When it comes to local restaurants, UW students are faced with hundreds of choices for after- and between-class snacking. The surrounding neighborhood is littered with venues providing student-friendly fare at prices adjusted for college-age income levels.

Consider Flowers, situated on the corner of 43rd street and the Ave. The lunch menu provides a choice of 20 different sandwiches priced at less than $5, with the option of adding fries for a buck or a salad for $1.50. A far cry from the generic, fast-food-like creations at Subway or Quiznos, Flowers' sandwiches are downright gourmet. They are served on hard-crusted grainy French bread and have ingredients like Brie and sun-dried tomatoes or flank steak. The salad is dressed in a tangy balsamic vinegarette and the fries (a huge departure from the rest of the otherwise healthy meal) are remarkably reminiscent of Dick's Drive-In.

If you have a little more in your pocket, $8.50 buys you a trip (or several) to the lunchtime vegan buffet, a multi-ethnic smorgasbord of mostly Asian and Mediterranean fare including a variety of vegetable dishes, spicy curry noodles, dolmas, couscous, pita breads, different types of humus, falafel and lightly dressed salads. The food is attractively displayed in the center of the restaurant, and it takes several return trips to sample each unique dish.

This buffet is a big draw for vegetarian and vegan students. Emily Manahan, a junior studying nutrition who has been vegetarian since she was a teenager, cites Flowers as a great option for students struggling to find a good meatless lunch.

"Even around the U-District, you have to be creative. Flowers is a perfect place because you don't have to put the meal together—they do it for you," Manahan said, adding that she often recommends Flowers to friends and classmates. In addition to the buffet, several of the offered sandwiches are also vegetarian.

Flowers owner Fadi Hamade, who has owned the restaurant since it opened in 1992, has always put a high priority on offering good vegan food.

"My mother has been a vegan for 35 years," Hamade said. "She's in her 80s and still kicking."

Hamade is Lebanese and grew up in the multicultural hub of New York City, which has infused Flowers' multiethnic and constantly evolving menu.

Perhaps most notable about Flowers, however, is the restaurant itself. An unremarkable classic brick exterior — once an actual florist's shop — houses a unique and ornate interior of brightly painted tables, hanging lights, faux grape vines and a myriad of little oddities right down to the carved wooden animals that dwell on or around the bar —knickknacks Hamade picked up in Indonesia. The mirrored ceiling creates a dual reality while also allowing diners to check out their fellow patrons' hairlines, and the giant picture windows on the north and east afford a perfect opportunity for people watching.

Flowers' main weakness is its service. Even though the buffet is essentially do-it-yourself, be prepared to flag down servers in order to ask for drink refills or for the check, as the lunchtime wait staff will leave you feeling largely ignored.

At night, Flowers and its patrons become much more bar-oriented. The 4-6 p.m. happy hour offers relatively cheap beers and spirits, but no reduction in the price of food. Once transferred over to the dinner menu, Flowers also becomes much pricier. The best deals are the happy hour drink specials, which feature a different drink for each day of the week.

In the evenings, the place is still mostly occupied by students, so the bar atmosphere is youthful and lively. The bar staff is friendly and much more attentive than the lunch staff, and bar patrons seem to enjoy intermingling with one another. This friendly vibe has no doubt contributed to the NWSource's Food and Drink Section naming Flowers "the favorite 'hang bar' in the U-District."

However, the dinner menu doesn't quite meet the expectations of the big spike in prices, and if you sit outside the bar, expect the same dismissive service you received at lunchtime. In short, Flowers is great for lunch and early evening cocktails, but you might want to just head home for dinner.

Reach Intermission reporter Siv Prince at arts@thedaily.washington.edu.