Little Brown Boxes

These, quite innocuous, little brown boxes are familiar to most people who’ve spent even a small amount of time in central Oxford. As the weather warms they become impossible to miss either weighing down the hands of hungry students or, once emptied, filling up the black and gold bins of the city centre. This is not to suggest that in these colder winter days they have disappeared but they are snuck into offices and colleges to be enjoyed in warmer surroundings. And what, you might ask, is to be enjoyed from these little brown boxes? Well they are the product of the α bar in the Covered Market. α bar is a salad bar like no other, in Oxford anyway, offering organic, healthy, incredibly tasty salads, sandwiches and soups. Its small concession at the Market St end of the Covered Market is normally preceded by a fidgeting queue of ponderous customers all contemplating what combination they are going to opt for today. This, you must understand, is a very important decision for the α bar offers you a wide range of choices. Salad options are normally roasted vegetables, couscous, brown rice, green leaf, lentils, fresh tomato and basil, carrot and seaweed and tomato salsa. The mains are chicken, falafel, mackerel, goat’s cheese, tuna, mozzarella and gruyere. Lastly the choice of spreads is hummus, pesto, green olive, black bean and sun dried tomato pesto. I must make special mention of one particular salad option and one main. The coleslaw is unlike any I’ve ever had before. Freed of its mayonnaise the combination of carrots together with red and white cabbage imparts a particularly bitter-sweet taste to your little brown box. When it comes to mains the soy-sauce marinated tofu is the best tofu I have ever eaten. Its saltiness is complimented by its smooth interior and chewy exterior. I have a sneaking suspicion this exterior is a result of it being grilled and then marinated but there is part of me that likes the mystery and “guess-how-it-is-made” game that I play (sadly with myself) when I eat it so thus far I have resisted asking the staff how it is made. This brings me onto another reason why I enjoy the α bar experience – the staff really seem to like working there. Friendly and informed about what they are serving they are always willing to suggest combinations or oblige unusual pairings. My particular oddity is a toasted spelt bread sandwich with carrot and seaweed, tofu and black-bean. The thin spelt bread benefits from the added crunch and sweetness the toasting provides whilst the aromatic nature of the black-bean spread contrasts and compliments the saltiness of the tofu. Meanwhile the carrot and seaweed provides crunch and just the right amount of moisture. I am not suggesting that it is everyone’s taste but in these rainy days it’s warming, tasty and exciting. There are other options I could recommend (anything with goat’s cheese works for me) but the joy of α bar is the choosing and I wouldn’t want to deprive anyone of that experience by making to many suggestions. One last thing to point out is that on both salads and sandwiches the staff will ask if you want to finish it of with some (free) seeds. This is a mixture of mainly sunflower and pumpkin seeds which are always worth having. In fact they have become so notorious in Oxford that in a nearby dried fruit and nuts shop they sell packets of “α seed mix”!

α Bar, Covered Market, Oxford – from about 10am-4pm

Small salad (3 salads, 1 main, 1 spread and seeds) - £3.25
Large salads (I never have this so don’t know the options or price!)
Sandwiches (1 salads, 1 main, 1 spread and seeds on spelt bread, ciabatta or pitta) - £3.25
Soups, cakes, coffee and other delights also available

UPDATE: Small salads and sandwiches have increased to £3.45

Student discount before midday and after 2pm