New Deal Cafe — Restaurant in Greenbelt

I live in Greenbelt and I also eat plant based. I decided to go to New Deal Cafe based on the Google reviews. Very nice atmosphere and the young lady on the register was extremely attentive, knowledgeable and accommodating. Now let’s get to the food. I ordered the Meaty Ball Sub with housemade meaty balls, almond ricotta, sunflower parmesan, house marinara on a baguette with a side order of sweet potato fries. The sub was $11.00 and the fries were $2.00. My total was $13.78. After I paid, went to the restroom, was in there maybe 7 mins, came back to the table and my food was there. A red flag immediately went up. That told me the food was pre-made. The sub roll and the meatballs were cold. The fries were lukewarm and not crispy. I informed, who I assume is the owner or manager, that my food was cold. He asked was it the bread or the meatballs? I thought to myself “Nothing should be cold.” I replied that they both were cold. His response was “I can see if they can heat the meatballs but the bread is not suppose to be heated.” WTH?!? Who serves a meatball sub with cold bread? He took my plate, went in the kitchen, came back and the meatballs were a tad bit warmer but definitely not hot. At that point, I was done. I ate half of the sandwich and maybe 1/4 of the fries. I can understand the meatballs being pre-made because that’s not a dish you cook-to-order, however you would think they would keep it hot in a crockpot or if it’s kept in the fridge, heat it before serving to their customers. Now fries should be cooked-to-order. The bulk of the fries were not crispy and as I stated were lukewarm. They couldn’t have cooked them from the time I ordered and returned from the restroom and I have never ordered a sub and the bread was not heated or toasted. As for the taste. On a scale from 1 - 5, I give it a 2. The meatballs were mushy and the sauce was bland. Also the sandwich was cut in half, with 2 small meatballs on each half and maybe 2 tbsps of marinara sauce. For $11.00, the fries should have been included. I was very disappointed. Suggestion...brown the meatballs in the oven first. That will make them firm and not get mushy while sitting...

My wife is Vegan-ish, my son is vegetarian, and I consider myself a flexitarian, so going out to eat is not always an easy thing. On several occasions, my wife and I have gone to eat at a little place called DC Vegan at the New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt, MD. New Deal Cafe is an excellent restaurant and also a good entertainment venue as many unique and quirky live bands perform there (if anyone has heard of ilyAIMY, a different but pretty good band, they perform there quite a bit). The hours are also quirky as the venue opens at 5 PM weekdays and 11 AM on weekends (closing at 10 PM weekdays and 12 midnight on weekends). It is located in the historic Roosevelt Center or the heart of Old Greenbelt. Now to the food, I have a thr plant-based Italian sausage sandwich many times and i am never disappointed. They haven't had this in a while but my wife and I had a mushroom and barley soup that was not only good but one of the most decadent vegan soups ever. There are a lot of vegan varieties on the menu such as Jackfruit barbecue (not my cup of tea but you may like it), vegan burgers and other standbys such as French fries and sweet potato fries. At our last visit, I tried a vegan chocolate and 'cream filled' cannoli, and oh my goodness, words cannot do justice and how good that was. Other vegan desserts such as brownies, carrot cake, and cookies are also available. I'm sure there are many who decry that lack of good vegan or vegetarian haunts in Prince George's County but this one is at the top of my list (note that College Park Nu Vegan Cafe and Largo's Everlasting Life are pretty good as well). If you are in the Greenbelt area, vegan or wanting to experiment with plant based food, I highly recommend DC Vegan at...

WOW, WOW and WOW! I first reviewed the Old New Deal when we moved in to Greenbelt/ghi a little over a year ago and now I am updating my review on the New New Deal. Recently the food provider has changed and make no mistake, the previous staff did an excellent job with the food and equipment they had available. The new menu and the new staff are absolutely amazing! They only had three days turn around to take over the food service and are having a wonderful soft opening. My wife and I are trying to patronize them twice a week and are working through every item on their menu. So far everything has been excellent, the burger, the pasta with shrimp, the kale salad with salmon, the salmon dinner and most amazingly are the lamb chops. Anyone who has cooked lamb chops knows that there is delicate timing between them being raw and tasting like old leather. Marcus, the chef gets it right and the seasoning allows you to continue right down to the bone. we are now seeing full course dinners and amazing bar food. The vibe is so upbeat and the bar and restaurant sounds are perfect. Scott, Sugar, Renée, Marcus, and all the other others I have met, but don’t remember their names are extremely professional and welcoming. The pricing is extremely reasonable for the quality you receive, remember you get what you pay for. Highly recommend the...