Hot Lunch: Coffee Call

The colder winter months may have Baton Rougeans seeking beignets and hot chocolate at a fast clip these days, but Coffee Call has more to offer than the sweet stuff. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, the beignet masters serve up soups ($4), salads ($4.50 small, $6.30 large) and po-boys ($6.60), too. Although the menu is simple, the food is full of flavor and love. Coffee Call rotates 15 different soups, including a hearty vegetable beef and a chicken and sausage gumbo that will have you leaving early for lunch on Thursdays. Fresh lettuce and crisp tomatoes wait to be topped with other ingredients, but the best thing to top your salad with is Coffee Call’s House Italian Vinaigrette. If you’re not hankering for a soup and salad, dig into one of seven po-boys. While the French Dip is a favorite, the Baton Rouge is sop-worthy and delicious. Its roast beef is drenched in brown gravy and topped with cabbage and a drizzle of Creole mustard. The indecisive can have a mini po-boy and soup or salad for $8. With call-ahead ordering, this can be a fast and flavorful lunch.—Shelia De Guzman