When I attended Classen School of Advanced Studies some 20-odd years ago, for most breakfasts (and some lunches) we would typically sneak off campus as soon as the bus dropped us off, spending a few bucks at the Braum’s right up the street; we probably ate way too many useless breakfast sandwiches, but, to be fair, it was the only restaurant open within walking distance that allowed us to order and be back in time for first period.
Having recently been to Café Antigua, 1903 N. Classen Blvd, however, I wonder if our then-nubile teenage hunger-pangs would have accepted their Guatemalan cuisine on a semi-regular basis if it was around back then; as I sat there in their spacious digs, I truly think that it would’ve been a more than acceptable substitute, especially at a school where pretension of all disciplines reigned supreme.
Café Antigua surprisingly started my meal off with a large-ish cup of complimentary Guatemalan sopa de pollo, loaded with generous cuts of chicken as well as strands of fideo and chunks of vegetables; gently spooning the warm brew to my lips, it was a welcoming surprise that was unexpected. (At least to me it was unexpected.)
Before I could even look at a menu for lunch, the brewed coffee from the front of house as we walked in gave off such an intoxicating aroma, that I had to order a Vaca Negra ($4.00), made up of cane sugar Coca-Cola, vanilla ice cream and espresso; Braum’s would never serve this, I thought as I gently worked a small bit of ice cream into a gentle sip, the Coke and espresso mixing enchantingly.