August 12, 2005

Riverside Café staff are ready to serve patients, visitors and MGHers.

Coffee South staff serve up treats with a smile.

Food for thought: Riverside Café and Coffee South offer multiple meal options

Looking for a bite to eat or need a jolt of caffeine while at the Yawkey Center for Outpatient Care? While the MGH offers food options throughout the campus, the Yawkey Center is home to the Riverside Café and Coffee South — both located on the first floor.

Riverside Café, open Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4:30 pm, serves both breakfast and lunch. For breakfast, the café offers fresh grilled breakfast sandwiches, waffles with an array of toppings, fresh pastries made daily, yogurt parfaits and homemade bread pudding. For lunch, the menu includes gourmet paninis, personal pizzas, deli sandwiches, two varieties of homemade soups, and premade salads and sandwiches. Paninis are available in an endless array of creative fillings, including spinach, rice and red bean, grilled portabella mushroom and mozzarella cheese, cajun chicken, and grilled roast beef with caramelized onions. The individual pizzas also have been well received by customers.

"We have been surprised by the popularity of our more adventuresome pizza offerings and many of our popular ones — like our Tex-Mex, shrimp scampi, BLT, Reuben, and pesto and feta cheese pizzas — have been suggestions from the Riverside staff," says Joan Shea, senior manager for Off Campus Retail Operations.

Coffee South, open Monday through Friday from 6:30 am to 5 pm, has a similar menu to Coffee Central, featuring muffins, tea breads, fruit and cheese Danishes, scones, elephant ears and cookies, all baked fresh daily. Beverages include flavored coffees — such as banana nut, gingerbread and "snickeroo" flavors — a variety of teas, frozen cappuccinos and smoothies.

Under the direction of Jody Melone, food services manager for the Yawkey Center, and Angel Negron, food services supervisor, the café also provides patient lunches for the Infusion Unit located on Yawkey 8. The Nutrition and Food Services staff work closely with the nursing and volunteer staff on Yawkey 8 to make sure the patients' dietary needs are well taken care of. "All the staff agrees that having an opportunity to serve both the caregivers and patients is one of the best parts of working at Riverside and Coffee South," says Shea.