By Rob Lawson

The Jazz Company Cafe, located on Colorado Street in downtown Prior Lake, lives up to its name, with a relaxed atmosphere, full of cultural and artistic décor, as well as the fresh aroma of coffee. The walls and ceiling are painted shades of light beige that contrast nicely with darker cool browns. The furniture, new but seemingly retro, is stainless steel, patio-type ware. The chairs, backed with leathery, orange cushions sit by tables with shiny, kaleidoscope-like tabletops.

The company’s logo, in the form of a 3-D sculpture, hangs on a wall. There are a few small decorative pieces of art hanging on the walls of the cafe, including clay sculptures and small painted canvases like the one that hung next to my table. The piece, by fine artist Krista M. Cuellar, sells for $110. The eatery sits in front of a large, floor-to-ceiling type of window, next to the entrance door, giving the place an airy open feeling.

It was 7:30 at night and I was looking for dinner. I ordered a large Vault energy drink and decided to start the meal with a salad. I chose the Jazz Co. Asian Chicken Salad. The menu read, "Fresh lettuce, chicken, almonds, noodles and our signature Asian Zip dressing." The salad was certainly zippy. It was very rich tasting, sort of tangy. It was delicious. I’m going to guess that the Asian Zip dressing was maybe a sesame vinaigrette concoction, but I can’t really be sure.

For my main entrée, I went with the Pesto Cream Pasta, which initially I thought was going to be dissatisfying because the top layer of penne noodles were a bit crunchy, sort of stale in texture. However, when I dug further into the pasta I discovered a gushy, creamy heap of incredible taste. It was very smooth and delicate tasting, reminiscent of a bistro entrée. It was the perfect consistency; not too creamy. The vegetables, asparagus, artichoke and sun dried tomatoes were cooked to near perfection, too: not too crunchy, not too soft. Though, one who enjoys spicy, exotic, zesty, "lively" food may find this dish too bland. Both dishes were served with deli-baked dinner rolls, which I can only describe as magnificent.

The Jazz Co. Cafe serves numerous flavors of sorbet and a dozen gelato flavors. So for dessert, I fancied the blueberry butter cookie gelato. I indulged in this wonderful blend of sweet, fruity frost cream with chunks of soft breadcrumb-like texture beneath. Coffee aficionados might want to order an Americano or latte to accompany dessert.

I must say, I enjoyed the food at Jazz Co. Cafe so much so that I decided to stop in for a breakfast sandwich before work. I ate a delicious Jazz Cafe Chicken & Bacon sandwich, which housed chicken, bacon, cheddar, leaf lettuce, tomatoes and mayo within two pieces of sourdough bread.

Dinner and breakfast were so satisfying the only thing left for me to do is stop by the Jazz Cafe for lunch.

Rob Lawson is a journalism student at Minnesota State University, Mankato and an intern for southwest newspapers and Let’s Go! He can be reached at intern@swpub.com or (952) 345-6585.

Gelato is Italy’s version of Ice cream with several key differences. Gelato has less butter fat, contains less air and is served slightly warmer than ice cream. These attributes make gelato dense, creamy and flavorful.

Jazz Company Cafe

Hours: 7 a.m. - 9 p.m., Monday – Friday; 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Cost: Entrees $1.50-$8.49; desserts $2.25-$10.95; beverages $1.50-$4.10; appetizers/salads $2.35-$6.85

Location: 4616 Colorado St. S. E., Prior Lake

Info: 952-440 3278;

www.jazzcocafe.com