By Casey O’Connor
Staff Writer
Families often struggle to agree on a place to go out to eat. The Connector Cafe offers a a wide variety of food that everyone can enjoy.
Everyone has been talking about the new Paleo diet that many people in Westford are experimenting with. Paleo is designed to teach people to learn to cut unhealthy foods out of their lives, such as processed foods, grains, dairy, refined sugars and processed oils. Instead, people are encouraged to eat meats, seafood, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds and olive oil.
The diet is also referred to as “the caveman diet.” The foods a person eats on Paleo are the same as what caveman ate in the Paleolithic era. People usually do the diet for 30 days. After the 30 days, many people choose to continue follow the guidelines of the diet since they have adapted to new, healthier foods.
Along with the diet, many people also do a CrossFit workout. CrossFit is a program that helps improve strength in various ways. At a Crossfit gym, the workouts are changed every day so that the person attending works all different muscles.
Many CrossFit athletes adopt the Paleo diet as a way to improve their strength. Some of the workouts are named after famous people in the CrossFit world. A CrossFit gym usually offers special events to promote the diet. They will turn the diet into a competition; whoever looses the most weight while on the diet wins. They divide the participants up and put them on teams. Teams gain points by working out at the gym, drinking water, and not skipping meals.
The Connector Cafe has a menu designed especially for people on the Paleo diet. Mimicking the way CrossFit workouts are named after people, so are the Paleo meals at the café. The Helen is two turkey burgers served with three scrambled egg whites, sweet potato hash and sliced tomato. This is one of the café’s most popular Paleo dishes.
There are only seven Paleo dishes on the menu, which leaves few options for people on the diet. The cooks are understanding of how difficult it is for a person to have a good meal while on the diet, so they are willing to combine pieces of different dishes into one dinner sized meal that is more appetizing for the customer.
The café also serves food for people who aren’t on the Paleo diet.
Breakfast is served all day, which is great for people who wake up late and still want to go out for breakfast. They offer typical breakfast foods such as eggs and pancakes. If someone doesn’t like the combinations offered, they café gives the option to make a specialized pancake or omelette where a person can choose their desired toppings. The prices on the breakfast menu are low, but the portions are large.
The lunch menu is mainly a wide variety of sandwiches and burgers. They serve any imaginable sandwich, from pastrami to classic ham and cheese. Although they are not usually a favorite, salads and soups are served as well.
Dinner is also served, but with the café’s hours, it is difficult to eat there for dinner. The café is only open until 8 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, and closes at 3 p.m.on all other days. Unless you are going out to dinner on Thursday or Friday, it isn’t possible to get dinner there, which is inconvenient if you are looking to go out to eat while on Paleo.
The cafe also offers catering. They deliver any time after 11 a.m. until closing. A customer can choose a half tray of food, which feeds 10-12 people, or a full tray, serving 20-24 people. The meals are expensive, so it is advised that people pick up their orders to avoid additional delivery costs.
The café is located in Lowell, about a 15 minute drive from Westford. The close proximity and great meals make it a perfect place to take a family, especially those sticking to a Paleo diet.
