my favorite restaurant. bon fresco is a little inconvenient to locate and has a name a and decor that at first struck me as some kind of off-brand panera bread. there my complaints end.
what you've actually got at bon fresco is a covert healthfoodrestaurant and a damn good sandwich shop that your heart will thank you for. its owners don't believe in mayonnaise, bacon, or beef for the most part, and that's a good thing.
sandwiches at bon fresco start with fresh baked bread and either an olive tapenade or a sun dried tomato pesto as a condiment (with a few exceptions). then the sandwich is filled with salad greens and one of many delicious main ingredients (pork tenderloin, chicken breast, brie, tomatoes, salami, brie, hummus, brie). finally, the whole business is thrown back into the oven, where the bread gets even crispier and any cheese on it gets all melty and delicious. all that and a side of potato salad or couscous for $6.50 (drinks extra).
paradoxically, if you're hungry, the salads are a more filling option. for the same price as a sandwich, you can get a special topping (they change daily) like curry chicken salad, persian chicken salad, tuna salad, couscous, or chicken sweet potato salad on top of a generous bed of salad greens. the salads come with a giant piece of fresh baked ciabatta which altogether make for a very filling meal. the special toppings also don't seem to use mayonnaise as a binder, and if they actually do, it's the absolute bare minimum.
now despite all this praise, bon fresco might not be up your alley. you won't enjoy it if you're expecting special sauce or tons of meat to highlight the meal or if you don't like really crispy bread. portions here are reasonable and ingredients are balanced even at their biggest and as i said before, they don't believe in mayonnaise.
calling bon fresco an amazing healthfoodrestaurant would be the very definition of a backhanded compliment. this is an amazing restaurant, period, and it's also probably the healthiest restaurant i've ever been to (aside from a certain mediocre vegan place).
i'm going to come out an say it; this is my favorite restaurant ever. you should eat here if you're at all curious. especially if you work in columbia.