The city of Jerusalem is known in Arabic as “Al Qud.” Chattanooga has had a little piece of Middle Eastern flavor in our area for quite awhile with University Pizza and Deli (UPD), a Vine Street student haunt and all around favorite owned by Akram. Now Akram has a new project a few feet away with his Al Quds Café and Gelato.
Like the dining area at UPD, Al Quds has pictures of Jerusalem and Middle Eastern art inside its interior. While the presence of these objects blends with objects of student life at UPD, the objects in Al Quds are set to blend with a traditional coffee house type décor.
The space that Al Quds occupies used to be the home of Coffee Crafters who have since moved further down the block to form Toast Café. Like Toast, Al Quds serves breakfast all day, offers a variety of espresso drinks and has several different kinds of sandwiches. The styles of food at Al Quds range from Italian, to Middle Eastern to vegetarian. One thing that Al Quds has that no one else around can offer, though, is their handmade, daily changing gelato.
On the Monday we visited, Al Quds was busy with students running in and out for a quick snack or a coffee before the next class. There were also a few folks who looked like they had just finished a day at work and were winding down with espresso and gelato. The gelato flavors of the day were pistachio, strawberry, cheesecake and chocolate. All of these had good color, looked fresh and were sure to be a good cool treat on an unusually muggy October day. Previous gelato flavors featured include a red orange and caramel.
I tried the pistachio gelato. Unlike some ice creams that feature pieces of pistachio in their product, the gelato was devoid of any crunch. It was smooth, simply flavored gelato. The gelato sizes at Al Quds come in small and regular. Small is about a scoop from a traditionally ice cream scooper and a regular is about two scoops. They come in nifty orange and blue dishes with a spatula-like spoon that is ideal for digging into whichever flavor you try.
The coffee of Al Quds is VELO brand. As a coffee novice, all I can really say is that it tasted good to me. I tried an iced coffee and found that the brew needed hardly any cream or sugar before drinking. They can also make custom drinks with soy, different syrups, and other additions to add to that tasty VELO espresso. The equipment at Al Quds is all new and top of the line. The place is also kept very clean by manager, barista, gelato scooper and sandwich maker Heidi Vasterling.
If patrons of Al Quds decide to stay and enjoy their treats, there is plenty of seating inside, with church-like pews and tables lined against the wall. There’s also a television screen that displays the music that is playing from a Pandora music station. Outside, there are tables and chairs. As far as food, there is a nice variety that ranges from snacks to full breakfasts or lunches. There is a different daily muffin, such as the carrot muffin with pieces of cherry and walnut that was offered on the day I visited. Their muffins are baked in house and from scratch. They also make sure to include a daily muffin without nuts for those with allergies. Breakfast selections at Al Quds cover anything that can be slapped on a bagel, including eggs, bacon, vegetables, cheeses, etc. There is also a breakfast item named “The Tiff” that comes on an onion bagel, with pesto, tomato, pepper jack cheese and fresh scrambled eggs.
The sandwiches at Al Quds also cover a variety of tastes. Choose a meat, cheese or vegetable filling. All selections are written in true café style on a wall behind the barista counter on a chalkboard. Al Quds is still the new kid on the block as far as Vine Street businesses goes, and there are going to be many additions to the menu, atmosphere and all around offerings of Al Quds.
They are experimenting with different gelato flavors, and there is even talk of a holiday themed pumpkin gelato on the way. There are also fall inspired drinks like the caramel cinnamon latte and the pumpkin spice latte. The good thing about Al Quds is that besides supporting a local business with your patronage, those who eat at the UPD for a dinner of the Middle Eastern, Italian or American variety don’t have to look far for an after dinner dessert and coffee.