Welcoming decor at The Daily Grind in Westbrook. Staff photos by Aimsel Ponti
Happiness is finding a new-to-me spot with tasty sandwiches and a massive amount of caffeine-intake options. That happened this month at The Daily Grind in downtown Westbrook.
Not only is there a coffee house, but behind it is a drive-through building, not much bigger than one of those Fotomats popular in the ’70s and ’80s, that operated on its own for most of its 17 years. A year after Joe and Sue Salisbury bought the business in 2016, they opened the coffee house, just steps away.
The colorful drive-through portion of The Daily Grind in Westbrook.
I initially hit the drive-through in search of a sandwich and was told by someone friendlier than Santa Claus that those were available in the coffee house. About 47 seconds later I walked through the front door.
Bathed in natural light from a wall of windows, the decor included a wall of exposed brick with a display of vintage suitcases I wanted to steal, a shelf of books available for perusal, and some well-placed plants, fresh flowers and artwork. There’s a row of seats that look out on Main Street, a community-type table and a leather couch with a round coffee table, and a pair of wing-back chairs. It looked quite comfortable.
Sandwiches on the chalkboard menu included chicken pesto, honey BBQ chicken, chicken parm and the Salty Sue (turkey, salami, pickle, cheese and mayo on a sub roll). You can also choose from a quesadilla, custom paninis, wraps and two daily soups from Kamasouptra.
I want to say it was about 15 years ago that I started noticing the turkey sandwich with stuffing and cranberry sauce appearing on menus of several restaurants, and it’s been a go-to ever since. At The Daily Grind it’s called the Gobbler, very reasonably priced at $6.99. I ordered mine to go on white bread without the cranberry sauce.
While I waited for my sandwich, which only took a few minutes, I playfully gave the woman waiting on me a hard time about the fact they didn’t have music on (the Pandora wasn’t working that day). I also had, to quote FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper from “Twin Peaks,” a damn good cup of coffee, which came from Coffee by Design.
The Gobbler sandwich comes grilled at The Daily Grind.
While I was sipping, I made another wonderful discovery: My sandwich was being grilled. It was actually a panini. I managed to miss that when I was looking at the menu, but it made the Gobbler all the more delicious.
The Daily Grind also has breakfast covered with egg sandwiches, avocado toast, breakfast bars, granola, yogurt parfaits and bagels. Baked goods also are in abundance, and I made googly eyes at giant creme horns, a homemade version of a Pop Tart, oatmeal cookies, lemon bars, cinnamon buns, muffins, biscotti and croissants.
But the shining star is the beverage situation, which includes frozen lemonade and Arnold Palmers (half lemonade, half iced tea), fruit smoothies and protein shakes. But as the name implies, coffee is the main event, available in many flavors and variations, including cafe au laits and steamers (steamed milk with a flavor shot). There’s also an espresso-infused drink list featuring the Hammerhead (French roast with espresso) and the Screaming Viking (hot chocolate and coffee). Cold versions of just about everything are available, and soy and almond milk are always on hand.
If time’s an issue, you’re going to love my final piece of info about The Daily Grind: If you call ahead, you can order anything you like and they’ll have it ready for you at the drive-through.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
