My parents and I have visited the main Z-Cafe location in the Downtown Orange County Library and were blown away by how amazingly good it was. Therefore, when I had an excuse to visit the one in Florida Hospital Apopka, I was very excited. Since I hadn't had time to brown-bag my lunch yesterday (yes, with children, everything doesn't always get done!), I felt it was a pleasure to have a few moments to step out and buy a lunch. However, I was rather disappointed in this visit, especially in comparison to the other Z-Cafe. And I knew very quickly I'd be bringing my own lunch to work today.

First of all, there is only one associate manning the restaurant. It's really sad that she has to close up the entire place (two exit doors) in order to leave for any reason (i.e. restroom break). Upon her return, I noticed that the menu is not as extensive as it is in the library location. I was looking forward to the pistachio smoothie, and was foiled in an opportunity to try it. They were out of veggie meat, which is a really strange way to start the lunch hours at 11:00 in the morning. And they served white rice instead of brown. Oh, and be advised, they don't take credit or debit cards.

All the complaints out of the way, I thought I had a decent enough amount of food for $4.75. The vegetables were very nicely cooked, and I loved the water chestnuts and wide variety of vegetables in the bowl.The sauce was quite good, and the girl who prepared my meal stirred the sauce in thoroughly so there was no excess sauce at the bottom of the bowl and all but about three pieces of rice were covered. (No, I didn't count them, I just happened to see them in one bite.) For the speed and the money, it's likely the best take-out in the Apopka area, especially when you only have 18 minutes to go and come back for the next round of patients. However, if I'm looking for a great meal, I'll stick with the downtown location.