Freshroots Kitchen — Restaurant in Tallahassee

Order: Jammin' Melt (applewood smoked bacon, maple bourbon bacon jam, avocado, jalapeño, and melted pepper jack cheese on sourdough), Hawaiian Melt (ham, bacon, pinnacle, and cheddar cheese on sourdough) with a side of smoked Gouda Mac and cheese Price: $23 Pros: Really good flavors, late of options, friendly staff Cons: Felt a tad overpriced for the size of the items, so cold inside, no outside seating

Thoughts: My wife and I were driving to New Orleans and decided to make an entire day of the 8 hour trip by stopping along the way. We decided to have lunch at Freshroots Kitchen and after driving around looking for it for a bit (not really well marked from the road) we finally located it and headed in. First of all it was freezing in there, maybe a slight exaggeration but it actual was cold enough that I ate faster so I could get back in the sunshine and warm up, it would have really been nice if they had some outside seating. Not really sure if this was a one off but someone in there must really like being cold.

Anyway, we looked over the menu a bit and settled on two sandwiches (Jammin’ and Hawaiian melts) and a side of mac and cheese. The two sandwiches were good, plenty of flavor on both of them, there were a lot of different elements going into the but none of them clashed so it actually worked really well. The bread though, was just acceptable. It definitely wasn’t terrible, super cheap bread, but it also didn’t seem like a really high quality. They did have several options for bread but the sourdough really didn’t do it for me. The mac and cheese was also something I would pass on, the pasta itself was overcooked a little, leading to that somewhat mushy texture. The flavor also wasn’t anything super amazing, the gouda gave it a bit of an different flavor but nothing you would really miss out on.

Overall though I think the thing that really stuck with me was the price, the sandwiches were around $8-9 a piece, they didn’t have a ton of meat on them, and I easily could have eaten two. I do eat a little more than some people but it definitely felt like I was paying for more than what I was getting. The size of the sandwiches, along with the fact that the flavors weren’t so good that it made up for it, would probably make me pass on Freshroots. Not because it is bad, but because it isn’t great. Its definitely an option for anyone working close by, or those willing to pay their price for a light lunch, but in my opinion, there are still a few things they...

Bottom line: EXCEPTIONAL breakfast & lunch menu.

Exceptionally creative, exceptionally prepared, exceptionally presented, exceptionally thoughtful.

Freshroots merits an update from me, largely because we find ourselves headed to this gem of a restaurant over and over again. The wife & mother-in-law LOVE it, and I certainly understand why. I find myself grinning foolishly after polishing off a meal here myself.

The menu items are top-notch, and their ingredients are clearly laid out on the chalkboard menu by the door. If you're persnickety and need EVERYTHING to go your way, they'll accommodate you too. At the bottom of the chalkboard, you'll find the "create your own" forms that you can fill out.

In other words, you can go ahead and be the chef here.

I still like it that not that many folks know about this place - that doesn't help the ownership here, but it means that it still gets to feel like "our place that isn't yet overrun by everybody".

Particular items I like are: The Lucky Goat Coffee - specifically the cold-brew. It's just good. if you haven't tried this before, treat yourself. The App. It's every bit as good as Panera's app (Panera, mind you, is a large multinational corporation. Freshroots, mind you, is a small uninational operation...) Eggs Benedict. (not "The Freshroots Benedict", not "Fabuloso Benedicts" - just straight-up Eggs Benedict). Oh, and for only $6.00. Go figure out how to get poached eggs for that price anywhere else in town. Heck, some menus make it clear they "don't know how to poach no eggs..." "The Smokin'" - it's my favorite sandwich (Salmon). I've had others (Horsey, Italian, Buffalo, Cuban, Dipped) and they're all great. I just have a penchant for the Salmon.

Anyway - we went again for lunch today, and I just couldn't NOT update the review here. If I left anything out, it's likely in my previous one (stuff about vegan...

Having experienced this jewel-of-a-place several times myself, I decided to introduce a family member to this place.

However, the customer service on today, 3/26/25 was down right rude!

While sitting for sometime (30 plus minutes) for our order, while the front counter personnel , never noticed us without our order, I inquired and was told, “ I thought you were just sitting”, “Our tickets do not work sometimes they do not printout to the kitchen”, “ I didn’t remember your face making an order”. Then I we were further told by the front counter staff,” I’m just tired”. Please know this front counter person never left the counter and looked over at us sitting several times while we sat awaiting our order.

Once the food arrived, we were told we could eat outside, though we had clearly sat for more than 30 minutes to dine inside. The front counter personnel was literally ushering us outside, placing our food in a bag rather than a plate, because it was closing time. Then when I ask for a plate the personnel said, “ I’ll give you a plate this one time”. It wasn’t our fault that we arrived for lunch at 2:11PM and our food was delivered to our table at 3:00PM. The closing time.

Lastly, once the owner discovered the tremendous delay, a refund was given and our order was promised. With the front counter staff being so unnecessarily rude, I am more sadden and very disappointed that the owner never came out to address the rude personnel even at my request.

I am sadden because have encouraged people to patronize this business on all my social media outlets, etc. and the owner allowed such rudeness and never came out to address...