Less than 10 minutes from campus sits an easy to miss restaurant that brings more than good food to the Elk Grove area.

Bravo’s Soup and Sandwich Shoppe features farm to fork produce and grass-fed, free-range steroid and hormone free meats.

When you walk in the door you are met with a counter, where you place your order and pay, while the chef works in the open kitchen area in the background. Along the edge of the restaurant sits the fountain soda machine and about a dozen tables, where you fill your own drink and wait for your meal.

The hostess was inviting, sharing details about the restaurant while patiently taking our order.  While many restaurants are firm in their menu, Bravo’s allowed us to chose whatever side, or “stage prop” as they are titled in the menu, we wished to accompany the meal.

Bravo’s has a musical theatre theme, with posters on the walls, curtains on the menu made to look like a stage and songs from a variety of musicals softly playing overhead while you dine.

Side dishes included seasonal fresh raw vegetables with ranch, italian pasta salad, soup, coleslaw and macaroni and cheese, among others.

We had enough time to notice and enjoy the atmosphere without becoming anxious about the order, waiting less than 15 minutes for our food to arrive.

The grilled turkey panini was warm to the touch and steam rose from the cup of vegetable minestrone soup.

The turkey panini was definitely a mouth pleaser, with melted provolone cheese and chipotle mayonnaise on sourdough bread, the turkey was reminiscent of a freshly-baked Thanksgiving day bird, moist and thick-cut.

A lover of soup, I couldn’t resist ordering the minestrone with my sandwich.  While nothing spectacular, it was a tasty soup garnering no complaints from me.

The macaroni and cheese was a new take on an old favorite.  The cheese sauce was creamy, filling each of the cavatelli, or small shell pasta. Sitting atop the cheesy bowl was a small amount of what tasted like a crushed Cheetos, adding texture and taste to the already delicious dish.

As the lunch hour got under way, the small restaurant quickly filled up. People waited patiently to have their order taken at the counter as conversations filled the room.

If you have some time between classes, have at least $10 in your pocket and a hankering for something fresh and satisfying,  Bravo’s Soup and Sandwich Shoppe should be your next lunch break destination.