TLC Café – Eden Prairie, MN

I had driven by a small realtor-sized restaurant sign in the grass outside this nearby industrial strip mall a hundred times and never heard anyone talk about the TLC Café. Well, since it’s one minute from my work, I decided I would find out about this place. To find the TLC Café, you have to turn into the industrial strip mall and drive down a narrow alleyway like you’re going behind it to the loading docks. That’s where TLC Café is at. You won’t see it until you’re right on top of it. 7264 Washington Avenue S. in Eden Prairie, but the GPS will get all kinds of confused because TLC is behind all the buildings.

The inside looks like an industrial warehouse with some sheetrock thrown up for walls. It’s painted and decorated nicely, but it’s kind of like a movie set - look above the walls and there’s exposed beams and wiring and girders for another 20 feet. There’s a good sized eating area in and amongst large cases of silverware and plates and other things I’m assuming they use for the catering side of the business. It’s a really odd environment.

You order up at the counter when you first walk in. You can see the sandwich options on the menu boards above the counter and there’s a good variety of standard deli sandwiches and then some more advanced options to order. I ordered a Grilled Supreme Focaccia. However, they were out of focaccia, so I got it on multigrain wheat. It’s a bit confusing here after you order. You can grab yourself a drink and chips and then you pay. Then you go back to the pick-up window and wait for your sandwich to appear.

The sandwich was a regular-sized sandwich but it did look quite tasty.

It was turkey, ham, tomato, pepperjack cheese, chiptle mayo, and of course bacon. I think it was around $7 for a soda, chips and a sandwich. The bread had a nice coating of butter from the grilling it and the meat was really good. Nothing fancy, but it was a good sandwich. Regular Lay’s chips rounded off the meal and there was a hidden pickle (twss) underneath the paper of the snack plate it came in.

This place won’t blow you away, but it’s a good sandwich and it’s super close to my work. I’ll probably go back, now that I know where it’s at and can find it.

Top 5 things about TLC Café
1. Decent sandwich
2. Really close to work
3. Good variety on the menu with some daily non-sandwich specials
4. Staff are really nice and friendly
5. They have Dew

Bottom 5 things
1. It’s a standard sandwich and chips for $7
2. They were out of focaccia
3. This place is super hard to find
4. Bit confusing for a first-timer
5. Feel like I’m eating in a warehouse because I AM eating inside a warehouse