makes me this egg sandwich. That's the sandwich that I grew up on."

This traditional Israeli dish stacks an herb omelet, boursin cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, cilantro, and a garlic and cumin paste called skhug, all on multigrain for a nutritious and delicious way to wake up your palate.

For something completely different, try the Shakshuka.

"It's basically house-roasted tomatoes and red peppers in a sauce, and you poach your eggs inside," Miri explained. "You top it with fresh feta cheese and some herbs. Traditionally, you'd eat it right out of the pan. You just take a spoon, you just dig right in, you break open the eggs, you smear it on the bread."

Since the name of the place is Pressed, you can be sure they are pressing it all - from fresh juices to sandwiches, like one stuffed with prosciutto, grilled chicken, tomato, and mozzarella; or the Wellington with braised beef, roasted mushrooms, caramelized onion, Swiss, boursin and gorgonzola cheese crumbs on ciabatta.

There are inventive salads like the Steakhouse Cobb, loaded up with seared short rib, gorgonzola and avocado with a balsamic drizzle, or Miri's favorite, the Asian Mandarin Miri.

"It's got the fresh grilled chicken; it's got the Mandarin oranges; it's got the carrots; it's got all these different flavors that meld together and just make a great, crunchy, excellent salad."

If you are looking for something to really fill you up, go for a bowls. There is the Red Dragon featuring stir-fried vegetables layered with seared yellow tuna and topped with a spicy peanut sauce; or the Backyard BBQ, a mash up of meats including braised short ribs, barbecue grilled chicken and Applewood smoked bacon over cilantro lime red quinoa. But if you really want to indulge, nothing is as comforting as the Surf and Turf Mac N Cheese, spiked with sautéed Maine lobster and braised beef short ribs.

"Mac and cheese is the ultimate comfort food and who doesn't like mac and cheese for grown-ups? It is incredibly creamy. It is so fresh; it's just melts in your mouth," Miri said.

While the team at Pressed continually prepares real food, real fresh, they want to make sure you are in and out, so they do it really fast.

"If somebody has a 30 minute lunch break, they need to get back to their offices on time with a healthy option for lunch," Miri said. "Not everybody has an hour and half to sit down and have a lunch every day. Being able to provide that bridge between fine dining food - or fresh food that you would find in a fine dining establishment fast - is a market that we've always wanted."

You can find Pressed Café at 200 District Ave. in Burlington and online at pressedcafe.com.

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