Adventure 26: Za's Italian Cafe

Za's Italian Cafe (no website)
515 State St.
3 Adjectives: Customizable, quick, boring.
Price: entree (4-7) cheesecake (2)
Authenticity:
Atmosphere:
Overall:
Veganness:
Other Opinions: badgerherald, yelp, thedailypageforum...
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Za's is a very college-student friendly restaurant located where Blockbuster's used to be on State St. When you walk in, they have their menus on sheets of paper and provide golf pencils for you to fill out your exact order. The basic entree choices are: pizza, salad, sub, and pasta. There are generally several recommendations and plenty of extra space for customization. Perfect for people who love to customize their food, bad for people who actually want to eat good food.

I have been to Za's several times, yet honestly I can not bring myself to like their food (or drink for that matter). Although every time I have gone, I try to assemble seemingly tasty ingredient combinations - like the powerful apple, walnut, feta combo - I am ultimately disappointed. The toppings are generally sparse and there is very little attention put toward making these toppings fit with the rest of the dish. The biggest rip-off is the pizza, which has a really boring cardboard-like crust with the fewest toppings. Given some basic cooking skills, I feel like every dish at this restaurant can be easily prepared to taste much better in the comfort of the average person's own apartment.

As for the atmosphere, it is merely okay. Apart from peak hours, the fairly large restaurant is mostly deserted and seems to close rather early compared to most places on State Street. However, it is a good place to go with a group of friends since you will most likely be able to make a table big enough for all.

One thing I will give to Za's is the fact that they are willing to somewhat provide "gourmet" toppings. For instance they have shrimp, gorgonzola, and sun dried tomatoes. Another benefit of Za's is that they carry the overstock of Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake (don't worry, Cheesecake Factory also freezes their cakes so there's really no difference in taste). Since I am dying for the Cheesecake Factory to set up shop in town, I do enjoy these discounted cheesecake slices (beware: they are sometimes mislabeled at Za's) because they are much cheaper than Barnes and Noble, the only other place in town where I have been able to find this coveted cheesecake. This is especially exciting when they sometimes offer the cake as a discount after that rather tasteless entree.

I would recommend Za's if you are accompanying a group of Za's-loving friends or dining with someone who is picky about food, but don't expect to taste anything good. Here's a tip: order the cheesecake with your meal to make yourself feel better.

Don't go to Za's, unless you enjoy plates of cafeteria-like food, ordered sstandardized test style. Za's has a few things going for it, though. First of all, pretty much anything--paninis, pasta plates, salads, pizza--can be made vegan. There are also many fancy desserts that one can admire (but vegans cannot eat) while standing in line. One can also order smoothies. Tossy has always wanted to order one, but hasn't gotten around to it. Mainly because the food at Za's isn't all that great.