Darwin's Ltd. Mt. Auburn Street, Cambridge

"What is that giant Busch sign doing above the Darwin's ltd. sign? Wait, it's part of the sign!" Don't be suprised when you see that as you are walking up Mt. Auburn street just past Harvard Square. It really is Darwin's, not a cheap bar.

Alright, so I went to Darwin's on Thursday, but not for coffee. Actually I didn't even know they had coffee (my bad). Then I went inside and got a sandwich and still didn't know they had coffee. It wasn't until I went searching for a place to sit that I saw the other half of Darwin's, the coffee half! Immediately I was in heaven. As you know, the combination of coffee and sandwiches is right up there with chocolate and peanut butter, or artichokes and parmesan, or wine and cheese! So what did I do? I ordered an iced latte. 

I'm always torn when ordering iced lattes. The healthy side of me says to go with soy or skim milk while the indulgent side of me says to go with whole milk. (Could that be a battle between my ID and Super Ego?). On Thursday I went with the whole milk, and boy was it a good choice (good work, ID). In fact, it was so good that it has me doubting my usual choice of skim milk. Something about whole milk in an iced (not hot) latte adds sweetness to the drink. I must say, this is one of the best iced lattes I have had. I understand that this is a bold statement, but I stand by it. The iced latte can go very wrong if the espresso is not done right, and will end up tasting burnt or sour. Thankfully, neither of which were an issue at Darwin's (thank you Mr. Barista man).

OK, now to the sandwiches which are a-mazing. I had the vegetarian special with roasted eggplant, roasted red peppers, goat cheese, chipotle mayo, a vinaigrette dressing, and some other delicious veggies on focaccia bread. With the special sandwiches, Darwin's has a few different sizes (made fresh that day), and you pay by the pound. In addition to sandwiches, there is a wide variety of chips, snacks, fruit, for-purchase deli items, wine, and beer. Beware, because if you don't have a Massachusetts ID they require your passport if you want to purchase booze. Darwin's takes credit cards in the main deli section but not in the cafe. If you are using a credit card, you have to pay at the deli counter and bring the receipt to the cafe as proof of purchase. Seating is limited but they do have benches outside which are nice for people watching and eating on a nice day. However, if it is cold out, you're out of luck.