COFFEE TALK in Orange Park

A place that serves great coffee, delightful breakfast and tasty pastries is a place you want to know more about, amiright? The Urban Bean Coffeehouse Cafe, a bright spot in Orange Park, has it all and more.

The sizeable location has a cool, industrial look with raw concrete floors and large glass display cases for their many baked goods. They serve breakfast all day and their lunch menu is pretty clutch too, with a variety of sandwiches, salads and sharable (or not–your call) snackable items.

We’ll start with breakfast, as most normal people do. A standard, the Bagel Breakfast Sandwich, was up to bat first. They make their bagels in house and this one included an awesome stack of cheese, egg and bacon on a fresh toasted bagel. This breakfast sandwich definitely hits the spot. Stepping it up a little, the Breakfast Black Bean Burrito ($4.99) is a great deal, filled with scrambled eggs, brown rice, black beans, cheddar and cilantro wrapped in a spinach tortilla tucked in a bright green wrapper. It’s definitely a breakfast, or early lunch, that sticks to your ribs and keeps you going throughout the day.

A mix of traditional and new flair, the Mexicali Omelette ($7.99) features fluffy eggs with chicken breast, onion, tomato, guacamole, green chili pepper, smothered in Monterey jack cheese. The omelette was delicious but didn’t have a lot of chicken; the eggs made up for the extra protein, though. As it’s a Mexican style omelette, you’ll also get a side of sour cream and salsa.

For lunch, I went with the Park Avenue Sandwich ($7.89) ham and cheese with onion jam on asiago white bread. They got me with the caramelized onions, my favorite, but the jam turned out to be a little too sweet for my savory sandwich wants. They have several sharable options as well, like their Deluxe Hummus Plate ($8.49) and the Ultimate Guacamole ($8.49). Honestly, though, the price is a little high for a bowl of roasted pepper hummus topped with diced tomatoes and marinated feta served with baked pita points. Nevertheless, this could totally be a lunch if you’re really into hummus. It wasn’t as creamy as a Mediterranean place would make it, but it did have a homemade feel; you could tell it was made in house with love.

We touched briefly on the dessert case selection, and our final decision wasn’t easy. The pumpkin doughnut stuffed with a pumpkin cheesecake almost won but then I spotted this gooey, caramel situation and that was it. Armed with a fork, I was ready when the Caramel Pecan Pumpkin Bacon Roll came towards me. There wasn’t as much pumpkin as I would have liked, but the caramelized pecans and bacon were present and at attention!

The coffee and tea selection is also standout at The Urban Bean. Their house made loose leaf teas are gorgeously presented and you can’t help but want one. I ordered the Jasmine Green and delighted in a fragrant, delicious, perfect cap to my meal.