Down the street of Monroe, not far from campus, sits Interzone, a cozy coffee shop. You can’t easily miss its green exterior and outdoor seating area that is often occupied by pet owners.

On the inside, there is an eclectic mix of artwork scattering the walls. Some tables were decorated in different ways, while other tables and chairs looked like they belong in an old-school classroom and are perfect to motivate you to work on some homework.

The shop features drinks and food alike, with classic coffee and espresso drink in addition to teas, juice and lemonade. When it comes to food, they have options including pastries, bagels, breakfast sandwiches and other breakfast options like omelets and Belgian waffles. Breakfast is served daily until 5 p.m. and many vegetarian options are available.

For our outing to Interzone, we both ordered something different.

Kate ordered a lemonade and the mac and cheese with a bagel. The lemonade was the perfect mix of sour and sweet and appeared to be strawberry. Very delicious. The mac and cheese was quite different than your regular run-of-the-mill mac and cheese. Mixed in with rotini pasta and cheese was a mix of vegetables, including mushrooms, green peppers and zucchini. As a pickier eater, the vegetable addition wasn’t ideal but the mac and cheese was still yummy and a very satisfying lunch. For those of you who enjoy a fun mix of vegetables, you can have the best of both worlds with this mac and cheese.  

Food is a small part of Interzone and coffee is the main attraction. Emma tried the almond and chocolate chip scone with strawberry jam along with a peach Italian cream soda. She would rate the scone a six out of ten based on the fact that is was dense and flavorful. However, it was very messy to eat and there wasn’t anything differentiating it from any other scone. She would rate the peach Italian cream soda a four out of ten. As a connoisseur of peach Italian cream sodas, she gave this a lower rating because the ratios of the ingredients tasted off. It was too sweet and there was a lot of heavy cream. What did make the drink stand out was its presentation. The soda was frothed on the top making it more distinctive and different from an average peach Italian cream soda.

Overall, Emma would rate Interzone a four out of ten and will probably not be going back. It was a cute coffee shop but seemed a little run down and the food was only decent. Kate enjoyed the food but would be more interested in going back for coffee than anything else. She liked the atmosphere but the food wasn’t exactly what she was looking for.

If you’re interested in Interzone and their food, head over to Yelp to find pictures of their menu to see if it’s something you’d like! While we didn’t order one, their bagel sandwiches have good reviews!