Road Tips

The End of an Era

On October 1st of this year, the family who owned the Newton Maid-Rite retired.  Dan and Pam Holtkamp had owned the Maid-Rite for over 51 years originally taking over from Bud and Marty Holland on May 4, 1970.  The Holtkamps owned the business longer than the previous five owners combined for the 95-year-old Maid-Rite. In September of this year, the Holtkamps sold the Newton Maid-Rite to Mike and Pam Brown who also own a recreational vehicle dealership in nearby Colfax, IA.  

The Browns will carry on the legacy the Holtkamps cemented during their tenure in the business that was opened in 1926 by Fred Angell, the founder of the Maid-Rite sandwich.  For the uninitiated, Maid-Rite's are basically loose ground beef sandwiches and have been a staple in Iowa for years.  There a handful of corporate-owned Maid-Rite restaurants around the state, and there are still others that were affiliated with the Maid-Rite brand in the past that feature loose meat sandwich on their menu - such as Taylor's Maid-Rite in Marshalltown, Ross' in Bettendorf, and the Canteen Lunch in Ottumwa.   At one point in time, over 400 Maid-Rite restaurants existed in Iowa and surrounding states.  Today, there are less than 30 corporate-owned Maid-Rites spread out over 5 states.  

Fred Angell opened his first Maid-Rite in Muscatine, IA in 1921.  He didn't really have a name for the place, but one of this customers remarked, "Fred, this sandwich is made just right!"  Angell adopted the term, changing the spelling to Maid-Rite and his wife came up with a logo of a lady with broom - the Maid-Rite Maiden - for the Maid-Rite Hamburg restaurant.  

Angell was looking for a second place to put restaurant and was focusing on communities that had a primarily blue-collar base.  Newton's Maytag Company was a logical choice as the company was growing by leaps and bounds due to their innovative wringer washing machines.  Angell opened the Newton Maid-Rite in 1926.  

The original building was a stucco and wood structure with two entrances on the front side. To get from one side of the counter to the other, patrons would have to walk out the front door on the one side and re-enter in the door on the opposite side.  Angell ran the Newton location for six months before selling it to Gus Foster.  

In the meantime, Angell opened a third Maid-Rite a year later in the town of Marshalltown, 30 miles north of Newton, home to the Lennox Furnace Company (now Lennox International).  Angell then sold the Marshalltown location to Newton resident Cliff Taylor in 1928 for just $300.  The original Muscatine site for Maid-Rite closed in 1998 making the Newton Maid-Rite the longest continuous Maid-Rite in existence.  

Gus Foster ran the Maid-Rite in Newton until 1937 when he sold it to Ethel Shelley, who was described as a "colorful lady."  I remember talking to older people in Newton years ago who remembered Ms. Shelley for her sharp tongue and a blunt demeanor, but who had a heart of gold underneath her gruff exterior.

In 1944, Cliff Taylor passed away and his son, Don, took over Taylor's Maid-Rite in Marshalltown. Don Taylor then bought the Newton Maid-Rite from Ethel Shelley later that year.  A young man by the name of Quentin "Bud" Holland who worked for the Taylor family in Marshalltown was asked to move to Newton to run the operation there. Bud and his wife, Marty, moved to Newton where they raised two girls, Mardy and Chris.  Bud and Marty Holland eventually purchased the Maid-Rite in Newton from Don Taylor in 1958 and promptly renamed it Bud's Maid-Rite. 

In 1962, the front half of the Maid-Rite in Newton was reconstructed. While it was being built, patrons ate in a screened in room in the back of the building. The locals referred to it as "the shack in the back."  After the renovation, it became the present day building with a single entrance in the front.  

In 1964, Mardy Holland was a junior in high school and her younger sister, Chris, was a sophomore. Bud and Marty decided to add a room in the back of the building.  This became sort of the defacto "teen center" in Newton. It had a serving counter in back, a jukebox and booths for the teen-aged kids to hang out. With sisters who were Mardy and Chris' age, I remember this part of the Maid-Rite very vividly and with fondness. It was the place to go if you were a teenager - and younger - in Newton in the mid-to-late 60's. 

In 1970, Bud and Marty retired and sold the Maid-Rite to Dan and Pam Holtkamp. The Holtkamps had moved to Newton in 1968 as Dan had taken a job as an accountant for the old Parsons Manufacturing. They fell in love with Newton and wanted to make the town their permanent home to raise their kids. The Holtkamps jumped head first into the business. Dan had a degree in business and one of the golden rules in business school is not to tamper with success. The Holtkamps did little to the Maid-Rite after they took over and the transition was smooth. In fact, for years people still referred to the Maid-Rite as just "Bud's".

Pictured at right - Dan and Pam Holtkamp (seated in center) and the Maid-Rite staff after they took over in 1970. I definitely recognize some of the other faces in this picture.  Photo courtesy Newton Maid-Rite Facebook page.

About the biggest change the Holtkamps did was to take out the teen room in the back, then change that into a full service seating area and open a back entrance to the restaurant. They also put in a drive-up window for people to get their Maid-Rites, fries and shakes. The Holtkamps also introduced a smaller Maid-Rite - the Joey Rite (named after their son) - for smaller appetites. The Danielle Special (named after their daughter) was a Joey Rite, small soft drink and ice cream. The Holtkamps also put in the Jaarsma Connection, a small counter in the back of the restaurant that served fresh Dutch pastries from the Jaarsma Bakery in Pella, IA.

One thing that Dan did not do was change the way the meat was prepared at the Maid-Rite. He told me one time that he doesn't use any seasonings in his meats, the same way his predecessors did in their day.  And the key is that he buys his meat from the same supplier who Bud Holland was using for years before Dan became the owner. Dan continued to grind his own beef daily in the basement.  The taste of the Newton Maid-Rite comes from the old steamer that is used to cook the meat.  The steamer has been internally seasoned over the decades that it's been used to make countless Maid-Rites. The only thing that is added is a little bit of salt added to the top of the meat before the Maid-Rite is wrapped up and served to customers

About 10 years ago, I happened to stop in Newton for a Maid-Rite and was warmly greeted by Dan Holtkamp similar to the dozens of times he had greeted me when I would stop in since I had moved from Newton 30 years ago.  He told me then, "You know, I'm 72 years old and I have owned this business for 41 years.  If I can hang on for another five years - and I fully intend in doing so - I'll have owned this place longer than the previous owners combined."  Well, not only did Dan make it another 5 years, he tacked on 5 more years for good measure!

It was in late September when I was driving through Newton on my way to Kansas City and I wanted to stop in one last time while Dan and Pam still owned the business to have a Maid-Rite.  I took a seat at the counter and ordered up a Cheese-Rite - basically a Maid-Rite with a slice of American cheese on top of the loose meat.  

Some things in life change, but Maid-Rites at the Newton location do not.  Oh, they're smaller than they used to be and they're more expensive.  But it is still served on a plain white bun, garnished with chopped onions and pickle slices, while the ketchup and mustard are applied to the bun with a mixing spatula.   With a metal spatula the loose meat from the steam bin is generously scooped onto the bun and placed on a sheet of wax paper.  The assembly process is pretty interesting to watch, especially during busy times.  The "run-over" of the ground meat is one of the nice little touches and every Maid-Rite is served with a spoon to scoop up the excess meat after you finish the sandwich.  

Dan came out of the back and did a double take when he saw me seated at the counter finishing up my Maid-Rite.  He came over and we started to talk.  I reminded him of what he had told me 10 years prior about wanting to own the place as long as the previous owners combined.  I said, "Well, you sort of blew that out of the water!"  

He said, "I made it to 46 years and I thought, 'What the heck? I may as well shoot for 50!'"  He looked fit and healthy for a guy of 82 years old.  

I asked him what he was going to do in his retirement and he said that he had two granddaughters in the Kansas City area who are pretty good basketball players and he and his wife were wanting to go down and watch some of their games.  "The oldest one is very good," he was telling me.  "She's got some offers to play college ball.  But the younger one may even be better."  

Dan told me that he was planning on sticking around helping with the transition past the October 1 sale date.  "Mike is going to do exactly the same thing that I did when I took over - nothing."  Dan said that he is keeping the same staff and said that Mike has installed two of Dan's longest employees as co-managers of the business.  "He's still going to have his business in Colfax, so he'll have to spend some time over there.  I don't think there's going to be much different around here other than Pam and I won't be here."  

There was an open house at the Maid-Rite on September 25 to fete the Holtkamps in their retirement.  Dan told me that the place was packed with well-wishers all day.  "But it was draining, and somewhat bittersweet," he said in a matter-of-fact manner.  Then his familiar smile returned as he said, "But it was fun."  

Before I left, I thanked Dan for helping me gain weight all these years.  "Aw, come on," he protested.  "You look great!"  We shook hands, we gave each other a hug, and I told him to have fun watching his granddaughters play basketball.  

Generations of families have enjoyed Maid-Rites from the Newton Maid-Rite.  It's the place where dozens of teenagers worked for the Holtkamps over the years.  It's the first stop for many people when they return to Newton.  It's always interesting to see who has signed the chalk board on the east wall of the establishment during class reunion weekends.  People come and go, but the Newton Maid-Rite has maintained a consistency over its 95 years in business.  Dan and Pam Holtkamp have carved out their own legacy enduring tough times after Maytag left Newton in 2007.  But they made it through the uncertainty and they rightly deserve the retirement they worked so hard for over the last 51 years.  It was quite the run. 

Schwartz's Deli - Montreal, QC

With the pandemic still going on - but with a glimmer of light now appearing at the end of a long tunnel - I haven't been able to travel for work for nearly a year.  To keep Road Tips relevant, I've gone back into the archives to republish some of the more memorable restaurants on my trips over the years.  Over the past month - with winter's fury hanging on deep into February - my wife and I have been hunkering down at night on our couch under blankets catching a few things on TV.  

One of the shows that we got deep into is Somebody Feed Phil, a wonderful program on Netflix if you like travel to interesting places to get food - like we do.  Starring Phil Rosenthal - an actor, writer and producer mainly known for developing the highly successful Everybody Loves Raymond television program which ran from 1996 to 2005 - Somebody Feed Phil follows Rosenthal in his quest to exotic places and cities around the world to learn more about local cuisine.  One of his stops was in Montreal - one of the great food cities in the world.  And one of his stops in Montreal was at the world-famous Schwartz's Deli - a place that I wrote about on Road Tips in 2013.  After watching that part of the episode and excitedly showing my wife where we sat in Schwartz's when my colleagues and I were there nearly 8 years ago, I decided to repost the entry on Schwartz's Deli and relive my introduction to their famous smoked meat sandwich that one day.  

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I like it when my boss calls us to Montreal for a meeting.  I like it even more when he calls the meeting when the weather is nicer than it is in mid-December, such as the two previous times I went up there.  The night before we were to all meet in Montreal a few weeks ago, my colleague, Ian, e-mailed that he was going to have a smoked beef sandwich at Schwartz's Deli in the heart of Montreal for lunch the next day.  I was familiar with Schwartz's and immediately replied that I was in for it, as well.  After getting through customs, and along with my colleagues Matt and Chris, we met up with Ian at Montreal Trudeau International Airport for a trip to Schwartz's Deli.

Schwartz's was opened in 1928 by Romanian Jewish immigrant Reuben Schwartz.  The original name of the place was "Montreal Hebrew Deli" before becoming simply known as "Schwartz's Deli".  Even though he owned the deli for over 40 years, it is said Rueben Schwartz was a very disagreeable man who was not good at running a business.  He was also said to be a gambler, a womanizer, and a man who liked to drink.  Even his immediate family hated him - so much so that he eventually had to move in with Maurice Zbringer, a classically-trained musician who played violin, and Zbringer's wife.  As a sign of appreciation for taking him in, Schwartz made Zbringer a partner in Schwartz's Deli.  And at the age of 75, Zbringer eventually bought the place from Schwartz in 1971.   

During Zbringer's ownership, Schwartz's Deli became profitable and renown for their smoked meat sandwiches - basically they take beef brisket that is cured in water with salt, peppercorns, coriander and sugar.  The meat is cured for 10 days before it is deep smoked for about six hours, then steamed to moisten the meat.  Schwartz's Deli was not the first place to serve Montreal smoked meat.  Local legend has it that Ben's De Luxe Delicatessen was the first to serve the smoked meat sandwiches.  Ian told us that he used to go to Ben's before it closed down a few years ago after being in business for 98 years.  He thought it was the best of the smoked meat sandwiches in Montreal.  But Schwartz's - now by default - is the oldest and most well-known of deli's that serve Montreal-style smoked meat sandwiches.

(I've had a Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich before - in, of all places, Omaha, Nebraska.  Click here to see my entry on the Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich at Brewburgers in Omaha.)   

It's also said that the Montreal Steak Seasoning - a popular spice and herb seasoning that some people (including myself) use to put on steaks - had its beginning at Schwartz's.  Legend has it that back in the 1940's a broiler cook by the name of Morris "The Shadow" Sherman began to season steaks with the pickling seasoning Schwartz's used to season their briskets.  The basic spices and herbs were garlic, coriander, dill weed, black pepper, cayenne pepper and salt.  Customers liked it so much that other deli and steak places in Montreal began to use it.  The Montreal Steak Seasoning is available in most grocery stores in the spice area, or you can order it directly from Schwartz's web site or you can also get it from Amazon.  (Click on this link that takes you to the Schwartz's Montreal Steak and Beef Seasoning on Amazon.)     

Maurice Zbringer was in poor health for the later years of his life, but he took a lot of the profits out of the business to fund free music concerts around the Montreal area.  After his wife passed away, he had a professional caretaker - Armande Toupin Chartrande - that looked after him and his affairs.  As a token of his appreciation for her service to him in his later years, Zbringer willed the delicatessen to Chartrande.  She ran it from Zbringer's death in 1981 to 1999.

As the pandemic continues - but with a light seemingly glowing at the end of a long tunnel - it's been nearly a year since I've been able to travel for work.  To keep things going on Road Tips, I've gone back in the archives to re-post some of the more memorable 

In 1999, Chartrande sold the business to its accountant, Hy Diamond.  Up to that point, Diamond was the only owner of Schwartz's that had any type of formal business training.  To help alleviate the long lines of people looking to get a quick sandwich to go, Diamond opened a take-out only location next door to the original Schwartz Deli in 2008.    

Diamond owned the business until 2012 when he sold it to a group that included Paul Nakis, owner of the Baton Rouge restaurant chain that started in the Montreal area; Eric and Martin Sara, whose father, Paul Sara, owned the Nickels Deli restaurant chain in Ontario and Quebec; and their aunt and uncle - superstar singer Celine Dion and her (late) husband/manager Rene Angelil.  (Dion and Angelil were also owners in Nickels restaurants from their inception in 1990 until they divested themselves from the company in 1997.)  

Immediately after the nearly $10 million dollar purchase of Schwartz's Deli, rumors abounded that the group was looking to sell franchises.  But Nakis and Angelil have repeatedly said that they are not interested in franchising the Schwartz's Deli concept.  However, earlier this year, the group began to sell pre-cooked vacuum-packed Schwartz's Deli smoked meat in grocery stores in the greater Montreal area.

Schwartz's Deli is located on Boulevard Ste. Laurent in the heart of Montreal. (see map) Boulevard Ste. Laurent is known as the Main Street of Montreal, or simply "The Main" to the locals.  The street features a number of small restaurants, shops and boutiques, and a somewhat Bohemian population.  Because it was a Sunday and there were a lot of people in the area, we were forced to find parking on a side street a couple blocks away from Schwartz's.  (Unfortunately, we unknowingly parked in a No Parking zone.  When we got back we encountered a Montreal parking attendant writing us a ticket. We soon found out that not being able to read the French "No Parking" signs was not a credible excuse to get out of the ticket.)  

We had driven by Schwartz's and noticed the long lines outside the place - something that happens most every day.  Even after 2 p.m., the line was about 25 people deep when we walked up to get in the queue.  It took us about 25 minutes waiting for people to leave and tables to open up.  

(A quick, but important note - Schwartz's is a cash only establishment.  They have an ATM in the back of the restaurant if you don't have any Canadian money on you.) 

Getting up closer to the front door, we saw a pile of cured smoked meat sitting in a refrigerated case in the window.  Chris was wondering what kind of meat it was.  I tried to explain that it started out as beef brisket, but it was neither categorized as corned beef or pastrami.  Chris decided that it was some sort of "mystery" smoked meat.  He was a little leery of trying it, I believe.   

 
We finally got inside and got a table right as you come in the door across from the deli counter.  The small place was packed with people sitting at tables and at the counter.  A waiter weaved his way through the crowd and came to our table with menus.  He took our drink order - no beer at Schwartz's - and the guys got cans of Coca-Cola and I got a water.  

In addition to the smoked meat sandwiches - which seemed like what everyone was ordering in the place - they have turkey, chicken or salami sandwiches available.  Originally, Schwartz's was a steakhouse when Reuben Schwartz opened 85 years ago and they still have steak dinners on the menu.  They have ribeye steaks on the menu and you can also get smoked meat plates if you don't want a sandwich.  I almost got the large smoked meat plate because I'd been hankering for a good corned beef-style sandwich or dinner for quite sometime.   

The traditional order at Schwartz's is a smoked beef sandwich ($6.40 Canadian Dollars), an order of fries, a kosher dill pickle, cole slaw and a Cherry Coke.  That sounded like a lot of food.  When the waiter came back to take our order, I was the first to order.  I ordered a smoked beef sandwich, fries and a pickle.  The waiter asked me how I wanted the sandwich.  I looked at him quizzically and he explained, "You can get it lean, medium, medium-fat or fat."  I figured fat would be brisket with a lot of the fat still on the meat, so I went with medium.  I understand medium-fat is one of the more popular choices among the regulars who go to Schwartz's.   

Everyone else at the table followed my lead and went with the exact same thing.  And it didn't take long for our sandwiches appear at the table.  The meat was piled high on the rye bread with sandwich halves teetering precariously on top.  Yellow mustard comes on the sandwich.  

I took a bite of the meat without the bread and it was moist and tender, but it was missing that corned beef or pastrami "pizazz".  There wasn't much of a smoky taste to the meat, nor did I get much of a salt or peppercorn taste to the meat.  It wasn't that it was dull in taste, it was different that what I expect in a cooked beef brisket.  Maybe the steaming takes some of the taste out of it.  The Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich I had in Omaha was more like a corned beef sandwich.  While the sandwich at Schwartz's was similar in look and texture, it was missing that little bite in taste that I like in a good cured brisket sandwich.  

I will say the French fries were pretty damned good, however.  Whatever they cooked them in gave them an excellent taste.  They were a bit soggy, but were loaded with great flavor.  My sandwich was good, but the fries were great.  I purposely didn't eat any breakfast that morning so I devoured my sandwich, my fries and the large kosher dill pickle with ease.  

Schwartz's Deli is one of those places you have to experience at least once if you're seeking historic places to eat.  My sandwich was fine, but not the earth-shaking taste sensation that I had hoped it would be.  The reactions of my two colleagues who had never had a Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich before were "Yeah, it was good," to "Aaah, yeah, I guess it was all right."  But we decided it probably wasn't anything that we'd stand in line for again.  Overrated?  Possibly.  But it was still cool to give Schwartz's Deli a try. 

 

Maid-Rite (Mr. Dan's Sandwich Shop) - Newton, IA

I haven't been able to travel since mid-March - and subsequently eat out in restaurants - due to travel restrictions and the suspension of dining-in at restaurants.  Because of that, I'm out of new material to share on Road Tips for the time being.  However, I decided to start a - hopefully - short series of looks back at some interesting places that I've visited over the past nearly 15 years of Road Tips.  

Today, we look back at the oldest continuous Maid-Rite sandwich shop in existence.  Although it is no longer a Maid-Rite franchise, the loose-meat sandwiches that are made here are the same as they were back when I started eating them as a child.  The owner, Dan Holtkamp, recently celebrated his 80th birthday and as of this past Monday, he and his wife, Pam, have owned the restaurant for 50 years - more than half of the time this location (now in its 94th year) has been open.  

Please re-enjoy the story of the Newton Maid-Rite, now officially known as Mr. Dan's Sandwich Shop, originally published in May of 2012.

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If there's anything that causes more food arguments in the state of Iowa, it has to be Maid-Rites. Maid-Rites are, quite simply, loose meat beef sandwiches served on buns. It's like a hamburger, only the meat is steamed in bins and falls out on wax paper as you eat them. In the 1900's, nearly every town of any size in Iowa had a Maid-Rite and natives from each of those towns will swear that their local Maid-Rite is the best. I grew up in Newton, IA and the oldest continuous Maid-Rite-style shop is located there. And while the sign out front still says "Maid-Rite", the official name of the place is now Mr. Dan's Sandwich Shop. But to the locals in Newton, it's still the Maid-Rite.

The Newton Maid-Rite has a long and interesting history behind it. Here it is -

After he opened the original Maid-Rite sandwich shop in Muscatine in 1925, Fred Angell was looking for a location to put a second restaurant. He settled upon the Central Iowa town of Newton, home of the burgeoning Maytag Washer Company.  Fred figured the workers would love his loose-meat sandwiches.

The Newton Maid-Rite opened in 1926 and it was originally known as the Maid-Rite Hamburg. The original building was a stucco and wood structure with two entrances on the front side. To get from one side of the counter to the other, patrons would have to walk out the front door on the one side and re-enter in the door on the opposite side.  There was a wooden sign out front cut in the form of a lady with a broom. I believe this may have been the Maid-Rite Maiden that Angell's wife used as the first logo of Maid-Rite shops. Angell ran the Newton location for six months before selling it to Gus Foster. 

Mr. Foster ran the Maid-Rite in Newton until 1937 when he sold it to Ethel Shelley, who was described as a "colorful lady." Some older people in Newton remember Ms. Shelley and fondly remember her running the shop in the late 30's into the early 40's.

Also in 1937, two years after franchising the Maid-Rite name (the first food franchise in the Midwest), Fred Angell decreed that all Maid-Rite's add a seasoning to their meat.  Ms. Shelley and Cliff Taylor, who founded and owned the Marshalltown Taylor's Maid-Rite location since 1928, decided that they didn't want to use the seasoning. I understand they fought Angell who finally backed down on his decree. Actually, I believe every Maid-Rite that was franchised after 1937 had to use the seasoning, but the Newton Maid-Rite and Taylor's Maid-Rite in Marshalltown were "grandfathered" in to not having to use the seasonings.

In 1944, Cliff Taylor passed away and his son, Don, took over Taylor's Maid-Rite.  In the early 50's, Don Taylor bought the Newton Maid-Rite from Ethel Shelley. A young man by the name of Quentin "Bud" Holland who worked for the Taylor family in Marshalltown was asked to move to Newton to run the operation there. Bud and his wife, Marty, moved to Newton where they raised two girls, Mardy and Chris.  Bud and Marty Holland eventually purchased the Maid-Rite in Newton from Don Taylor in 1958 and promptly renamed it Bud's Maid-Rite. 

In 1962, the front half of the Maid-Rite in Newton was reconstructed. While it was being built, patrons ate in a screened-in room in the back of the building. The locals referred to it as "the shack in the back."  After the renovation, it became the present day building with a single entrance in the front.  

In 1964, Mardy Holland was a junior in high school and her younger sister, Chris, was a sophomore. Bud and Marty decided to add a room in the back of the building.  This became sort of the defacto "teen center" in Newton. It had a serving counter in back, a jukebox and booths for the teen-aged kids to hang out. With sisters who were Mardy and Chris' age, I remember this part of the Maid-Rite very vividly. It was the place to go if you were a teenager in Newton in the mid to late 60's. 

In 1970, Bud and Marty retired and sold the Maid-Rite to Dan and Pam Holtkamp. The Holtkamp's had moved to Newton in 1968 as Dan had taken a job as an accountant for the old Parsons Manufacturing. They fell in love with Newton and wanted to make the town their permanent home to raise their kids. The Holtkamp's jumped head first into the business. Dan had a degree in business and one of the golden rules in business school is not to tamper with success. The Holtkamp's did little to the Maid-Rite after they took over and the transition was smooth. In fact, for years people still referred to the Maid-Rite as just "Bud's".

About the biggest change the Holtkamp's did was to take out the teen room in the back, change that into a full service seating area and open a back entrance to the restaurant. They also put in a drive-up window for people to get their Maid-Rites, fries and shakes. The Holtkamp's also introduced a smaller Maid-Rite - the Joey Rite (named after their son) - for smaller appetites. The Danielle Special (named after their daughter) was a Joey Rite, small soft drink and ice cream. The Holtkamp's also put in the Jaarsma Connection, a small counter in the back of the restaurant that served fresh Dutch pastries from the Jaarsma Bakery in Pella, IA.

Today, the back room has pencil sketches on the wall above the booths of the four owners of the Maid-Rite since late 1926 (below left).

One thing that Dan did not do was change the way the meat was prepared at the Maid-Rite. He told me one time that he doesn't use any seasonings in his meats, the way his predecessors did in their day. And the key is that he buys his meat from the same supplier who Bud Holland was using for years before Dan became the owner. Dan continues to grind his own beef in the basement. The taste of the Newton Maid-Rite comes from the old steamer that is used to cook the meat (above right). The steamer has been internally seasoned over the decades that it's been used to make countless Maid-Rites. The only thing that is added is a little bit of salt added to the top of the meat before the Maid-Rite is wrapped up in wax paper.

In 1982, the Angell family sold the Maid-Rite franchises to a company in Des Moines. The Maid-Rite franchise company was eventually bought by a gentleman by the name of Bradley Burt who insisted that all Maid-Rite franchises have uniformity in the way they prepared their sandwiches. He wanted - no, demanded - that all Maid-Rites buy their meat from his company and prepare it in a specific way. Dan Holtkamp and Don Short, the grandson of Cliff Taylor, resisted the changes and were allowed to continue to do business they way they had.

However, in 2006, the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals decided that the bins that the older Maid-Rites around the state used were deemed to be "unhealthy" as they allowed for the cooking of raw meat next to fully cooked meat. This is a process that Maid-Rites have used for well over 70 years, and they usually have a stainless steel partition in the bin to keep the cooked meat from the raw meat. Once the raw meat is cooked through, the partition is removed and the meat is all mixed together. As far as I know, no one has ever gotten sick from this type of cooking method.

Both Short and Holtkamp said that the changeover to new steamers would be cost ineffective for their businesses and Short led the appeal to the state of Iowa to overturn the ruling. However, it was determined that the original Maid-Rites were in violation of the administrative guidelines set forth by the Iowa Department of Inspections. But, both the Newton Maid-Rite and Taylor's in Marshalltown use the same old steamers and cooking process, so I'm guessing they were able to beat the ruling somewhere along the way.

The biggest change happened a few years ago when Dan Holtkamp (pictured right) silently changed the name of his shop to "Mr. Dan's Sandwich Shop". For years, Holtkamp's workers referred to him as "Mr. Dan" and the nickname stuck. Dan is still running the place daily, his big smile and friendly demeanor greeting customers as they come in. Dan told me, "You know, I'm 72 years old and I've owned this place for 42 years. If I'm able to - and I plan on doing it - in five more years I'll have owned this business in the same amount of years that all three of the previous owners owned it."  (Spoiler Alert! - He accomplished it...)

Sadly, one of the biggest changes to Dan's business has been the downturn thanks to the closing of Maytag in 2007. Lunch time at the Newton Maid-Rite was an adventure and scene of much jockeying of seats throughout the place trying to get a Maid-Rite and get back to work at the office or factory. I learned a long time ago that you just don't go to Maid-Rite between noon and 1 p.m. on weekdays. Unfortunately, that isn't the case any longer. Business at the Newton Maid-Rite is still steady, but it's not at the same level that it was years ago.

During Newton High School reunion weekends, the Maid-Rite is overrun by former residents back in town for their class reunions. The blackboard on the east side wall has been there for years announcing food specials, game scores, events and even allowing patrons to post their own notes on the board. The menu boards on both walls, I have to believe, are the same ones that have been in the place since Bud Holland refurbished the place in 1962. The front part of the Newton Maid-Rite hasn't changed much - if any - since the building was reconstructed 50 years ago.

I was passing through Newton on my way home recently and decided to stop in and have a Maid-Rite. Actually, I like their Cheese-rites - basically a Maid-Rite with a slice of American cheese on top. And I love to drink milk with my Maid-Rites and/or Cheese-rites. Don't know where I got that from, but I always order a large milk when I have a Maid-Rite.

The Cheese-rites are wrapped in an outer wrap with yellow stripes to denote the cheese on the sandwich. When the Cheese-rite is unwrapped, the excess meat falls out. A spoon is provided to pick up the loose meat on the wrapper. In the winter time, the Maid-Rite also has chili and it's good chili. What I like to do is get a bowl of chili and pour the excess meat into the chili after I have the Cheese-rite.

Some people will ask for the Maid-Rite/Cheese-Rite moist. I like mine a little dry, just as ordered. Like the original Maid-Rites, everything is mustard, pickle and onion. I put a little ketchup and, surprisingly, a little more salt on my Cheese-Rites before I eat them. I hardly EVER put salt on anything, but I like my Cheese-rites salty. The buns that Dan uses are pretty basic, but it's never really been about the bun at Maid-Rite all the way back to the day of Bud Holland. The meat is the thing that keeps bringing me back to the Newton Maid-Rite.

It's sort of like the people in the Quad Cities who grew up eating Harris Pizza and thinking that it is the best pizza in the world. Being from Newton, I think the Maid-Rites from the Newton Maid-Rite are the best in the world. I will admit there are others who think Taylor's in Marshalltown is better. Of course, there are thousands of natives of Ottumwa who think the Canteen's at the Canteen Lunch are the best. People in Sioux City think the "taverns" at Miles Inn are the best. But I could easily be accused of being provincial when it comes to the Newton Maid-Rite, or more correctly Mr. Dan's Sandwich Shop. It's the oldest and, I think, the best.

Let the debate continue...

Frankie's Deli - Oakbrook Terrace, IL

Last year, my wife and I had to go into Chicago for a weekend wedding.  We decided to go in a day early and spend the night out in the Oak Brook area.  The next day, I had a conference call to participate in and then some work to finish up in the morning and she went to get a pedicure and manicure at a local spa.  She came back around 11:30 and announced that she was hungry.  It didn't surprise me.  She had a light breakfast and I knew that she would be ready for lunch sooner than later as she, as a creature of habit, has to have three meals a day.  Me - I'm still trying to do my OMAD (one meal a day) diet that has successfully helped keep my weight down after my significant weight loss I started over a year and a half ago.  She said she really didn't need anything more than a sandwich and I looked up delicatessens in the immediate area.  One place popped up that sort of intrigued me - an Italian market and cafe by the name of Frankie's Deli.  And it wasn't that far from the hotel.  After packing up our stuff and hauling it out to the car, I punched in Frankie's Deli's address on my GPS and headed in that direction.  

Frankie's Deli celebrated their 55th anniversary last year as Italian immigrant Frank Conforti, Sr. and his wife, Connie, opened their Italian market and deli in 1964 at the corner of Belmont and Central in Chicago.  The couple moved their market/deli to the Yorktown Shopping Center in 1976.  Their son, Frank, Jr. joined the couple in the business not long after that.  A couple years ago, the Conforti's were asked to move out of their spot at Yorktown and they thought they may have to close their place down.  But they were able to find a spot at the corner of Butterfield Road and Midwest Road in Oakbrook Village.  (see map)  After some remodeling and renovations, Frankie's Deli reopened at their new location in July of last year.  Both Frank Conforti, Sr. and Connie Conforti work part-time at the market/deli, but Frank Conforti, Jr. runs the day-to-day operations.  

We pulled into Frankie's during the height of the noon lunch hour rush.  The parking lot was packed, but we were able to find a spot that someone had just pulled out of in front of the building.  We went inside to get an idea of what we needed to do to get a sandwich for my wife.  

We immediately found aisles filled with all different types of canned vegetables, sauces, pastas, olive oil, balsamic vinegar - everything you'd need for an authentic Italian feast.  Glassed cases of freezers held pre-made Italian specialties including Frankie's Deli's lasagna that comes in containers to feed anywhere from a family of four to a gathering of 30.  I understand Frankie's is famous for their lasagna that is made from a recipe Connie Conforti got from her family as a little girl.  

The deli line was understandably long when we got to the deli counter.  The menu for sandwiches and paninis, as well as soups and salads were on the wall behind the meat case.  Deli meats and cheeses which included house-made Italian beef and Italian sausage were also available to order from the deli counter.  They had hot and cold sandwiches available, as well as a muffuletta-style panini with salami, ham and provolone cheese topped with an olive spread.  We placed our order, grabbed a couple waters and paid for it all at the end of the deli line.  

Even though it was a nice day outside, we decided to eat inside.  Frankie's Deli had a small dining area that featured vintage historical pictures of the city of Chicago on the walls.  We took a seat at one of the tables in the room and got settled in.   

My wife decided upon the Italian sub sandwich.  They make them assembly line-style during the noon rush because they're such a popular choice.  It consisted of salami, capicola, and mortadella topped with provolone cheese, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes and onions and finished with a drizzle of olive oil.  For a side, my wife chose the three-bean salad.  

My wife thought the sandwich was good, but she knew she couldn't eat the whole 8" hoagie.  She offered me half of the sandwich and I couldn't say no.  The hoagie bun was chewy, but had great flavor.  The combination of the Italian meats gave it a nice overall taste.  I may have three or four bites of the sandwich before I called it quits.  We were going out for pizza in downtown Chicago that evening and I didn't want to get filled up earlier in the day.  

We're always on the look-out for a good Italian market and having a deli/cafe attached to the place is a plus.  I'm sort of surprised that I never really knew about Frankie's Deli before this visit as my wife and I have been coming to the Yorktown/Oak Brook area for years before I started to come to Chicago on a regular basis for work.  While the food and cafe are nothing fancy, it was obvious from the crowd in there for the lunch time rush that Frankie's doesn't have to be upscale for it to be successful.  But the Italian products - including pre-made items that can be taken home - would cause me to come back and shop at some point in the future.  Frankie's Deli definitely has it all when it comes to Italian food products.   And they make pretty good sandwiches, too.  

Portillo's - Davenport, IA

Over the past year, I have been able to maintain my significant weight loss - although I haven't hit my overall goal, yet.  But I'm keeping it in sight.  But the momentum to keep the weight off has been seriously challenged by the opening of the first Portillo's location in Iowa about a five minute drive from my house.  Now, I've joked (well, worried, more likely) that if they ever opened a Portillo's in the Quad Cities that I'd balloon to over 400 pounds because I love the Chicago-based chain so much for their jumbo hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches.  When they opened in June of this year, my wife and I purposely stayed away from the place as it was a zoo to get in and out of the parking lot for the first few months they were open.  However, on a recent Sunday night where I didn't feel like cooking, my wife and I made the short trek up to 53rd St. in Davenport to Portillo's.  (see map).  

I first wrote about Portillo's on Road Tips nearly 13 years ago.  (You can click here to see the post.)  It was long before I found a voice or a style-substance, or had a camera phone.  In my many trips to Chicago for business - and for pleasure - over the past 20 years, I've always had to stop at a Portillo's to satiate my jones for their food at least once during my visit.  It's far from healthy, but who said that great tasting food has to be healthy?  And while there may be other hot dog and/or Italian beef joints in Chicago that may be better in some eyes, I like the consistency and quality of the food at the Portillo's locations in Chicago. 

Dick Portillo grew up in poverty what would eventually become the Cabrini-Green projects of Chciago.  His father was an immigrant from Mexico, while his mother was an immigrant from Greece.  The family was so poor that his mother had to steal shoes from a nearby department store for one of her three children.  When young Richard Portillo was just five years old, the family was forced to sell his tricycle to help pay for food.  

Pictured right - Dick Portillo in front of a replica of the original "Dog House".  Photo courtesy Portillo's.

Although he was never tested as a child - probably because there wasn't such a test in the late 40's or early 50's - Portillo concluded later in life that he probably had ADHD.  He had trouble focusing in school, he preferred to get in fights rather than learn, and he was a very hyperactive child into his teens.  Barely graduating high school, a week later Portillo joined the U.S. Marines where he served a two-year stint.  

As a Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton in Southern California, Portillo showed his entrepreneurial moxie by working with a friend to transport other Marines to and from Tijuana for a $20 fee.  One time, he ran a stop sign in Tijuana and hit another car.  Knowing that he was in trouble, Portillo high-tailed it to the border, but was stopped by Mexican border guards and arrested.  He tried to bribe the jailer with $50 bucks to release him and his impounded car, but eventually had to spend a day and a half in jail.  That probably wasn't a good feeling for a guy under the age of 21 to have to spend even 10 minutes in a Mexican jail.  

Upon getting out of the Marines, Portillo - who by then was married to his high school sweetheart, Sharon - went through a series of jobs - 14 of them over an 18-month period.  Not happy with any of the jobs he had taken, he saw a business opportunity to open his own hot dog stand.  He asked his wife if he could take the $1100 dollars they had in their savings that would go toward being a small wagon that he could turn into a hot dog stand.   But Sharon was not happy about it - the Portillo's were living in a cramped apartment and she had hoped the $1100 in savings would go toward the down payment on a house for their growing family of a baby boy and another on the way.  However, Sharon's mother encouraged her to let Dick follow his dreams and Sharon finally relented.

Pictured left - Sharon Portillo standing outside of the original "Dog House".  Photo courtesy Crain's Chicago Business

Dick turned to his older brother who was managing a handful of Brown's Chicken restaurants for an additional loan to help get his business off the ground.  With money from savings and a loan from his brother, Dick bought a small trailer - 6 foot by 12 foot - and outfitted it with a peaked roof, a small kitchen and signage.   It had no bathroom or running water.  He got permission to park the trailer in a parking lot of a discount store along North Ave. in the Chicago suburb of Villa Park.  He ran water via a hose from an outdoor water spigot attached to the building.   Knowing that he would literally be in the dog house with Sharon if this all-or-nothing venture didn't work out, it gave his new business "The Dog House" a significant double meaning.  

The only problem was that Portillo didn't know who to make hot dogs.  His hot dogs were overcooked and his steamed buns were dried out.  And he also nearly ran himself out of business on top of that because all the Coca-Cola's he served were coming out green.  It turned out that he had neglected to clean out the water holding tanks after they were installed in the trailer.  

He finally went to a well known hot dog shop nearby - the venerable Gene and Jude's which had been open for 17 years - where Portillo sort of hung out watching their cooking techniques and took note of how they steamed the buns.  (He even snuck into the back room to see what kind of condiments they were buying.)   After figuring out how to get the hang of things, the Dog House was up and running on full steam.  

By 1967, Portillo had decided that The Dog House needed an upgrade and he replaced the original trailer with a new one.  But by 1969, he felt it was time to step up to the plate.   Portillo had felt The Dog House pretty outlived its usefulness as a trailer and a name and he was ready to move to a permanent location.  The first Portillo's location opened later that year and they expanded the menu into burgers and Italian beef sandwiches.  A second location opened in a mall owned by a man who partnered with Portillo to help him expand his business.  

Other concepts followed - Barney's was a barbecue place that was developed by Portillo, and Barnelli's was an Italian-themed place that served pasta and salads.  Some of the Barney's and Barnelli's were stand alone places, but Portillo came up with the idea to combine the two in with Portillo's locations.  It turned out to be a hit with many families who liked the idea where Dad could get an Italian beef sandwich, Mom could get a salad, and the kids could get either a hot dog or a hamburger, all under one roof.  

Not all of Portillo's ideas were successes, however.  In the mid-1990's, he came up with the Key Wester Fish and Pasta House concept in Naples, Florida .  He tried to model it after the fast casual style of Portillo's, and he put a second location in Naperville, IL in 1996.  The restaurants had their ups and downs as patrons didn't like the concept as much as they liked Portillo's.  He closed the Key Wester in 2011.  

Over the years, Dick Portillo became a larger than life figure as the face of Portillo's.  He counted a number of local and national celebrities as friends including Chicago natives Joe Mantegna, Jim Belushi, and Vince Vaughn.  In fact, Mantegna was said to be the one who suggested Portillo put a restaurant in Southern California to answer the cravings former Chicagoans living there had by missing Portillo's.  The first Portillo's location outside of Illinois opened in Buena Park, CA in 2005.  It wasn't long after that Portillo's expanded to the Phoenix area, a second location in Southern California, into Milwaukee and into Northwest Indiana.  The most unique aspect of Portillo's business was that the company owned all the buildings and real estate that their restaurants stood on.  Dick Portillo was a modern day success story taking $1100 out of his family's savings and procuring a small loan from his brother to start his hot dog business in 1963 into one day becoming a multi-millionaire.  

In 2014, Portillo announced that he was interested in slowing down to enjoy life and that he would be selling his restaurants.  He wanted to expand more Portillo's across the nation, but at the age of 74, he just didn't feel like he had it in him to make the significant plunge with his plans.  A large number of suitors lined up for the chance to buy the now-over 40 Portillo's locations and Portillo weeded out many of them after interviewing their ideas for the future of his company.  Finally, he found a worthy buyer - Berkshire Partners of Boston - who he felt encompassed his vision of what he saw Portillo's being in 20 years as the company hoped to expand Portillo's at the rate of five to seven locations annually.  Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but industry analysts guesstimated that it may have been in the ballpark of $1 billion dollars.  

With Portillo stepping down after he sold the company to Berkshire Partners, the first CEO of the new Portillo's was a man by the name of Keith Kinsey.  Kinsey was a native of Moline, IL and attended the University of Illinois getting a degree in accounting.  Kinsey had previous executive experience with Chipotle and Noodles and Company before getting tabbed by Berkshire Partners as the new CEO of Portillo's in 2015.   Kinsey took a hands-on approach with Portillo's learning from the ground up working along side line workers at some of the Portillo's locations in the Chicagoland area.  And he seemed to work well with Portillo who would still show up at some of the grand openings of Portillo locations which were soon found in Minnesota, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Florida.

Almost since Kinsey was hired, rumors abounded in the Quad Cities that a Portillo's would be coming soon to the area.  Kinsey did put a Portillo's in the Champaign-Urbana area near the University of Illinois campus, but it seemed like the plans of putting a Portillo's in the Quad Cities were taken off the table when Kinsey retired in 2018.  

Kinsey was replaced by Michael Osanloo, a Chicago area-native who remarked that probably the first place he drove to when he got his driver's license as a teen was to a Portillo's.  Osanloo had previously been at P.F. Chang's as their CEO after earlier stints working for Kraft Foods and Caesars Entertainment.  (My sister does some part-time work for P.F. Chang's corporate office and she said that Osanloo was a delightful man and she was sorry to see him leave the company.)

Well, it turned out that the Quad Cities had been on Portillo's expansion list for quite sometime and it wasn't long after Osanloo was named CEO that they officially announced in August of last year that a Portillo's would open in Davenport along the very busy 53rd Avenue corridor sometime in the Spring of 2019.  Actually, the news about Portillo's had come out a couple months earlier during a zoning board meeting for a plot of land across from the new Costco which had been bought by a developer which would be used for a number of businesses including a Portillo's.  

While a number of houses were demolished for the new Portillo's and other businesses, residents living near the new site complained that the area couldn't handle the traffic or rainwater run-off that was already evident from Costco opening earlier in 2018.  However, things got sorted out with the nearby neighborhood including a new drainage system with holding tanks that would gradually release rainwater into the storm sewers.  The Davenport Portillo's started a soft opening in late April and it officially opened for business with a grand opening on June 13th of this year.  

Each of the Chicago area Portillo's has a theme to them - some of them have a Prohibition-era theme with signage and pictures from the Roaring 20's.  Some of them have a 50's theme with the decor reminiscent of a 1950's era soda shop along with music from the early days of rock and roll playing in the background.  And you'll also find Portillo's with a 30's theme complete with gangster photos and memorabilia.  The one in Davenport is sort of theme-less.  Oh, it has some old signs that may have been in a car dealership or garage from the 1950's.  It features a painting that gives a nod to Iowa's Field of Dreams.  But most of the signage touts they type of food they sell at Portillo's.   

There's an outdoor seating area at the Davenport Portillo's.  It was a cool night and there weren't many people taking advantage of the patio.  There was also a smaller dining room off to the side of the main dining room that could probably be used as a party room, if needed.  

Just like the other Portillo's, it's counter service where you place your orders, get a number, then head down to a pick-up window where a person yells out whimsical rhymes with the number they're calling.  "Number 32, this one is for you!  Number 48, no more wait!"  The menu consists of, of course, hot dogs, Polish sausage, Italian beef sandwiches, Italian beef and Polish sausage combo sandwiches, grilled or breaded chicken sandwiches, burgers, salads, grilled tuna sandwiches, and a meatball sandwich.  

My wife wanted to try one of Portillo's salads and she got the grilled chicken Caesar's salad.  Served in a standard issue Portillo's plastic bowl (they don't have to wash many dishes at Portillo's), it consisted of five or six strips of grilled chicken on a bed of romaine lettuce topped with croutons, parmesan cheese and a Caesar's dressing.  Cucumber slices and a sliced hard-boiled egg was also mixed in with the salad.  My wife thought it was fine, nothing special.  But she's had the salad at Portillo's in the Chicago area before so she knew what she was getting into.

My standard order at Portillo's is this - "Jumbo hot dog with everything, yes to sport peppers.  An Italian beef with mozzarella with both kinds of peppers, dipped.  And a bottle of water."  I order it so often that I had no trouble sitting here and remembering my usual order.   A jumbo hot dog is just that - a 1/4 lob. Vienna Beef hot dog.  And everything is yellow mustard, chopped onions and tomatoes, with a fluorescent green relish.  A couple of spicy sport peppers and a dill pickle spear finishes off the hot dog which is served on a poppy-seed bun.  I usually take the pickle spear off when I eat the hot dog at Portillo's and nosh on it in between bites.  I didn't expect the hot dog at the Davenport Portillo's to be any different than the ones that are in Chicago.  It had that great "snap" with each bite with that wonderful beef flavor that comes out with all the toppings.  

On the Italian beef at Portillo's, the both kinds of peppers are mild marinated sweet pepper slices, while the other is good ol' Chicago-style giardiniera - sliced carrots, cauliflower, and celery with sliced sport peppers that are all pickled together.  It has a wonderful spicy kick to the taste.  Some native Chicagoans will say it's blasphemous to put cheese of any kind on an Italian beef sandwich, but I don't live in Chicago.  The meat is sliced thin and kept in a warm bath of broth until the sandwiches are made up.  The bread was the typical Portillo's soft Italian bread that is dipped in the meat broth making it more messy, but - oh! - so good.  Like the hot dog, the taste and quality of the Italian beef sandwich at the new Portillo's in Davenport was very similar - if not the same - as the ones I've had in the Chicago area for over 20 years.  It's always an eight napkin meal when I have a hot dog and an Italian beef sandwich at any Portillo's.  And this was no exception.

My wife was sort of proud of herself for ordering the chicken Caesar's salad and for not finishing it all so she could take some home and have it for lunch the next day.  And she said, "I think I'd like a piece of their chocolate cake."  I asked if I could have a bite - I really didn't need any more food after the Italian beef sandwich and hot dog - and she said I could.  That is, if I went up and ordered it for her.  

Portillo's is famous for their chocolate cake and, quite honestly, this was the first time I'd ever tried it.  It's a fluffy two-layered cake made with, reportedly, mayo in the mixture.  The frosting is a lovely thick and rich tasting chocolate spread that is as sinful as is it good.  I realized about half-way through eating the cake that I had forgotten to get a picture of the slice we were served, so I grabbed this one off of Portillo's web site.  It's a big slice of cake and even we had trouble finishing it between the two of us.  

Since they've opened in the Quad Cities, I've been able to hold off going to Portillo's only a couple times now.  Actually, I'm sort of happy and somewhat proud of myself that I haven't been tempted into going to Portillo's any more than I have, or I would probably be well on my way to gaining back all - if not more - of the weight I was able to lose previously.  The one thing that I like about Portillo's is that the food is exactly the same at every one I've been to.  I know some will say that's boring, and with over 50 locations in seven states they are probably classified as a chain - something that I try to steer clear of when I'm on the road.  But it's tough to beat the food at a Portillo's and the one in Davenport is definitely no exception.   

What I Ate the Iowa State Fair

My sister's fiancé is always on me to call him when I get to Des Moines as he likes to hang out.  I was going to be in Des Moines this week and I called him a few days ago to let him know that I would be spending a night in the city.  The only problem was that he and my sister had plans - they were going to the Iowa State Fair for a concert that same night.  "But come to the fair and hang out with us before the show," he implored.  I told him that I wasn't certain when I would get in town as I was coming down from Minneapolis.  But I made it in town earlier than I thought and I ended up meeting them at the State Fair where we sat at the Craft Beer Tent and hung out.  I walked them to the grandstand before the show started, then I went on a quest to find the "People's Choice" winner of the best new food at the fair this year - the "Georgie's Roast with the Most" wrap from G. Mig's stand.  

G. Mig's 5th Street Pub is a bar/restaurant in the Valley Junction area of West Des Moines.  Owner/chef George Migliero was the long-time chef at the private Wakonda Club starting there in 1995 before leaving there to take over the 5th Street Pub in 2012.  Migliero was named the Iowa Restaurateur of the Year in 2014 and in 2016 he decided to put a stand out at the Iowa State Fair.  Each year since, he has been a finalist for the "Best New Food at the Fair" award and last year he won a fair contest for having the best salad that included tofu on it.  (Seriously.)  

After leaving my sister and her fiancé, I took a quick look on my phone to find out where G. Mig's stand was and it turned out that it was near the southeast side of the Varied Industries building.  When I got there, the line wasn't long.  When I finished, it turned out the line was well over a dozen people deep.  

All were, no doubt, wanting to try what I was having, the pot roast beef wrap.  It consisted of cheddar tortilla wrap stuffed with tender slow-roasted beef along with a mixture of white rice, crumbled chorizo sausage, roasted green chiles, cheddar-jack cheese, a sweet corn salsa, crispy tortilla crumbles and finished with a drizzle of sour cream.  A wonderful and thick green chile salsa was available to add to it, which I did liberally.  

And it was wonderful.  The beef was tender, the sweet corn salsa was very prevalent in the taste, the green chiles added a big of a smoky flavor, and the hint of a spiciness from the chorizo was evident.  But the salsa verde was simply outstanding.

I normally get a Gizmo from Carl's Gizmo when I go to the fair, but the last couple times I went there, I thought it wasn't worth what they were charging for.  (They've made them smaller and were charging more for them.)  But for $10 bucks, the "Georgie's Roast with the Most" wrap was worth the price and then some.  If you're going to the State Fair this weekend, it's my high recommendation that if you're hungry and looking for something to eat, then search out the G. Mig's stand south and east of the Varied Industries building for the People's Choice winner for 2019.  

The Onion Roll - Oak Park, IL

Earlier this year, the Chicago Tribune ran a story where they named the top corned beef sandwiches in the Chicagoland region.  Many of the places they listed I had been to, but there was one place that I had passed a few times in the past out in Oak Park that they had listed - The Onion Roll.  It turned out that not long after the article came out, I was in the Oak Park area and had a chance to stop in for a late lunch to The Onion Roll.  

The Onion Roll is a Jewish deli that has been around for nearly 60 years, but five years ago the original owners were looking to retire.  Two chiropractors whose original practice was just down the block from The Onion Roll - Dr. Igor Russo and Dr. Ryan Rosenthal - didn't want the place to close up.  They ended up buying the deli in 2014 and set about freshening up the restaurant.  

Like any place that is owned by someone for over 50 years - home, building, business - there's always some things that get worn or neglected as time goes on.  The two chiropractors renovated the deli and kitchen area, as well as the dining room, giving everything a fresh new look without making it look "too new".  They reopened the revamped deli about four months after they took over. 

The Onion Roll is located on North Ave. in Oak Park, just east of Harlem Ave.  (see map) I pulled up to the brick facade building with a green awning in front around 1:30 that day.  Going inside the deli, there is a long deli counter just as you walk in.  Different types of meats, cheeses, salads and sides were on display in the refrigerated glass counter.  Not knowing the drill, I asked one of the guys behind the counter if I ordered at the counter or sat down to order.  He asked if I was getting it to go - I wasn't.  "To go orders up here," he explained.  "If you're eating here, grab a seat and we'll get you taken care of."  

The main dining room was a long and narrow space with a counter that sat 7 or 8 patrons with a number of tables along the wall and up front.  I took a table next to the wall and picked up a menu that was on the table.  I was kind of surprised to see that they had a full breakfast menu available featuring omelets, pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, and - of course - fresh smoked lox on a bagel.  The lunch portion of the menu featured a number of deli sandwiches, as well as burgers and a chicken sandwich.  Jewish specialties such as Nova Latkes, chopped liver and a smoked lox sandwich were also available.  The signature item on the menu appeared to be a variety of corned beef or pastrami sandwiches that are served on fresh onion rolls - naturally.  They came in two sizes - Earthling and Spaceman.  

I know they were cited for having one of the top corned beef sandwiches in the city, but I ended up getting The Onion Roll's hot pastrami with Swiss cheese on rye.  The pastrami was piled high with the Swiss cheese sort of balancing on top.  A large kosher dill pickle came on the side with a small tub of ground horseradish that I eagerly put on the sandwich along with some yellow mustard.  The waitress also brought out a small sample of their cole slaw for me to try after she tried to get me to order it as a side.  

The pastrami was cut thin and was very lean.  It had that wonderful pastrami taste and the horseradish gave it a zippy taste quality. The rye bread was dry, but still very edible.  This was a quality sandwich.

And I have to say that I messed up on not getting the cole slaw.  The sample that I tried had that wonderful sweet, sour and spicy taste sensation that I love in good cole slaw.  I was sorry when the couple three bites of the sample she brought out were gone.  But that was fine - the sandwich was more than enough for me for lunch that day.

I always love finding good little Jewish delicatessens and The Onion Roll more than lived up to my expectations once I read about the place in the Chicago Tribune.  The hot pastrami with Swiss on rye was a classic deli sandwich.  Having fresh horseradish to put on top of the pastrami helped give it a little zip in taste.  And the cole slaw sample I had made me wish I had ordered it in the first place.  Jewish delis are a dying breed, I'm sorry to say.  But with new owners, The Onion Roll will be serving up great sandwiches, breakfasts and Jewish specialties for years to come.  

Reuben's Deli and Steakhouse - Montreal

When we were up in Montreal for a company meeting a few weeks ago, it was our last night in town.  Many people had taken off already and a handful of both long time and new colleagues had morning flights as I did. Trying to figure out what to have for dinner, one of our new colleagues came up with a brilliant idea - a good ol' Montreal Smoked Meat sandwich.  Now, I had been to Schwartz's Deli, probably the most famous of the smoked meat places in Montreal (click here to see the Road Tips entry on Schwartz's Deli), and I've had a sandwich from the Main Deli Steak House which is literally across the street from Schwartz's Deli (click here to see the entry on Main Deli Steak House).  But our new colleague was told by one of the local Montreal guys we work with that the best smoked meat place in downtown Montreal was a place called Reuben's Deli and Steakhouse.  And it wasn't far away from the hotel.  There were eight of us who made the walk over to Reuben's Deli for dinner that evening.  

Constantin Tzemopoulos immigrated from Greece to Montreal in 1955 at the age of 18.  His first job was working in a restaurant in Montreal, something that hooked him for the rest of his life.  Learning the restaurant business while working at different levels at various restaurants for the next 20 years, Constantine and his wife, Gloria, decided to open their own restaurant that featured both smoked meat sandwiches and steaks.  In 1976, the couple opened Reuben's Deli and Steakhouse, a welcome addition to the smoked meat scene in Montreal, but adding steaks, ribs, chicken, burgers, and seafood items to the mix.  

The Tzemopoulos family also had three boys that helped out in the restaurant - Dimitris (Jim), Tony, and Adam - all three eventually becoming a large part of the operation.  The sons also opened two other restaurants near Reuben's Deli and Steakhouse - DeVille Dinerbar, a refined, yet casual urban neighborhood restaurant, and Anton & James, a chic upscale cafeteria that features breakfast, sandwiches, wraps, salads and pizza.  Constantin Tzemopoulos was still a daily presence in Reuben's up to his unexpected and sudden death in 2016 at the age of 82.  The three Tzemopoulos boys continue to run Reuben's Deli, as well as the two other restaurants under their RD3 Restaurant Group umbrella.  

There are actually two Reuben's Deli along St. Catherine St. W. in what is called the Golden Square Mile of downtown Montreal.  There's one at 888 St. Catherine St. W. that is a subterranean restaurant, but I understand it was the original Reuben's Deli.  However, we went to the one at 1116 St. Catherine St. W. - a street level restaurant that was more modern in appearance.  (see map)  I'm not certain the two are related any longer.  

Since we were in a large group, we had a bit of a wait to get a table.  There was a small bar area toward the back, but there were only a couple of seats available and it was sort of a high traffic area as it was located just off the kitchen area.  We ended up congregating toward the hostess stand up front.  

The front deli counter displayed a number of items including pickled peppers and other veggies, along with different types of meats and cheese.  There was a large upright glass display case near the front door that held dozens of smoked and cured beef.  The wonderful smell in the place was almost intoxicating.

It was about 10 minute wait before we were able to be seated at a larger table toward the very back of the dining room.  It was a cozy area with banquette seating along a short wall.  We had a couple of waiters who came over to introduce themselves, drop off some menus and take our drink orders.  Reuben's has their own private branded India Pale Ale and I ordered up one of those.  

Smoked meat is sort of an ambiguous term in Montreal.  It's basically smoked brisket with seasonings, at least from what I can tell.  It's sort of like pastrami, but more like corned beef.  I had a former colleague who was a unique eater - I can't call him picky because he would eat some pretty interesting things, but he was particular in what he ate - and he refused to eat a smoked meat sandwich in Montreal because no one could - or would - tell him what the meat really was.  Well, from the first time I had a smoked meat sandwich in Montreal, I was hooked.  They had four different types of their smoked meat sandwich at Reuben's - a 7 ounce "76" sandwich; the Super Sandwich, which was their most popular; the Big Bang Sandwich, which was the Super Sandwich piled with more smoked meat; or the Builder's Platter where they just bring out a pile of smoked meat and some rye bread and you have at it.  

In addition to smoked meat sandwiches, Reuben's also had a number of other sandwiches, burgers, and "piled-high" club sandwiches.  Since "steakhouse" is in their name, Reuben's also had a number of steaks on the menu including a 20-ounce bone-in ribeye steak, sautéed tenderloin beef tips that were marinated in whisky, and a 16 ounce ribeye topped with a house-made chimichurri sauce.  They also had seafood, chicken, pasta and ribs on the menu at Reuben's.  

We started out getting some appetizers to appease our stomachs since we had a small lunch around noon, then a hearty walk in the woods near the Mont Tremblant ski resort area afterward.  We got a spinach and cheese dip, some thick-cut onion rings that were stacked high on a plate, and someone ordered up the chopped beef liver.  Deep-friend onion straws came on the top of the chopped liver, but I refused to try some.  I'm not big on liver, period.  

But the one appetizer that I really wanted to try was the smoked meat poutine.  When I found that you could get that as a side for an up-charge, that's what I ordered along with my Super smoked meat sandwich.  This was a decadent kind of meal.  The chopped smoked meat along with the cheese curds and gravy poured on top of some crispy French fries were a heavenly combination.  The smoked meat sandwich was more than enough with 10 ounces of thin-sliced meat, crispy on the edges, topped with Swiss cheese on a wonderful rye bread.  I normally don't eat this much food, but it was so damned good that I didn't care that I was going to have to revert back to a massive diet once I got back home.  (I gained six pounds during this trip to Montreal.  That's sort of normal as we always eat well when we go there.)

Most of us ordered the smoked meat sandwiches, but one of my colleagues with with Reuben's center-cut tenderloin beef filet.  He got blue cheese on the top and it came with sautéed mushroom caps and was served in a reduction sauce.  He was trying to eat healthy, so he got a side of grilled vegetables on the side.  He thought the steak was very delicious and was happy with what he got.  

Another one of my colleagues went with the ribs.  They were big meaty smoked beef ribs slathered with a house-made barbecue sauce. It was a pile of ribs and he liked them so much that he almost finished off the whole plate.  Toward the end, he was offering a couple bones to people around the table, but most of us were so full from the wonderful smoked meat sandwiches - and the great smoked meat poutine that I had.

I've now tried three different smoked meat houses in the downtown Montreal area and I'll have to say that out of all of them I liked Reuben's Deli & Steakhouse the best.  I'm sure there are others to try, but the lean smoked meat at Reuben's was tender and full of flavor.   The smoked meat poutine was just an epicurean delight, and I while I was a little remorseful from the absolute gluttonous display I put on, it was worth going on a crash diet directly after I got home.  The wait staff was attentive and professional, and the whole atmosphere at Reuben's was cozy and inviting.  If you're going to be in Montreal and want to try a smoked meat sandwich, you can go stand in line for 30 minutes plus at Schwartz's deli, or you can get a great sandwich in a nice setting at Reuben's.  Or you can do both!

Tapped - St. Louis

One of my accounts in St. Louis was telling me of a new place that featured "pour-your-own" craft beers, wood-fired pizzas and sandwiches.  Well, they had me at "pour-your-own" craft beers and their description of the place made me want to go there.  We ended up meeting at Tapped one evening on a recent trip to St. Louis.

Ryan Reel had been in retail for over 20 years, many of those as a manager of a big box retailer in the St. Louis area.  His wife, Lindsay, was the director of pharmacy at a local hospital.  Fed up with retail management and wanting to become his own boss, Ryan looked into a concept that was becoming big on the coasts - self-poured beer and wine bars.  He got in touch with iPourit, a California-based company that specialized in tap systems that allowed customers to pour their own beer or wine, giving them a choice of being able to taste different styles while a computer kept track of how many ounces the customer has poured.  It also cuts down on waste and the system monitors keg levels letting management know that a keg may be running dry.  

The Reel's found a spot for their new venture in what was a former wood-fired pizza restaurant.  The space was initially going to be a second location for a local bar/restaurant in St. Louis, but when that fell through, the Reel's jumped on it.   After a few months of renovations and putting in the tap system, Tapped opened in early May of 2017.  They featured 48 craft beers on tap - many of them local beers from Missouri and Illinois.  The 48 tap system was one of the largest that iPourit has designed for a pour-your-own bar and it was the first iPourit system in the state of Missouri.  

I pulled up to Tapped located on Manchester Road in the Maplewood neighborhood of St. Louis, not far from the Schlafly Bottleworks.  (see map)  I met the guys inside and I started a tab for us at the front counter.  We were given these wristwatch-looking things called RFID's (radio frequency identification).  Each RFID allowed the user to tap on the screen above the tap to activate the system, then the system's computer kept track of how many ounces were poured.  Each user has a limit of 40 ounces before they have to go back up to the front counter to have them authorize another 40 ounce limit.  (I suppose the re-authorization is a good way to also gauge how drunk a person may be, as well.)  

With 48 beers on tap, there was a wide variety of beers to choose from.  Beers were grouped together by style, so they had stouts, IPA's, lagers, wheat beers and ciders bunched up.  (You can click here to see what Tapped has on tap right now.)  The monitor screen above the taps would let you know how much beer you poured and how much you have left on your authorization.  

I tried many beers while I was there which is one of the great things about the "pour-your-own" concept.  I poured 3 or 4 ounces of about a dozen types of beers and I settled on the Urban Chestnut pale ale for my first pint, then got the Urban Chestnut altbier for my second pint.  My final pint was the Schlafly Summer Lager, a helles-style beer perfect on a warm summer evening.  My wife likes to try samples of different beers at brewpubs and I thought she would just love this place.    

With a small bar in front of the taps, Tapped also featured a number tables for people to sit at.  On the wall were a number of prints depicting the history of breweries in St. Louis.  It was kind of fun to grab a beer and walk around to see some of the pictures that dated back to pre-Prohibition eras.  

When the Reel's took over the building, they kept in the large wood-fired pizza oven and they kept pizza on the menu.  They also had sharable appetizers such as Bavarian-style pretzels, fried baby portobello mushrooms, and toasted ravioli - a St. Louis staple.  They also had soups, salads, and sandwiches in addition to the wood-fired pizzas and calzones.  

I ended up getting the Italian sandwich that featured salami, coppa, and pastrami that was topped with tomato, onion, lettuce, smoked gouda, and sweet St. Louis-style Italian dressing all served on a hoagie bun.  A side of fries came with the sandwich and I had the option of having it served cold or hot - I took the hot option.  A couple of the other guys got the hot pastrami sandwich.  

One of the guys decided to get a pizza.  He got the veggie pizza that had green peppers, mushrooms, diced tomatoes, red onions and black olives.  It had a bit of a char to the perimeter of the pizza and the cheese on top was caramelized.  The crust was a little more thick than I like, but my guest said that the pizza was very good.  He offered me a piece, but I declined.  

Actually, I'm sort of wishing that I had gotten a calzone.  The sandwich was fine enough, but there was a lot of bread that I had to work through to get to the meat and toppings.  But the sandwich had good flavor with a bit of a spicy bite.  The fries were just throwaways for me.  A calzone with Italian sausage and pepperoni would have been a better bet.  

Tapped is a unique experience.  I'm running into more and more of the "pour-your-own" beer places in my travels, but for the first time experiencing one of these places was a real treat.  The problem is that by serving yourself, it's easy to get over-served.  After sampling some beers and then getting a couple of pints, you pretty much run through your first 40 ounce allotment.  But it was a slick and fun way to enjoy many different types of beers.  The sandwiches were all right, but one of my guests who got the wood-fired pizza said it was very good.  So, maybe next time I go to Tapped I'll have to try the pizza or a calzone.   

Max and Benny's - Northbrook, IL

Always on the lookout for a good Jewish deli in the Chicago area, on a recent trip to the north shore suburbs I was able to stop by a place that has been serving great deli, as well operating as a Jewish bakery for over 30 years.  This is about my trip to Max and Benny's Restaurant, Deli and Bakery in Northbrook, IL.  

Lester Schlan grew up on the south side of Chicago, the son of Julius Schlan who sold restaurant supplies since before World War II.  After graduating from high school, Lester Schlan went on to the University of Illinois where he worked as a grill chef and as a baker to help him get through college in the late 60's and early 70's.  A budding entrepreneur, Lester Schlan ran a small 24-hour coffee shop in a space he found in a deli near the University of Illinois campus, and he and a handful of friends ran a record store in the basement of the local YMCA in Champaign/Urbana.   He eventually became a manager at a restaurant before he and his wife, Rhea, saw a need for a kosher deli in the northern suburbs of Chicago.  They now had two young boys, Max and Benny, and the couple decided to name their place after their sons.  The Schlans opened Max and Benny's in Glenview at the end of December in 1985.  

Many of the recipes that the Schlans used in their deli were family recipes passed down thru generations.  Schlan used his grandmother's recipes for matzo soup, kugel and other Jewish specialities that the family served in their deli.  The food the Schlans served was fresh - and it was good.  So good that after 8 years they realized they had outgrown their 4,000 square foot location in Glenview.

Lester Schlan was driving around some of the suburbs along the north shore of Chicago looking for a new and larger location in which to put an expanded Max and Benny's.  He found an open spot within the Brookside Plaza just north of Interstate 94 on Waukegan Road in Northbrook.  (see map)  In 1994, the Schlan's opened their new and larger location of Max and Benny's.  And four years later, they took over another space next to them for their full bakery and a deli take-out area.  

The "Max and Benny" in the deli's name still exist in this story - Max Schlan went on to study hospitality administration at Boston University, but his plan of coming back to help in the family business got sidetracked when he was accepted into Hofstra Law School.  He graduated cum laude in 2012 and is now a practicing attorney in New York City.  Meanwhile, Benny Schlan - now called Ben - followed his father and mother into the family business and is managing the day-to-day operations at Max and Benny's.  

Pictured right - Ben and Lester Schlan.  Photo courtesy the Northbrook Tower.

Ben Schlan is a large supporter of the Jewish writers community along the north shore of Chicago, and Max and Benny's has hosted a number of authors reading their works as part of their North Shore Jewish Author Literary Series over the years.  They've expanded that to include authors from all over Chicago and continue to showcase their works on a monthly basis.  In addition to showcasing authors from around the Chicago area, Max and Benny's also hosts a comedy night, and also focuses on family activities by inviting families to come in to learn how to make challah bread or cookie decorating.  

It was around 1:30 when I got into Max and Benny's and upon entering the place I found myself in the bakery and deli area.   

The bakery features a number of different types of fresh baked breads, pastries, rolls, and cakes.  Max and Benny's is famous for their theme and team logo cookies that are all hand decorated.  They've even made cookies of famous movie characters for special events in the Chicago area.  

The deli area was next to the bakery and featured meats, sides, and soups.  They had a little store area where they also sold condiments, jarred olives, Max and Benny coffee cups, and other items.  The deli was pretty interesting to walk around in and I sort of wished that we had something like this close to where we live.  

The dining area at Max and Benny's is located to the left of the bakery/deli area and I was seated at a booth along the long wall in the main dining area.  It was still very busy well after the lunch rush, but I was able to get in right away.  I was given a menu and my server Blanca came over to greet me.  Not long after I was seated, another person came over to drop off a basket of assorted rolls.  There was a bagel chip in the basket and it was very tasty.    

I was sort of taken back by the number of items Max and Benny's has on their menu.  (They also serve breakfast and dinner entrees at the deli.)  They, of course, had a number of sandwiches - including the hot pastrami with Swiss cheese on rye bread like I got above - but they also had wraps, salads, and hot sandwiches available.  Since it was kind of a cold day, I came really close to getting the hot brisket sandwich served on open-face challah bread with mashed potatoes and gravy.  

But I was very happy with my pastrami sandwich.  The pastrami was lean and flavorful with a nice outer bark on the edges.  Two thick slices of Swiss cheese were on the top and bottom of the sandwich, and the caraway rye bread was soft and moist, but held together very well.  There was a lot of meat on the sandwich and while I always sort of recoil when a big deli sandwich is placed in front of me as I wonder how I'm going to eat the whole thing, I usually end up eating the whole thing because it's so damned good.  The sandwich at Max and Benny's was no exception. 

Authentic Jewish deli's are getting harder to find.  From what I read doing research into this post, less than 150 kosher deli's exist across America - down over 90% from the 1930's.  But Max and Benny's does a wonderful job of carrying on the tradition of the old school Jewish deli's by offering good to excellent foods at a fair price.  The hot pastrami sandwich that I had was delicious and it was tough to not sample any of the items in the roll basket that was brought out before.  The service at Max and Benny's is friendly and efficient, and I was in and out of there in about 20 minutes, tops.  There wasn't much to not like about Max and Benny's.  

Max's Deli - Highland Park, IL

I had a dealer who moved from the northwest suburbs of Chicago to the tony Highland Park area north of Chicago last year.   He relocated along a busy stretch of Skokie Valley Road across the street from the Crossroads Shopping Mall, a strip center whose largest store is a Binny's Beverage Depot.  Just down from Binny's is a Jewish delicatessen that has been around for nearly 29 years - Max's Delicatessen and Restaurant.  One day after calling on my dealer, I went across the street to have lunch at Max's.  

Bernie Katz was a North Shore Chicago real estate broker/investor who worked with his son, David.  When two aspiring restaurateurs approached Katz asking for monetary help with an idea they had for an authentic Jewish deli in Highland Park, he offered to be a partner in the new business.  One thing he wanted was to have it named after his favorite uncle, Max.  Mirroring many of the large sandwiches, big bagels and traditional Jewish dishes found at deli's in New York City, Max's Delicatessen and Restaurant - "Chicago's New York Deli" - opened in 1989.  

The business was open for only two months when Bernie Katz and the two men who he partnered with had a difference of opinion as how to run the business.  Katz ended up taking over the deli and oversaw the operation along with his son, David.  The two spent six months of on-the-job training to learn the restaurant business from the bottom up.  Whatever Katz and his former partners disagreed over, it turned out that he was probably right all along.  At one point in time, Chicago Magazine called Max's the best deli in Chicago.

The success of Max's on the North Shore called for a second location, this one was opened along N. Clark in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood in 1991.  It was there for a number of years before the Katz family closed that down to concentrate on the original Max's Deli in Highland Park.  

In 2003, Max Katz's grandson Joey Morelli, who was working as a chef in a restaurant, wanted to open his own pizza place in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago.  With the financial backing of his grandfather, Joey Morelli recruited his father, Frank, a retired developer, to supervise the construction of the place.  He got his mother - and Bernie Katz's daughter - Barbara to decorate the place.  And he asked his brother, Greg, who was working in finance in New York City, to join him in the restaurant.  Joey's Brickhouse opened in May of 2004.  

In 2007, Bernie Katz and his son David had a falling out which estranged the two up to the time Bernie passed away two years later at the age of 89.  Wanting to keep the deli in the family, two years later Greg and Joey Morelli - who had closed down Joey's Brickhouse - took over the day-to-day operation/ownership of Max's Deli along with their cousin Stacey Katz Goldberg.  However, last fall, Greg Morelli was removed from ownership of the company after an escalating series of controversial and inflammatory social media posts set off community backlash and outrage.  Hoping the storm has passed now that Greg Morelli is gone, Joey Morelli and Stacey Goldberg continue to run Max's Deli today.  

Coming into Max's Deli, you'll find large refrigerated cases full of meats, cheeses, baked goods and side dishes.  Off to the side was a small counter with fixed stools.  There was a sign that said, "Take a menu and seat yourself".  

The dining area featured a large open area with a number of tables and booths.  There was a step-up dining area for overflow dining that was closed off after the lunch rush that day. 

I took a seat in one of the booths and was looking over the menu as to what they had to offer.  It wasn't much different from other Jewish deli's I've visited in the Chicago area - they had sandwiches, soups, salads and a number of "nosh" sides such as stuffed cabbage, chopped liver, whitefish salad, and potato knish.  They also had comfort food such as an open-faced hot beef sandwich, open-faced grilled sandwiches such as a reuben, tuna melt, and a turkey pastrami.  And they also had burgers on the menu if you wanted that instead of a deli sandwich.  Their breakfast menu was also extensive and interesting with a number of omelettes (the corned beef omelet really caught my eye), Challah French toast, cheese blintzes, and eggs Benedict.  

While I was going over the menu, a server brought me a basket of bread, rolls and matzo along with a small dish of sliced kosher dill pickles.  I didn't want to fill up on the bread, but I helped myself to the wonderful dill pickles.  They were a bit salty, but had a great dill cucumber taste.  Max's sold the pickles in their deli area and I should have stopped and got a jar or two to take home with me.  

My server for my visit was Maria and she came back later to take my order.  I ended up getting the brisket pastrami sandwich - the larger one of the two they offered.  I had her put it on the Jewish rye bread they had and put some Swiss cheese on it, as well.  The lean brisket pastrami was piled high and had a wonderful slightly salty taste to it.  The rye bread was a little dry - comparable to other Jewish deli's - but it held together very well.  While I prefer yellow mustard on my pastrami sandwiches, they had Gulden's spicy brown mustard at the table.  

I always go into these things thinking, "Well, I can always eat a half and take the rest with me."  But the sandwich was so good that I really couldn't quit eating it.  Actually, the meat was piled high on the one side of the sandwich and not as thick on the other side.  (A Jewish friend told me one time to look out for some deli's who will do this - they'll present one half of the sandwich as being over-stuffed with the other half not as full of meat.)  But it didn't matter to me.  I just thoroughly enjoyed the sandwich the way it was. 

I've eaten at a half-dozen Jewish deli's in and around the Chicago area over the past few years and it's difficult for me to say which one is the best of them all.  And Max's Deli fits into that group.  There really wasn't much of anything about Max's Deli that I could really complain about.  It's a large, yet, comfortable place to get a good deli sandwich.  The sandwich, itself, was delicious - especially the lean brisket pastrami.  I could have just eaten the meat without the bread along with the wonderful kosher dill pickles they provided before the meal and I would have been happy.  With one of my accounts literally across the street from Max's Deli, I know I'll be sneaking back in there from time to time to get a great sandwich.  Or maybe I'll even try their breakfast at some point.    

The Beerhouse - Urbandale, IA

I got into my hotel in Urbandale on the northwest side of Des Moines around 8 p.m. one evening last December and asked if they had a list of restaurants in the area.  They gave me a sheet and I studied it as I took my bag up to my room.  One place sort of stood out for me on the list - a sports bar called The Beerhouse that was just over Interstate 80 from my hotel.  I decided to give The Beerhouse a try that evening.

The building that houses The Beerhouse actually started out as a third location for a popular local steakhouse called Jesse's Embers.  (Click here to see the Road Tips entry on the original Jesse's Embers on Ingersoll Ave. in Des Moines.)   The Jesse's Embers in Urbandale didn't last all that long as the area around it was far from being developed as it is now.  An upscale Italian restaurant took its place after Jesse's Embers closed in 2007, but less than a year later it, too, was out of business.

Jerry and Kim Cobb saw an opportunity in the building that housed the two restaurants that didn't make it.  The came up with a concept of a neighborhood place - a sports bar - that served good food at an affordable price.  Live music would be available at times and they wanted to have an outdoor patio where friends and families could congregate in the summer months.  They renovated the building and opened Overtime in 2009.  Their daughter, Kristi, was the general manager of the place.

In 2013, Jerry and Kim Cobb decided they wanted to retire to Arizona.  A few months later they sold the business to Cindy Barnes-Stone, who owned a small coffee shop/diner in Urbandale; and Ron Biondi, the owner Ron's Dawg House, a now-closed tavern on Hubbell Ave. in Des Moines.  Barnes-Stone and Biondi ran the business for seven months before they realized they couldn't make a go of the place and they gave it back to the Cobb's in late 2014.  

The Cobb's, now living in Arizona, really didn't want anything to do with the sports bar, but their daughter, Kristi, was interested in doing something with the place.  Along with business partner Nick Kuhn - who ran a couple of food trucks around Des Moines - Kristi Cobb bought Overtime from her parents and rebranded it into a beer-centric sports bar that featured nearly two dozen craft beers on tap.  They called the place Overtime Beerhouse, but shortened the name to just The Beerhouse a few months later.  

The Beerhouse is your typical sports bar - a lot of flat panel televisions, sports motif, community tables in the center of the dining room.  It was packed with people in to watch basketball that evening.  

I ended up sitting at the bar and the bartenders were pretty busy trying to keep up.  Finally, one of them - a young lady by the name of Jess - came up to me.  I noticed that they had a Kona Brewing Co. sign in the window above the front door when I walked up to the building, but when I ordered one of those Jess told me that they didn't have any Kona beers. Somewhat crestfallen, I saw that they had a Des Moines IPA from the Confluence Brewing Company in Des Moines and I got that.  She got my beer and brought me back a food menu to look over.  

The food menu is typical of most sports bars - burgers, sandwiches, appetizers, pizza, salads.  Nothing that was really out of the ordinary.  But I really didn't know what I wanted for dinner that night.  They did have fish tacos on the menu - blackened grilled tilapia with avocado and a mango salsa were one of the offerings.  They had a blackened ahi tuna sandwich available.  And they had lamb sliders with sliced gyro meat topped with tzatziki sauce, red onion, tomato and cucumber.  

The one thing that I kept going back to on the menu was the smoked brisket reuben sandwich.  Instead of sauerkraut, it was topped with cole slaw.  Instead of Swiss cheese, it was topped with smoked gouda.  And it came with Thousand Island dressing on grilled marble rye bread. And - as an added treat - I could get tater tots on the side.  And they gave me a load of tater tots.  When Jess asked me if I wanted sour cream or ranch dressing for the tots, I replied, "Sure!"  

From there, things went down hill.

The sandwich was, in a word, horrible.  The brisket was tough and dry.  And while it had a bit of a smoky taste, it was absolutely horrible in the overall taste.  Period.  I'm sorry.  I could not think of one redeeming thing about the brisket reuben.  I ate half the sandwich and forgot about the other half.  And, quite frankly, I'm surprised that I even ate that much of it.

The tater tots were cool, not cold, but they'd been sitting for awhile before they were put on the plate.  I also found that I like neither sour cream or ranch dressing with tater tots.  Give me a bottle of Cholula with my tots, please.  

And Jess was suddenly nowhere to be found.  I don't know if she went on break or what happened, but I would have liked to get another beer but there was only one other girl behind the bar.  And she was talking with a friend behind me at the L-shaped bar complaining about how busy they were that evening, calling it a "shit show" with all the people in the place.  Another male bartender came out from the back, I got his attention and asked for my check.  I just needed to cut my losses and get out of there.

With a sports bar with the name of The Beerhouse, I had high hopes of having a good sandwich along with a good selection of beers.  Well, the brisket reuben sandwich I had was absolutely horrid, and while they did have an adequate selection of beer, they didn't have the Kona Brewery beer they had advertised in the front window of the place.  My bartender/server started out good, but she disappeared on me when I wanted to get out of there.  I did not have a good experience at The Beerhouse and I'm hoping that it's an anomaly because it seems to be a pretty popular place.  But a lot of times, the first impression is a lasting one.  And I can't see any reason to go back to The Beerhouse at any time in future travels to Des Moines.  

French Market - Chicago

During a recent long weekend in Chicago, my wife wanted to go to a place that she had read about on-line awhile back.  She was telling me that it was a market place somewhat similar to Eataly, but only with more of a French emphasis.  I wasn't familiar with the place she was talking about, so we decided to head over to the French Market to check things out.  

In 1910, Aaron Bensidoun opened his first outdoor market in Algeria.  Over the years, he was helped by his sons Isidore and Marcel.  The market continued throughout World War II and after the war was over, Isidore and Marcel took the open market concept to France.  They convinced a number of bakers, butchers, fruit and vegetable vendors, and soft goods merchants to rent space from them and they would do all the marketing to get people to come to the open air market.  The concept in post-war Paris was a hit and soon the Bensidouns were managing a handful of markets in and around Paris.  

In 1953, Isidore's son Rolland joined his father and his uncle in the business and set course for expansion of the markets across France.  Rolland Bensidoun oversaw the expansion of the open air market concept and even moved some markets indoors for year round commerce.  By the 60's, there were over nearly 30 Bensidoun outdoor markets and a half dozen indoor markets that the family was overseeing.  

In the 90's, Rolland Bensidoun was joined in the business by his sons, Sebastien and Pascal, who helped oversee expansion of the market concept across France.  By the mid-90's, there were over 80 Bensidoun markets across France.  But the fourth generation of Bensidouns had an even greater plan in expanding the family business.  

As a young boy growing up in Paris, Sebastien Bensidoun had a medical condition that was so severe that his parents took him to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN for treatment.  After he became well, the young Sebastien had a love for America and wanted to eventually move there.  He would visit an aunt who moved from France to the Chicago area in the late-50's and developed a deep affinity for the Chicagoland area.  

In the mid-90's, Sebastien Bensidoun moved to the U.S. to develop the concept for family managed seasonal outdoor markets similar to the ones his family managed in France.  In 1997, Sebastien Bensidoun opened the first French Market in the Chicago suburb of Wheaton.  Of course, it was an immediate hit and soon other seasonal French Markets were opening in the Chicago area.  Today, there are 10 seasonal French Markets around the Chicago suburbs, with another four markets in the New York City area, and a Bensidoun French Market in Niles, MI, just north of South Bend, IN.  

In 2009, Sebastien Bensidoun came up with a new concept for a year-round French Market that would be housed on the street level of the Richard Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago.  The 15,000 square foot market opened in December of that year and served 110,000 commuters who came through the train station daily as well as 40,000 local residents whose closest grocery store was over a mile away.  

We took an Uber to the west side entrance of the French Market on N. Clinton Street, just south of W. Randolph in the West Loop.  (see map)  Since it was a drizzly Saturday afternoon, we figured there would be somewhat of a crowd in the place.  But it turned out that it wasn't all that busy up and down the two main aisles of the market.

There are over 30 vendors who are located in the French Market.  There's a little bit of everything for everyone.  They have fresh produce, baked goods, fresh meat and fish, a florist, a cheese shop...  Well, you get the idea.  And that's the concept behind the French Market - it's a one stop shop for whatever you may be looking for in an urban environment.

Figuring that it was a real French market, I was on the lookout for French products such as Amora mustard.  But there seemed to be no French products on the shelves in the City Fresh Market grocery.  They had a wonderful array of fresh veggies and fruits, but nothing that even smacked of being from France.  

There were a number of deli's throughout the place.  One specialized in ready-to-eat foods for those on the go.  I suppose they did a pretty good business with the commuters coming through the train station upstairs.  

We were amazed at the wide variety of baked goods in the market.  Chicago bakers such as Delightful Pastries, Vanille, as well as City Fresh Market featured a wide array of baked goods from macaroons, croissants, Danish, and sheet cakes.  There was also a coffee and donut place where they fried the donuts right there in front of patrons.  

One of the more popular places at the French Market was Lolli and Pops, a small family-owned chain of chocolatiers who describe themselves as "purveyors of sweetness."   A seemingly never ending case full of truffles, chocolates and caramels wound around one of the end rows of the market.  It was all we could do from loading up on a bunch of stuff there.  

Since there were a number of restaurants in the market - there were well over two dozen places where you could get sandwiches, barbecue, sushi, even Hawaiian poke - we decided to have lunch there.  We had our choice of such diverse items as Vietnamese food, wood-fired chicken, Greek specialties, and Indian food from the Klay Oven Kitchen.

There was a pretty popular seafood place called Da Lobsta that we hung around at looking at what they had to offer.  Their specialty were lobster rolls with a special twist that owner/chef J. Wolf has come up with.  Da Lobsta can take ordinary New England-style lobster rolls and make them with a Italian twist, or with an Asian taste, or even a Mexican twist.  We thought about getting a lobster roll to try, but there were other things that caught our eye.  

Right near Da Lobsta was a little deli that we had been by a couple of times - Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread and Wine.  And that's what they sold.  They also had a number of sandwiches that they could make, as well. My wife looked through their menu to see if there was anything that she wanted them to make her for lunch.

The cheese bin was chock full of different types of cheese.  They had a young guy who was more than willing to cut off small bits of the cheese for samples.  They also sold beer and wine by the glass - I ended up getting an Oskar Blues Dale's pale ale just to have in case I decided to get something to eat, too.

Down the aisle from Pastoral Artisan was a place called Fumaré Meats.  The awning over Fumaré Meats said that they had Montreal Smoked Pastrami.  I figured that it had to be similar to Schwartz's Deli or the neighboring Main Deli in downtown Montreal.  I understand that they brine their meat at Fumaré for 10 to 14 days, then they soak it in water to get the salt out.  Then they smoke it for up to two hours, then slow roast it overnight to serve the next day.  I ordered up a smoked pastrami on rye.  Well, they were out of rye bread.  I wondered, "How in the hell can a deli be out of rye bread?"  I then had a choice of white bread or sourdough.  I initially said I'd take the white bread, then at the last minute I changed to sourdough.  

Toward the back of the market was a public seating area where people could bring their food to sit and eat.  It had a mural of the skyline of Paris on the wall and there were some lights strung over some umbrellas in the area.  The strung lights didn't make any difference - they had bright fluorescent lights hanging from an industrial framed ceiling.  It was actually pretty cheesy.  

My wife's sandwich from Pastoral Artisan Cheese was called Sinfully Healthy.  It featured sliced locally raised turkey, topped with Fromager d’Affinois - an artisan French cheese that is similar to a cream cheese, a mango chutney, lettuce greens and yellow mustard on whole wheat bread.  She thought it was a very good sandwich.   She was especially happy with the taste of the bread.  "Oh, my god, this bread is so fresh," she gushed in between bites.  

My sandwich was well, it wasn't very good.  It had a crusty outer shell to the meat, but I thought it was sort of dry, tough and overcooked.  The bread was dried out and not very flavorful.  It was nowhere near the taste quality of the Montreal-style smoked meat sandwiches that I've had in the past.  I was not impressed with this sandwich.

OK, so we went to the French Market.  My wife was a little let down with what it was.  I'm not certain what she thought she would find there, but she was sort of like "eh!" when we were leaving.  I mean, she loved her sandwich from the Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread and Wine shop.  But I was more than disappointed in my smoked pastrami sandwich from Fumaré Meats.  It was just plain bad.  Would we go back to the French Market?  Possibly, if we were in the immediate area.  But we probably wouldn't go out of our way to go there again.  

Fresh Deli (by Nostalgia Farms) - Davenport, IA

In Davenport, there's a very good Farmers Market on Saturday mornings from May thru October.  We go there about every weekend - early enough to beat the crowds (and the large dogs) that fill up the aisles in the parking lot at Modern Woodmen Park.  One of the longtime vendors at the Farmers Market was Nostalgia Farms, an organic farm run by partners Joe Dennis and Ed Kraklio.  However, when a chance for Kraklio and Dennis to run a restaurant inside the nearby Freight House building came up, they decided to open a little deli - Fresh Deli (by Nostalgia Farms) - and stop selling at the Farmers Market.  We've eaten at Fresh Deli a number of times since they opened in the Spring of 2012, and on a recent Sunday afternoon we went down to have a sandwich at Fresh Deli.  

When Ed Kraklio and Joe Dennis (pictured at right - photo courtesy Radish Magazine) met over 20 years ago, they found that they shared an interest in organically-raised, locally-grown foods.  They ended up setting up their farm near Maysville, IA as a sustainable farm, long before the sustainable movement really got any traction.  The two provided a handful of restaurants in the area with produce, but most of their business was done in the summertime at the Davenport Farmers Market.  My wife was a regular at their stand getting veggies such as broccoli, tomatoes and peppers, and a lettuce mix they had for salads.  Dennis and Kraklio were outgoing and engaging with their customers at their stand, and also educated people on this obscure leafy substance called kale long before kale was a trendy thing to eat (or use in blended vegetable drinks.)  

Kraklio and Dennis also were known for their poultry farm - they raised chickens and turkeys, and they also raised duck and geese, as well.  My wife loved to get their farm fresh eggs from their stand at the Davenport Farmers Market.  However, after the two opened the little restaurant, they decided to give up their poultry operation and closed it down in 2014 after the last turkey was sold for Thanksgiving.  A little over a year later, the two sold their farm west of Davenport to concentrate solely on the restaurant.   

Fresh Deli is located in the Freight House that is next to LeClaire Park in downtown Davenport.  (see map)  There's a large parking lot just off Ripley Street at River Drive that's in front of Fresh Deli.  The Freight House also features the indoor Farmers Market that is open year round, the Quad Cities Food Hub - a non-profit entity that features locally grown and locally made items, and the Front Street Brewery Tap Room.  A deck in front of the businesses at the Freight House that overlooks LeClaire Park and the Mississippi River beyond is a busy place during the warmer months with the popular bike path just on the other side of the parking lot.   

The deck was nearly full of people when we got to Fresh Deli around 1 p.m. that particular Sunday.  We decided to eat indoors this time.  The dining area at Fresh Deli isn't large, but it will easily accommodate 35 to 40 people.  It's also very well lit with the full front glass windows across the front of the restaurant.  The same "Now Open - Fresh Deli" sign that has been there since they opened five years ago still hangs above the front door to the establishment.  

It's counter service at Fresh Deli which features breakfast, lunch and dinner.  The menu is on the wall above the counter and they have smaller folded menu's in a holder near the cash register.  A board of daily specials is also located on the floor near the cash register.   Many of the foods can be made gluten-free and they have a number of vegetarian and vegan options on the menu.  

Fresh Deli also has draft beer from local breweries and they feature a limited bar including Bloody Mary's - one of the few places in the Quad Cities where you can get a Bloody Mary on a Sunday morning at 8 a.m.  I ended up getting one of their very good Bloody Mary's - I think it's made with clamato juice, but I'm not certain.  The basic Bloody Mary is what I ordered - you can also get a couple three different levels of loaded Bloody Mary's with different things added to the olives, pickle spear and celery - including shrimp and bacon - that you can get other the basic one.  And I like a cold beer chaser to go along with my Bloody Mary's.  I ended up getting a Mississippi Blonde from the Bent River Brewing Company in downtown Moline.  

I had been hankering for a tuna melt sandwich and the Fresh Deli has a good one.  It's albacore tuna salad topped with American cheese and fresh tomato slices and served on grilled sour dough bread.  It's pretty tough to screw up a tuna melt sandwich, but for some reason I really like the one they serve at Fresh Deli.  (As we were leaving that day, we passed a couple who was discussing their lunch out on the deck.  He was rather dismissive of his sandwich - the tuna melt.  He felt it didn't have much flavor.  I beg to differ, but I didn't tell him so.)  

My wife went with something that she had thought about getting in the past, but had never ordered - one of Fresh Deli's flat breads with pesto, mozzarella and fresh sliced tomatoes.  She got a small bowl of mixed chopped vegetables to go with the flat bread.  She loved the taste of the combination of the fresh pesto, fresh tomatoes and the fresh mozzarella cheese on the house-baked flat bread.  It wasn't large, but it was more than enough for her to satiate her appetite.  

Fresh Deli is nothing fancy, but their food is always fresh and consistent.  It's tough to beat their reasonable prices on their food items, and its one of the very few places in the Quad Cities to be able to get a Bloody Mary at 8 a.m. on a weekend morning. Fresh Deli is a popular place for breakfast and lunch, and if you're down the way enjoying an afternoon or evening beer at the Front Street Tap Room, you can order up some appetizers from Fresh Deli to enjoy while you're seated on the expansive patio out front.  While I'm not quite as dismissive of their food as that other patron was, I know what I'm going to get each time I go into Fresh Deli - good and fresh food at a fair price.  

Jay's Beef - Schiller Park, IL

A place that I had been reading about in a list of good Italian beef restaurants around Chicago was Jay's Beef with three locations around the greater Chicago area.  It turned out that the Schiller Park location for Jay's wasn't far from the hotel I was staying at near O'Hare Airport and one afternoon after a dealer visit I decided to go to that Jay's Beef location for a sandwich.  

Justin Fortuna was a noted athlete in the Chicago area who ended up playing basketball for DePaul University in the late 40's and early 50's.  But his first love was baseball, a sport that he played well past his 50th birthday after transitioning to softball.  Fortuna was a member of a national championship 16" softball team from 1969 thru 1972.  And when he wasn't playing softball, Fortuna was a basketball official and baseball umpire for over 30 years, culminating in 1996 when he was named to the Chicago Public League Coaches Hall of Fame for officials.   (Fortuna was also inducted into the Chicago 16" Softball Hall of Fame in 2014.)  

Justin Fortuna had a stint in the Army after graduating from DePaul, and coming back to Chicago after his tour of duty was over he became a clothing salesman.  In 1958, Fortuna opened his own clothing store - Justin's Mens Wear - a place he ran for three years.  After getting out of the clothing business, Fortuna sold aluminum siding for a number of years before changing vocational directions once again.  This time he got into the restaurant business.  

Pictured right - Justin Fortuna

Justin Fortuna's wife, Muriel, came from an Italian family that had their own secret recipe for Italian beef.  Muriel's mother, Edith, and Edith's sister Margie came up with the family recipe in the 1940's and passed it along to other family members.  Margie and her husband, Al, first owned an ice cream shop that they turned into an Italian beef sandwich shop.  Justin Fortuna decided to get into the Italian beef business and he took over a small building in the village of Harwood Heights in Northwest Chicago that was reportedly owned by notorious Chicago mob boss Tony "Big Tuna" Accardo.  Named after Justin and Muriel's oldest son, Jay's Drive-Inn opened its doors in 1976 in what Fortuna called a "shack".  (The original location was demolished in 1994 and a new building was built in its place.)  

In 1982, Fortuna opened the second Jay's - now called Jay's Beef - in Schiller Park, while a third location opened in Des Plaines in 1987.  Justin Fortuna passed away in 2000 at the age of 72 and his son Jay carried on with the restaurants.  Jay Fortuna opened a Chicago location on North Ave. in Wicker Park in 2007, but closed the Des Plaines location about five years ago.  Jay Fortuna's brothers - Frank and John - and his sister, Ginny, currently help out with the restaurants.  

The Schiller Park location for Jay's Beef is on W. Irving Park Ave. in the flight path of one of the runways from nearby O'Hare Airport.  (see map)  There's a small parking lot along the west side of the building.  The interior of the place is small - it seats maybe a couple dozen people, max - and is counter service only.  The menu is located on a small board next to the ordering area of the counter.   

The menu primarily consists of Italian beef and sausage sandwiches - there's an Italian beef/Italian sausage combo available - along with hot dogs, Polish sausages, a grilled chicken sandwich, burgers, and a ribeye steak sandwich.  On Friday's, Jay's serves up their famous pepper and egg sandwich.  Sides include fries, onion rings, chicken tenders, fried mushrooms, chicken wings, tamales and jalapeño cheddar poppers.  

For my first visit to Jay's Beef, I had to try the beef sandwich.  The Italian beef is cut thin and is very juicy from the gravy its simmered in.  Red pepper flakes and spicy giardiniera topped the sandwich that was served on spongy Italian bread from the Gonnella Bakery in nearby Schaumburg.  The sandwich was simply delicious.  The roast beef was tender and flavorful with a zesty taste thanks to the pepper flakes and the giardiniera.       

I also wanted to try one of their Chicago-style hot dogs.  Like many other places in the city, the hot dog came with crispy fries.  I got it with everything - chopped onions, neon-green sweet relish, tomato slices, a dill-pickle spear, sport peppers, yellow mustard and topped with celery salt.  The Vienna Beef hot dog had the signature "snap" to each bite.  It, too, was a very good Chicago hot dog.  

I wasn't all that interesting in the fries since I had an Italian beef sandwich AND a hot dog to eat, but I did try a couple just for the hell of it.  Those two turned into two more, then two more, etc., etc., because the French fries were very good - crispy on the outside, fluffy potato taste in the middle.  I find most French fries are either limp and greasy, or they're frozen, then deep-fried where the life is cooked out of them.  But the fries at Jay's Beef were fresh, crispy and flavorful.  

With all the Italian beef places around Chicago, there's a huge debate as to which one is the best.  I've found that most people like the ones they grew up with and many people in the Schiller Park and Harwood Heights areas think that Jay's Beef is the best.  I thought both the Italian beef and the hot dog were very good and delicious. But the French fries were simply wonderful.  Jay's Beef is a simple, no-frills place with good Chicago-style food at reasonable prices.  And it's been that way for 40 years. 

Starboard Market - Clear Lake, IA

We like to stop in Clear Lake, IA when we pass by on our way either to or from the Twin Cities.  On a trip to the Twin Cities earlier this year, we stopped in Clear Lake around the lunch hour to look for something to eat.  Along Main Ave. in the downtown area are a number of shops and small restaurants.  We found a little deli a couple three blocks from the lake that we wanted to try - the Starboard Market.  (see map)  

Roger Poole worked for the railroad and his job took him to a number of places around the nation.  Along with his wife, Sue, and their three children - Jennifer, Katie and Brian - the family moved a number of times depending upon his job.  They lived in Pennsylvania, Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota and Wisconsin before ending up in the Des Moines area in the 1980's.  Sue - who was a high school English teacher - was also a good cook encouraging her daughters to help out during family meals so they could learn their way around a kitchen.

Roger and Sue bought a house in Clear Lake in 1993 and the family moved there in 1999 after Roger retired. Hoping to turn some of her kitchen smarts into a small business, Sue Poole opened a little deli that featured sandwiches, soups, salads and baked goods.  She gave the place a nautical theme and called it the Starboard Market.  

Sue and her daughter Jennifer ran the deli with Roger helping out by bussing tables.  Katie would work in the deli during her summer breaks from college, and with some arm-twisting from her older sister she started to work in the deli full time after she graduated.   While the deli was only open from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, the family was always at the deli by 5 a.m. baking the lemon bars and brownies they sold along with the house-made pasta and vegetable salads they had available to go along with their deli sandwiches.  

In December of 2005, the Poole family had double devastating news.  Roger Poole was diagnosed with prostate cancer and two weeks later Sue Poole was diagnosed with multiple myeloma after she fell on some steps and shattered her leg.  Roger's cancer was removed from his body in March of 2006, but Sue Poole underwent a number of procedures over the years including hip replacements, two stem cell transplants and multiple surgeries before succumbing to cancer in September of 2012.   Jennifer and Katie carried on her mother's legacy and continue to run the little deli to this day.  

We got into the Starboard Market just after 1 p.m. and found a small line at the counter ordering sandwiches.  The place was not very big - it sat, maybe, 20 people on glass-topped four-seater tables.  

On the wall behind the counter was the menu of sandwiches, soups, salads and sides the Starboard Market had to offer.  Katie Poole was at the counter and she took our order for lunch.  The menu featured over two dozen specialty sandwiches including a traditional muffuletta sandwich, the Market tuna salad sandwich, and a sandwich known as "The Dude", which is Jennifer Poole Coffman's nickname for her younger sister who came up with the concoction.  The sandwich featured sliced turkey breast topped with pepperjack cheese, bacon, lettuce, red onion slices and finished with some ranch dressing and served on a kaiser roll.  It's the most popular sandwich at the Starboard Market.   

The case next to the order counter held all the salads and sides the deli had to offer.  They had broccoli salad, different pasta salads - some with meat, potato salad and a number of other items to choose from to go along with the sandwiches, all of which are made in house.   The Starboard Market also offers a number of gluten free items on their menu, as well.  

On the counter near the register were a number of dessert bars to choose from.  They featured cookies - chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, snickerdoodle were some of the ones they had that day - as well as a number of fresh-baked bars such as cheesecake brownies, scotcheroos, and vanilla toffee bars.  The lemon bars looked especially scrumptious.  

After ordering our sandwiches, we took a seat at a table.  On one wall were a number of historical boats that were seen on Clear Lake up to 80 years ago - and more.  Some were excursion boats that took people on sight-seeing tours around the lake, while others were large privately owned vessels.  

Keeping with the nautical theme of the deli, along another wall were a number of framed old advertisements for Dodge boats that were popular in the 1920's and 30's.  These classic wooden runabout boats were on Clear Lake for a number of years and a restored Dodge boat from the 30's fetches well into six figures.   

They allow customers to build their own sandwiches at the Starboard Market as they offer nearly a dozen different meats or spreads, a like number of cheeses to choose from, nine different types of breads, and a number of condiments and sliced vegetables to compliment any sandwich.  I went with my favorite style of deli sandwich - the pastrami and Swiss cheese with yellow mustard on pumpernickel rye bread.  Cindy talked me into getting a side of the pasta salad because she wanted to try some.  

Cindy got half of the Capone speciality sandwich - sliced prosciutto and ham along provolone and mozzarella cheese, topped with roasted red bell peppers, lettuce, tomato, oregano and finished with a red wine vinegar and oil and served on a hoagie bun.  She got the broccoli salad to go along with her sandwich.   

My sandwich was very good - the pastrami was lean and flavorful, piled high on the moist and spongy pumpernickel rye.  The Swiss cheese on the sandwich had a fresh and forward taste that perfectly complimented the pastrami.  I had a couple bites of the pasta salad, but Cindy ate more of it than I did.  I was more interested in trying to finish the wonderful sandwich.  

 

Cindy's sandwich was also piled high with meats, cheeses, and veggie on the thick hoagie bun.  "I'm glad I only got a half," she said as she was making her way through the sandwich.  "A full would be two meals for me."  She said she couldn't make up her mind which she liked more - the pasta salad with olives, chopped green peppers and chopped cheese, or the broccoli salad.   She was more than happy with her lunch.    

 

The people who live in and around Clear Lake are pretty lucky.  They have a quality family-run delicatessen that would work well in a much larger market.  We enjoyed the sandwiches as well as the pasta and broccoli salads they had to offer.  This was a great little place for lunch and expect lines out the door some days as they're only open for three and a half hours five days a week.  

Tendermaid - Austin, MN

There are a number of loose beef meat sandwich places around Iowa and Minnesota.  People can get a pretty parochial view of the ones they like the best.  It seems that people in Ottumwa, IA feel the Canteen makes the best loose meat sandwiches, while those who grew up in Marshalltown, IA feel that Taylor's Maid-Rite is the best.  Then there are people - like me - who grew up in Newton, IA who think the ones at Mr. Dan's Sandwich Shop - the oldest continuous Maid-Rite diner in existence - are the best of the lot.  Well, there's a number of people who hail from Austin, MN who feel that the loose meat sandwiches from Tendermaid are the best in the world.  On a trip to Minnesota recently, I stopped into Tendermaid to see how good their loose meat sandwiches really are.  

Mildred Coffin grew up in Central Iowa near the town of LeGrand in the early 1900's in a home that had neither electricity or working plumbing.  After graduating from high school in 1928, she moved to nearby Marshalltown to work at a Woolworth's department store.  She met Jerry Thatcher in Marshalltown and the couple soon married.  But being that it was the height of the Great Depression, the two eked out a modest living in Marshalltown.

One of the more popular eateries at the time in Marshalltown was the aforementioned Taylor's Maid-Rite, started in 1928 by Don Taylor, a resident of Newton who liked the Maid-Rite shop there so much that he moved to Marshalltown to start his own.  The Thatcher's ate at Taylor's Maid-Rite many times over the years and as the economy was recovering in the late 30's, they decided to open their own Maid-Rite-style shop in another Midwestern town.

They looked at a handful of industrial towns in Iowa and Minnesota before deciding upon the Southern Minnesota city of Austin, home of Hormel Foods.  Jerry Thatcher diligently surveyed the downtown business climate, walking the streets of the city and counting cars at intersections before finding a spot that he felt would be highly visible with a high traffic count for both cars and pedestrians.   The Thatchers opened the Tendermaid Sandwich Shop in 1938, quickly becoming a social hub for Austin famous for their loose meat sandwiches and Mildred's pies.  The Thatcher's ended up running the Tendermaid for 40 years before selling the business in 1968 and retiring.  (Jerry Thatcher died a number of years ago, but Mildred lived to the grand old age of 101 before passing away in 2013.)  

The restaurant went through a number of owners over the next nearly 30 years before Gary and Sara White took over the little restaurant.  The White's were friends with Jerry and Mildred Thatcher's son, Bob, who lived in the same neighborhood.   When they took over in 1997, they didn't change much - other than adding some condiments to the mix.  They kept the place just about the same as it was when the Thatcher family had it for 40 years.  

One of the things that Sara White did implement was a food eating challenge where people had to consume 10 Tendermaid sandwiches, a bag of potato chips, an ice cream malt and 64 ounces of water in under 30 minutes.  In 1999, a young lady by the name of Amanda Dunning finished 10 Tendermaid sandwiches along with the chips, malt and water in 28 minutes.  That record stood for 13 years before Thomas Herrera finished the task in 23 minutes, but he consumed 11 of the Tendermaid's to take possession of the record.   

In September 2014, Ethan Teske (pictured right - photo courtesy Austin Daily Herald) made the trip from Mankato and devoured 12 Tendermaid's along with the water, chips and malt in 21 minutes.  That record was subsequently broken less than a year later by a St. Cloud man - Jeremiah Foster - who downed 13 of the Tendermaid sandwiches, along with the chips, malt and water.  Foster, who had partaken in over 80 food challenges to that point, finished the feat in 23 minutes.   

I wasn't going to be taking part in any food challenges on this day.  I just wanted to see how good their loose meat sandwiches were.  I found the Tendermaid in the same spot that Jerry Thatcher decreed would be the best spot for their little restaurant nearly 80 years ago at the corner of 4th Ave. NE and 2nd St. NE in downtown Austin.  (see map)  It was just before the lunch rush when I stopped in.  

And it was probably a good thing.  The Tendermaid is not very big.  In fact, it reminded me very much of the Canteen in Ottumwa.  It was a small rectangular counter with about a dozen seats.  There were just about six people in the place when I walked in including two young ladies sitting near me, one of whom was trying her first Tendermaid with her friend who was from Austin.  

The steaming bins were located in the center of the room between the counters.  These looked like the same bins used at the other places like the ones in Newton, Marshalltown and Ottumwa.  The steam was wafting away from the meat in the bin.

The menu was located on the wall on a circa-1970's Pepsi menu board.  They had a hamburger, cheeseburger, chili-cheeseburger, and bacon-cheeseburger on the menu, as well as a number of malts and shakes.  They don't have a fryer at the Tendermaid, so only potato chips are available as a side.  

They also had a specialty sandwich menu over the steam bins.  The Western Burger featured barbecue sauce, pepper jack cheese, and bacon on top, while the Bacon Ranch Burger had - naturally, bacon, ranch dressing and American cheese on top.  The Tender Island Burger was topped with Thousand Island dressing and American cheese.  Condiments and toppings included jalapeños, Sriracha sauce, mozzarella cheese and pickle relish

Judy was my server - it turns out that she is the sister-in-law of Sara White who just happened to be holding court in the center of the business.  I ordered up a Tendermaid with cheese - ketchup, mustard, onions and pickle on the sandwich.  It wasn't all that big and I didn't think of it as much of a good value at $4.15.  I would equate it to the size of a Joey-Rite, what Mr. Dan's Sandwich Shop in Newton calls their smaller Maid-Rite sandwich.  The taste, however, was very good.  The beef was moist and crumbly with a great flavor to it.  The American cheese was melted slightly into the meat and the onions were strong and pungent.  

It didn't take me long to finish my Tendermaid and almost as soon as I finished the last bite of the sandwich, Judy turned to me and asked if I wanted another one.  I gave her a "thumbs-up" to signify that I did want another.  Quite honestly, they weren't all that big and if I were really hungry when I was there, I could easily finish three of them.  The second one was just as good as the first one.  

While I didn't think the Tendermaid loose-meat sandwiches were that good of a value, I still thought they were very good, taste wise.   It's easy to see why people who grew up in Austin think the Tendermaid's are best of all the loose meat sandwich, the same way people who are from places like Ottumwa, Marshalltown and Newton in Iowa think highly of their loose meat sandwich places.  The Tendermaid was a nice little place with a lot of history and a good loose meat burger.  

Schooners - Bloomington, IL

About a year ago, I came across an on-line article about places outside of the Chicago area that have what the author thought were Chicago-worthy Italian beef sandwiches.  One place that was mentioned was Schooners, a neighborhood place in downstate Bloomington.  While on a trip driving by Bloomington one day, it was close to lunch and I decided to stop into Schooners to give one of their Italian beef sandwiches a try.  

Schooners has been around since 1983 when Bob Groetken and Greg Gebbards opened the door to their little neighborhood bar in Bloomington in what was a former Pizza Hut location near Illinois Wesleyan University.  They moved to their present day location on E. Grove just east of S. Clinton 30 years ago.  (see map) Today, Bob Groetken continues to run Schooners along with his wife, Deb.  (There is a Schooners in Morton, IL, a suburb of Peoria, that seems to be similar in many aspects to the one in Bloomington. But the Groetkens are not the owners of that establishment.)  

In the summertime, Schooners opens its popular beer garden attached to the backside of the restaurant.   Acoustic and light electric music is played a couple times a week mainly on Wednesday and Saturday evenings.  

I was able to find a parking spot in the lot on the side of Schooners.  I went in and found a table in the larger of the two dining rooms in the restaurant.  It appears that the room I was in may have been an addition at some point in time as it appeared to be a little newer than the other bar/dining area in the restaurant.  There was an interesting mix of people at Schooners - I saw businessmen in ties and buttoned down shirts, and there were blue-collar types, along with a number of older people in the place.  It was a popular place for lunch.   

I was given a menu and while I had it in my head that I was going to get an Italian beef sandwich, I found that they had a number of other things to choose from.  Schooners is famous for their beer-battered chicken that was developed by Greg Gebbards years ago. "Gebby's Beer-battered Chicken" is available either as part of a dinner, or pieces are available a la carte.  Schooners is also famous for their chicken wings, as well as their huge pork tenderloin sandwiches that could easily feed two people.  House-made soups and chili are available on a daily basis along side a number of salad offerings.  In addition to their Italian beef sandwich, Schooners also has a corned beef or turkey reuben sandwich, their variation of the Central Illinois-favorite Horseshoe sandwich, a batter-dipped or grilled chicken breast sandwich, and a handful of specialty burgers.  

But I went with the Italian beef sandwich, sticking to my plan before I even stopped in.  I had my choice between potato chips or crinkle-cut fries and I wasn't enamored with either one.  I got the chips because I figured that I wouldn't be eating much more than the sandwich.  I got a Lagunitas IPA that they had on tap - a schooner size, of course.  

The beef was thin, tender and juicy.  The beef also some good Italian seasonings and spices slow-cooked into it.  The hoagie bun was light, but held together very well.  I got a side of peperoncini's to help spice the sandwich up a bit, and the au jus that was served on the side was piping hot. The overall taste of sandwich was excellent.  My only quibble would be to have some good ol' Chicago-style giardiniera available to put on the sandwich.  But in hindsight, the Italian beef sandwich at Schooners really didn't need much help in its taste and quality.  

Schooners was a neat little place, a great little neighborhood bar that wasn't fancy, but it had a nice homey atmosphere.  My Italian beef sandwich was very good and worthy of Schooners being named one of the top places in the state to get such a sandwich.  The service I had was friendly and efficient, and the beer was cold.  If you're not from the Bloomington/Normal area Schooners is a little tough to find, but it's worth the stop for above average bar food. 

Johnny's Beef and Gyros - Joliet, IL

Always on the lookout for a good Italian beef sandwich, I've been trying to find places in and around Chicago that serve up one of the iconic sandwiches.  I read about a place that started out in Joliet, but now has a second location in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood - Johnny's Beef and Gyro's.  (This is not to be confused with Johnnie's Beef in Elmwood Park, IL.)  On a trip toward Indiana down Interstate 80, I stopped off at Johnny's to try one of their Italian beef sandwiches.  

Johnny's is co-owned by brothers Johnny and Nick Anastopoulos - Johnny is actually six years younger than big brother Nick.  The Joliet location has been open for a number of years and the brothers opened their second location on N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago in 2013.  Both locations continue to do stellar business with sandwiches, gyros and hot dogs.  But they're getting well known for their burgers, including the Big Daddy burger that features a double burger topped with cheese, gyro meat and a cucumber sauce.  They have a Big Daddy challenge where a customer must eat what amounts to two Big Daddy's (four burger patties, double the gyro meat), plus an order of chili cheese fries and a large glass of Italian ice in under 30 minutes.  Only a handful of people have been able to complete the challenge.  

I got off I-80 at the Houbelt Road exit and went north about a mile.  In a strip mall caddy-cornered kitty-cornered from the Joliet Regional Airport is a strip mall.  In the corner of the strip mall, there was Johnny's Beef and Gyros.  (see map).  

It's not a large place, it seats probably around 50 people.  In warmer months, they have an outdoor patio to the side that would nearly double the seating capacity.  The menu is above the counter and that's where you place your order.  I ordered up an Italian beef sandwich with mozzarella, giardiniera and sweet peppers.  I almost got a hot dog to go along with it - I love Chicago-style hot dogs - but I ended up just getting the sandwich on its own.

And that was a probably a good thing.  It was a big sandwich.  The Italian bread was probably 8 inches in length and it was cut deep and piled high with sliced Italian beef that was covered in shredded mozzarella cheese and pickled sweet pepper slices.  Liberal amounts of spicy giardiniera topped off the sandwich.  The bread was fluffy and chewy and held together very well with all that was on the sandwich.  The beef was moist and tender, and seasoned very well.  With all the different taste sensations going on with each bite, I couldn't help but go, "Mmmmm..." a couple of times.  This was a very good Italian beef sandwich.  

Sometimes I get a hankering for a good Italian beef sandwich when I'm traveling on the south side of Chicago to or from Indiana on Interstate 80.  Portillo's is usually my go-to, but there aren't really any locations that are close to the interstate. With Johnny's only about a mile north of Interstate 80 (and less than a mile east of Interstate 55), it's the perfect stop to grab a very good and tasty if you're driving by.  I enjoyed the Italian beef sandwich immensely and I would say that Johnny's Beef can certainly hold their own against many of the more established and famous Italian beef places in the Chicago area.     

Crescent Moon - Omaha

When I was in Omaha over a year ago, I was talking with a friend of mine and his wife about reuben sandwiches as I had had one earlier in the day at lunch with a dealer of mine.  I thought it was pretty good and my friend's wife said, "Oh, I think the best reubens are at the Crescent Moon.  And they've got a great beer selection, too."  Well, the Crescent Moon immediately went on my "restaurants to try" list and on a warm spring evening on a recent trip to Omaha I had a chance to go there.  

Bill Baburek grew up on the south side of Omaha.  A precocious kid, he collected lots of things - stamps, coins, Matchbox cars, golf balls that he picked up that were lost by golfers at a nearby golf course.  He started to collect beer cans, primarily cans that came from the old Omaha breweries like Falstaff and Storz.     

He soon found out that finding cans from Omaha breweries were tough to come by, so he dove into the history of Omaha breweries that were in full production before Prohibition such as Krug and Metz.  Baburek went to libraries to peruse old newspaper clippings and other articles about the old breweries that eventually went out of business as they couldn't keep up with the advertising and marketing clout of bigger breweries in Milwaukee and St. Louis.  Not only was Baburek a collector of vintage beer cans, he was also collecting historical information on the breweries who put beer in the cans.

By the early 80's, Baburek had a collection of over 2000 Falstaff cans and was president of the local chapter of the Beer Can Collectors of America, now known as the Brewery Collectibles Club of America.  The Storz brewery had closed up and all that was left was the Falstaff Brewery on the city's near north side.  On the south side of the city was the Falstaff Inn, a corporate-owned bar and hospitality room.  Baburek and others donated their vintage Falstaff cans to put on display at the Falstaff.  When Falstaff closed their operations in Omaha in 1987, there were no more large brewers in the Omaha area.  The Falstaff Inn also closed and it was soon torn down to make way for a new police precinct on the south side of Omaha.

Baburek went into the corporate world working as a trainer for First Data traveling the United States.  During his downtime at night, he would explore the city he was staying in to seek out the growing culture of craft breweries and bars that sold craft brews.  After 12 years of travel, he decided to go back to Omaha and buy a bar.  

He found an old tavern that was for sale at the corner of 36th and Farnum just west of the downtown area.  (see map)  In 1996, he opened the Crescent Moon Alehouse, a place that he made the first place in Omaha to serve craft brews that were available in Nebraska.  There was a large party room in the downstairs area of the Crescent Moon and in 2005 Baburek turned that into Huber-Haus, a Bavarian-style tap room with over a dozen German beers on tap.  

A little over a year later, Baburek transformed a space next to the Crescent Moon in to Max & Joe's, a Belgian beer haven which also sold top-shelf liquor.  He named the place after his late parents Maxine and Joe Baburek who fostered his involvement in collecting beers cans as a youth by building shelves for his collection in their basement.   Max & Joe's features over a dozen Belgian beers on tap and over three dozen available in bottles.  

Knowing that people sometimes like to experience fine beer at home, Baburek opened Beertopia, called the ultimate beer store in Omaha.  The place features over 650 different beers in nearly two dozen styles.  With Beertopia as part of the other Baburek businesses at the corner of 36th and Farnum in Omaha, the corner is known to the locals as Beer Corner USA.  

In 2012, Baburek opened a microbrewery - Infusion Brewing Co. - along Maple Ave. in the Benson area of Omaha.  Housed in a nearly century old building that was once a meat market, Baburek realized his dream of brewing his own beers and distributing them to restaurants around the Omaha and Lincoln areas.  Last year, he was able to lease a larger building on Omaha's southwest side to increase production of his beers.  Infusion Brewing Company maintains a small brewing facility along with the original taproom in Benson, and they have a taproom with brewery tours at the southwest Omaha facility.  

I was able to find a parking space in the lot behind the building that houses Beer Corner USA just north of 36th and Farnum.  I went into Crescent Moon Ale house and waited to be seated.  The place was busy, colorful, loud, and vibrant.  The entrance to Max & Joe's was upfront toward the bar as you come into the Crescent Moon, and the entrance to the stairs that take you down to Huber-Haus is toward the back of the place.  Vintage beer signs from old Omaha breweries were on display around the place.  

I was seated at a small table along the wall and given a food menu.  Not long after I was seated, my server for the evening - Beth - came over to greet me.  She was a very pleasant young lady with a great smile.  She told me that it was Empyrean pint night at the Crescent Ale - Empyrean Brewing Co. out of Lincoln was there with a tap takeover event.  Empyrean came from the first brewpub in Nebraska - Lazlo's Brewing and Grill - one of my favorite places to go to when I'm in Lincoln.  (Click here to see my entry on Lazlo's Brewery.)   But I opted for an Odell Brewing IPA out of Colorado from Crescent Moon's extensive beer list that evening.  (The beer list for both tap and bottled beers changes regularly at Crescent Moon.)  

The food menu at Crescent Moon is you basic pub fare - appetizers, soups and salads, burgers, a number of chicken sandwiches, melted sandwiches, and, of course, their famous reuben sandwich which was named by the Omaha World-Herald as the best reuben in Omaha.  I had to order one of those from Beth when she came back to take my food order.  

Now, many people who live in Omaha believe the reuben sandwich was invented in Omaha at The Blackstone Hotel, which was once located just across the street from Crescent Moon.  (The Kiewit Corporation - one of the largest construction companies in the world - is now housed in the renovated former Blackstone Hotel.  Billionaire Warren Buffett's company - Berkshire Hathaway - also has its head corporate office in the former Blackstone Hotel building.)  During a poker night between friends in the Fern Room at the old hotel, a guy by the name of Reuben Kulakofsky slapped together a sandwich consisting of corned beef, sauerkraut mixed with Thousand Island dressing, Swiss cheese, and put it on dark rye bread.  Kulakofsky was a poker buddy of Blackstone Hotel owner Charles Schimmel who liked the sandwich concoction so much he named it the Reuben sandwich and put it on the hotel's menu.  (Many in New York City, however, believe the sandwich originated from Reuben's Deli over 100 years ago.)  There are dozens of restaurants in Omaha who serve a variation of the original Blackstone Reuben sandwich.

And Crescent Moon is one of them.  In fact, they claim the recipe for their reuben sandwich is the exact same thing as the original one served at the Blackstone Hotel.  And it was somewhat different from the ones I've had in the past.  It was a little spicy and I could taste fennel seasoning in it - part of the secret ingredients Crescent Moon uses in the sandwich, no doubt.  There was a lot of the Thousand Island dressing with the sauerkraut on the sandwich.  The corned beef was lean and tender, but the dressing really masked the taste of the meat.  The dark rye bread was tasted lightly on the outside and the Swiss cheese was melting along the sides.  Even though it was different, I liked it - I liked it a lot.  About the only thing that I had a quibble with was the slathered Thousand Island dressing.  They could have backed off on the sauce somewhat and it would still be a fine sandwich.  

Crescent Moon Ale House - vibrant place, great beer selection, exemplary service with a great smile, and - named by many - as having the best reuben in town.  It was an interesting sandwich, maybe too much Thousand Island dressing on it, but it had a unique taste - one that I liked.  Crescent Moon is the kind of places that I like to find on the road.  It's not too fancy, it's far from a dump, and the atmosphere is energetic without getting out of hand.   

Cindi's New York Deli - Dallas

During our time in Dallas for the annual CEDIA Expo, we were forced to go out to have breakfast on a number of occasions due to the fact that the restaurant at the brand new Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Dallas was not yet open.  A place we went to a couple three times that was in close proximity to the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center was a Jewish deli/restaurant/bakery by the name of Cindi's New York Delicatessen. 

The "Cindi" behind Cindi's New York Deli isn't named Cindi, she isn't Jewish and she didn't come from New York.  Her name is Ahn Vo Tran, a Vietnamese immigrant who escaped post-war Vietnam with her husband and small baby in a small boat in 1979.  Ahn was a newly married 18-year-old when the Viet Cong overran Saigon in 1975.  Her husband, Hong Tran, was an officer in the South Vietnamese army who was subsequently arrested and sent to a mountainous prison in the northern part of Vietnam.  After her husband was arrested, other North Vietnamese army soldiers raided the Tran's home and took whatever valuables they had.  However, Ahn had hid a number of diamonds and gold pieces that her mother had given her for a wedding gift. 

Over the next 3 plus years, Ahn traveled over treacherous roadways and in dangerous circumstances to try to get her husband out of prison.  She was caught and detained by a North Vietnamese soldier on her first trip to try to see her husband.  After explaining her circumstance, she was let go.  However, a few weeks later the same soldier showed up at her home in Saigon asking for payments to help get her husband out of prison.  She gave him half of her dowry and then had to make subsequent trips to the prison over the next couple of years to give the guard more of her valuables.  When she was down to literally nothing left from what her mother had given her, her husband was suddenly released from the prison in 1979. 

Pictured right - Ahn Vo Tran

Knowing that they had to flee Vietnam after her husband was released, they began to make plans to do so.  However, when they started out to get to the small Vietnamese fishing village in the Mekong delta where they would get on a boat to get out of the country, Ahn was seven months pregnant.  Her husband tried to learn how to deliver a baby on a boat, but the couple thought that it may be best to wait until the baby was born.  19 days before they took off on a small vessel with 200 other refugees, their daughter was born.  They named her Minh-Hai after the Vietnamese province they were in before they took off for Indonesia. 

During the two weeks at sea, the boat the Tran's were on with the other refugees was robbed four times by sea pirates.  By the time they got to Indonesia, all they had left was the clothes on their backs and the small towel that was used to wrap around her daughter.  

From Indonesia the Tran's were relocated to Texas, sponsored by a Dallas group who helped refugees get to the U.S. who only asked that they get paid back over time once the refugees started to get work.  To the Tran's, the United States was like another planet.  The English she thought she knew from Vietnam was completely different in Dallas.  They had no transportation and no prospects for work.  But she had a work ethic that she got from her mother who ran her own company before it was taken over by the Communists in the mid-70's.  Ahn took in clothes for sewing and alterations while her husband got a job at minimum wage in an electronics factory. 

Things took off from there - Ahn opened her own sewing/alterations business while her husband became a technician for Xerox.  Their family grew, as well - the eventually had two boys and another daughter that were born in the U.S.  Within three years, the Tran's had saved up enough money to guy a small grocery/meat market/delicatessen.  In the kitchen was an older lady who taught Ahn Vo Tran to cook down-home Texas favorites.  (When asked one time why she never opened a Vietnamese restaurant, Ahn Vo Tran confessed that she never cooked when she was in Vietnam.  She said she cooked American food better than Vietnamese food.)  

The profits from the market/deli allowed the Tran's to buy a convenience store in 1986.  More profits from that endeavor were used to buy a defunct delicatessen along the North Central Expressway in Dallas.  It was called Cindy's New York Delicatessen and she changed the "y" to an "i", called back many of the employees and reopened the deli in 1989. 

However, business was tough right off the bat - thanks to an extensive construction project on the North Central Expressway.  Undeterred, Ahn Vo Tran started a lunch delivery service to office buildings in the immediate area.  She also did some catering on the side.  Within a couple three years, her husband had sold the convenience store and joined Ahn as her bakery manager.  The couple began to sell their bagels and Jewish breads to restaurants and country clubs. 

Today, there are five Cindi's New York Delicatessen locations around the Dallas area.  Authentic New York deli sandwiches, 15 different flavors of bagels, cakes, pies and  Challah bread, business lunch catering, as well as breakfast served all day makes Cindi's one of the more popular places in the greater Dallas area. 

The Cindi's in downtown Dallas is located along S. Houston St., across from Union Station, in the shadow of Reunion Tower, and less than a five minute walk from Dealey Plaza and the John F. Kennedy Sixth Floor Museum.  (see map)  In what was a big city moment for me, we had parked on the street but I couldn't use any money in the meter.  Sort of confused, I was in a quandary how to pay for the parking.  Thankfully, my colleague Matt had an app that he uses in San Francisco and Seattle to pay for on-street metered parking.

On our visits to Cindi's we had between 6 to 8 people in tow when we went in for breakfast.  Our first day, we parked ourselves at a large table near the front of the restaurant.  Cindi's featured a handful of booths along the wall with a number of four-seater tables in the middle that could be easily moved together if more people were in the party.  

The menu at Cindi's New York Delicatessen is an interesting mix of Jewish staples and Texas-style down-home foods.  Lox and bagels, Matzo Brie scrambled eggs, and potato latke's are found alongside the Tex-Mex omelet, chicken-fried steak and pigs-in-a-blanket for breakfast dishes.  Pancakes, waffles, French toast and different egg dishes are available along with New York-style deli favorites like pastrami, sliced beef-tongue and chopped liver sandwiches.  

On my first visit to Cindi's, I got the sausage and mushroom omelet.  It was topped with with shredded cheddar cheese where most of it had melted on top of the omelet.  The omelet was thin - just as I like my omelets - and chock full of chunks of sausage, sliced mushrooms, and more cheddar cheese.  It was a good - and filling - omelet.    

My colleague Mitch - who hails from Montreal and was on his first visit to Texas - went with the state dish of Texas, chicken-fried steak.  It featured two large breaded beef cutlets dredged and fried, then topped with a white gravy.  Fried potatoes came on the side.  About halfway through the first cutlet, I asked him how he liked it.  "Good.  It's good," he replied.  "I didn't know what I was getting when I ordered it, but I'm glad I got it."  I figured that between him having Tex-Mex food, Whataburger, and chicken-fried steak that he would be an honorary Texan before he left the Lone Star State. 

On subsequent visits, I got the blueberry waffles that featured plump blueberries with whipped cream topping a good-sized circular waffle, and the other day I went with the corned beef hash and eggs breakfast.  The corned beef hash was very good with large chunks of beef mixed in with potatoes.  And I can't complain about the blueberry waffles.  It was good, but it was too much food for me to finish. 

And that's the one thing that we learned about our breakfasts at Cindi's New York Delicatessen - we didn't go away hungry from the place.  The breakfasts we all had were good, not outstanding, but good.  If there was any one thing that I could give a sour grade to Cindi's would be that it was a little expensive to eat there.  But the food was good and that's the bottom line.  And the backstory of Ahn Vo Tran's adversity and subsequent triumph alone is worth a visit to any of the locations.  We're going to be back in Dallas later this year for the 2016 CEDIA Expo and I'm sure that we'll go to Cindi's a couple times while we're there. 

Schmaltz Deli - Naperville, IL

I love to find good ol' Jewish deli's when I'm on the road - I'm particularly fond of a good hot pastrami on rye sandwich.  I was somewhat surprised to find a somewhat long-time Jewish deli in the Chicago suburb of Naperville.  Surprised, mainly because I didn't know of the place until a few weeks before.  On a sunny late fall day, I stopped in to try the Schmaltz Deli.  

Schmaltz Deli was founded in 2004 by Howard Bender, a Culinary Institute of America grad and a former chef at The Four Seasons in downtown Chicago.  Finding that most of the best Jewish deli's were miles away from Naperville, he set out to recreate a classic Jewish delicatessen in the far western suburb that would feature over-stuffed sandwiches, homemade soups, bagels made in house, and a full-service meat counter.  He called his delicatessen Schmaltz after the term for rendered chicken or goose fat used for cooking Jewish foods in Central Europe.  (Schmaltz is also a Yiddish term for sentimental, as in, "This movie makes me all schmaltzy.")  

Pictured right - Howard Bender.  Photo courtesy meatpoultry.com

Bender has also pushed the envelope in developing something that is slowly getting some national press - beef bacon, or as he calls it, Schmacon.  Schmacon is a smoked, uncured beef that is similar to bacon, only with less sodium, less fat and less calories.  They've come up with a patented process during the making of the Schmacon to give it the same texture and crispness as pork bacon.  It's available primarily at grocery stores in the Chicago area, but is also available in Indianapolis, parts of Western Michigan, Southern Wisconsin and it's also available in Eastern Iowa at many Hy-Vee stores.  I've tried it and it tastes like pastrami.  I'm not certain that I'd replace bacon with Schmacon, but I think it would be interesting to try on a BLT instead of bacon. 

Schmaltz Deli is located in a strip mall on the northeast corner of Ogden Ave. and Naperville Road in Naperville.  (see map)  There's plenty of parking in the lot in front of their space.  Entering the establishment, you come to the front counter with the lunch menu on flat screen monitors behind the cash register.  (Schmaltz Deli also features a breakfast menu that features traditional lox and bagels, egg sandwiches, omelets, and scrambled egg dishes.  They also have challah French toast.)  You place your order at the register and wait at the other end for them to make your order.

Schmaltz Deli features a good ol' fashioned meat counter with a half dozen people working behind it.  It was just getting into the start of the lunch time rush and they weren't as busy when I came in as they were when I was leaving.  

I found a table along a wall in the dining room on the opposite side of the deli counter.  It was a long, narrow well-lit room with a number of photos of patrons on the wall.   

Of course, I got a pastrami and Swiss on rye topped with some yellow mustard - overstuffed.  When they gave me the sandwich at the counter, I thought, "Good God!"  I didn't know if I could eat the whole thing.  Thankfully, there are styrofoam boxes near the front of the dining room that you can take your leftovers.  (If you don't want a stuffed sandwich with so much meat, they do have "half-stuffed" sandwiches at Schmaltz Deli.)

The pastrami was cut thin and was very lean.  The sandwich came with a half kosher dill pickle and housemade bagel chips.  Two hands were needed to keep the meat from falling out of the sandwich.  

This was quite the sandwich.  The swirled rye bread was soft and had that great rye taste to it.  But the pastrami was exceptional.  The seasoning was forward in its flavor, but not so much to overpower the other things involved with the sandwich.  The Swiss cheese was lightly melted onto the hot pastrami and you could easily taste it with the bites of the meat.  

The next thing I knew, I was having the last bite of the whole sandwich.  Whoa!  I went into this thinking that I'd take half the sandwich with me, but it was so good that I couldn't stop eating it.  Yes, I was as stuffed as the sandwich was.  I concentrated so much on the sandwich that I only had a couple bites of the kosher dill pickle and maybe a couple of the delicious bagel chips.  

Schmaltz Deli was simply outstanding.  It was one of the best pastrami and Swiss on rye sandwiches I've ever had.  Everything - from the lean and delicious pastrami, the flavorful rye bread and the fresh Swiss cheese - made for a fantastic sandwich.  For a great sandwich in a classic Jewish deli in the far western suburbs of Chicago, Schmaltz Deli is definitely the place to go. 

Kirchhoff's Bakery and Deli/Etcetera2 (Squared) Coffee Shop - Paducah, KY

One morning when we were walking along the streets of downtown Paducah, we came across a coffee shop and we decided to go in and get a couple espressos.  It turned out the coffee shop - Etcetera2 (Squared) - was attached to a somewhat historic bakery - Kirchhoff's Bakery and Deli.  We had espresso and a couple pastries in the morning, then went back later on and had a couple of sandwiches for lunch.  

Kirchhoff's Bakery has a history that stretches back to the early 1870's.  Franz Kirchhoff had immigrated to the U.S. from Prussia and ended up in the river town of Paducah.  Along with his young bride, Hannah, they opened a store that sold food stuff and dry goods to travelers up and down the Ohio River.  In 1873, they decided to open a bakery offering fresh breads to the travelers and townsfolk.  The Kirchhoff's used an Old World-style wood-fired oven to bake breads using family recipes that were handed down through generations.  They lived above the bakery and when the boats whistles would sound along the river bank, Franz would haul his fresh baked bread down to the boat landing and sell them directly off his cart.  

Franz and Hannah's son, Frank, would eventually take over the bakery and it grew in both size and in reputation for having some of the best baked goods in the region.  Frank's son, Louis, then took over the business becoming the third generation of the family to run the place.  In 1952, a devastating fire gutted the bakery.  It was at that time that Louis Kirchhoff decided to walk away from the business.  With the help of co-workers, Kirchhoff's Bakery was rebuilt and reopened.  However, in 1957 the bakery was sold to a regional baking company and the business was eventually shut down.  The building where the bakery used to be was used as warehouse space for a number of years after that.  

After Louis Kirchhoff, Sr. sold the place, Louis, Jr. took a decidedly different path than baking - he graduated from Vanderbilt with a degree in engineering. Out of college, he worked for a couple of Paducah area companies before starting his own civil engineering consulting firm.  In 1996, Louis, Jr's son, Reece, informed him that the old Kirchhoff's Bakery building was now in the hands of the City of Paducah.  Along with Reece's sister, Ginny, the two talked their father into buying the building and rehabbing it in hopes of resurrecting the bakery.  Ginny Kirchhoff, fresh out of college, went to Sullivan University in Louisville to get her professional baking degree.  After extensive remodeling, the Kirchhoff's reopened the bakery in 1997.  Ginny Kirchhoff was 23 years old - the same age her great-great grandfather was when he originally opened the bakery.  

One of their first employees was Josh Ryan, a young man just out of high school.  He had some restaurant experience, but knew little to nothing about baking.  Ryan did a little bit of everything - he was the de facto carpenter, plumber, painter, lifter, sifter, and mechanic, all the while learning the art of baking under Ginny Kirchhoff.  He eventually became the chief baker at Kirchhoff's and became a partner in the business with the Kirchhoff's.  

Kirchhoff's Bakery and Deli is located in the Market House Square area of downtown Paducah.  (see map)  But it was the quaint little coffee shop that adjoins the bakery - Etcetera2 - that brought us into the businesses that one Saturday morning.  

Allen Rhodes, Jr. moved to Paducah during his junior year of high school in 1966 after his father, Allen Rhodes, Sr., had purchased a local Ford automobile dealership.  The younger Rhodes later graduated from Southern Methodist with a degree in marketing and moved back to Paducah to help his father with the car dealership.  One of the first things Allen, Jr. did was convince his father to look into getting the franchise rights to sell Honda cars which had started to gain a foothold across the nation in the early 70's.  After that, Allen Rhodes, Jr. convinced his father to pursue BMW for a franchise.  

Becoming a Chrysler and eventually a Hyundai dealer, the Rhodes worked side by side for 26 years before selling their dealerships (Chrysler/Hyundai and BMW/Honda) to employees.  Allen Rhodes, Jr.'s wife, Johanna, was a teacher at the same high school that Rhodes graduated from - Tilghman High School.  She convinced her husband to come to work at the school as sort of an "everyman" filling in where he was needed.  

Rhodes loved that job, but after 10 years he wanted to do something else.  Seeing a need for a little coffee shop in the LowerTown Arts District of Paducah, the Rhodes family (along with their daughter, Jean) opened Etcetera Coffee House on N. 6th St. in 2006 (see map)  They featured organic and free trade coffees and teas, as well as bagels, yogurts and oatmeal on their limited food menu.  Allen and Johanna Rhodes eventually moved above the coffee shop.  (Allen Rhodes, Jr. is also a city commissioner (councilman) and mayor Pro-Tem for the city of Paducah.)  

In 2010, the Rhodes' were approached by Josh Ryan and Ginny Kirchhoff-Elmore to have a second location as part of the bakery's in-house coffee bar.  Two weeks later - after extensive renovations to the building - Etcetera2 (Squared) opened for business.  

Actually, Etcetera2 is in the back of what is a clothing boutique next to Kirchhoff's Bakery.  I don't know if Cindy wandered in because of the clothes or because she wanted an espresso.  But we ended up getting a couple of the Cubano espressos - the beans were pressed with sugar.  They were excellent. 

After getting our Cubano espressos, we went over through the opening in the wall to Kirchhoff's Bakery.  There we found a case full of all different types of pastries, cookies, cupcakes and rolls.  In a refrigerated case along the wall, they had a number of artisan cheeses to choose from.  By this time in the morning (around 10:30) they had run out of cinnamon rolls, much to my dismay, and they were also out of lemon bars.  But they had an orange/raspberry scone that Cindy wanted and I ended up getting a surprisingly good piece of flaky and delicious baklava.  

In the bakery, they had a couple racks of fresh baked breads near a prep area for orders.  The smell of the fresh bread was absolutely fabulous.  If it weren't for the distance (six hours between Paducah and home), and the fact that we were leaving the next day, we would have gotten a loaf of bread to take home.    

After finishing our espresso and treats, we took some time walking along Paducah's historic riverfront.  Looking across the Ohio River is Illinois.  Just to the right in the panoramic shot above is the mouth of the Tennessee River.  Beyond that is a large port that specializes in tugboat repairs.  It was a cool, yet comfortable morning along the river and we lingered for a moment to take in the sights.

There's a long flood wall that protects Paducah from the Ohio River.  (They had water marks on downtown buildings from previous floods that were well above our heads.)  They have a number of murals depicting the history and events of Paducah over the years.  It was similar to a flood wall mural we saw in Portsmouth, OH on a trip we took up the Ohio River a number of years ago. 

After doing some shopping and hanging out around the downtown area, we ended up going back to Kirchhoff's to get a sandwich.  When we were there earlier, we sat in their dining area having our espresso and eating the scone and baklava.  We got to looking at the menu that they had for their deli and thought that it would be nice to come back and try a sandwich.  

They had a myriad of sandwiches to choose from at Kirchhoff's Deli.   They had both grilled deli sandwiches that included a grilled pimento cheese (made in house) and bacon sandwich, a tuna melt that sounded good, and a Cuban-sandwich that they said they made with their version of Cuban bread.  I was leaning in that direction.  

For classic deli sandwiches, they had selections such as a New York style corned beef and Swiss sandwich on housemade Jewish rye bread, a medium-rare roast beef sandwich with Swiss cheese on the Jewish rye bread, and a classic BLT served on Kirchhoff's famous "Big Boy" bread.  (The picture above right is the logo for their "Big Boy" bread.)

When we went up to the counter to order and Cindy ordered a quarter of a muffuletta sandwich.  The guy behind the counter said that they were out of the Italian round bread they make the muffulettas out of and wanted to know if it was OK that they make it with their sliced French bread.  Cindy said that would be fine.  She got a small side of their pasta salad to go with her sandwich.  

When it was my turn to order, I asked the guy if the Cuban bread they had was truly the sweet tasting Cuban bread.  He said, "Well, no.  It's really not.  It's basically the same French bread that we're going to make her sandwich out of."  I quickly changed directions and went with the classic New Yorker - the corned beef and Swiss on Jewish rye topped with sliced red onions and a dijon mustard.  

And I'm glad I got it.  First of all, the Jewish rye bread was just outstanding.  It was piled high with corned beef and although I was a bit worried that the sliced red onions and dijon mustard would overpower the taste of the sandwich.  But with the great flavor from the bread and the excellent corned beef they used, it turned out the onions and mustard were a great compliment to the sandwich.  This was a very good sandwich for 6 bucks and change.   

Cindy's pseudo-muffuletta sandwich was pretty much the same thing as having one, only on lightly grilled sliced French bread.  It was piled high with ham and salami topped with provolone cheese and an olive salad.  She has had muffulettas before and she said that even with the French bread instead of the Italian round bread this was a good sandwich.  And to top it off it was only $5 bucks.  This was a very good value - a lot of food for the money, that's for sure.  

First of all, we have to let you know that we really enjoyed the Cuban espresso from Etcetera2.  It was so good that before we left Paducah the next morning we went to the original Etcetera in Lowertown to get a couple more to help boost us down the road toward home.  Both places were great little coffee houses.  

But the experience at Kirchhoff's Bakery and Deli was very nice.  Between the baked goods, the fresh breads and the excellent deli sandwiches, the people of Paducah have to count themselves lucky that the fifth generation of Kirchhoff's - as well as Josh Ryan - are keeping the family's baking legacy alive.  The sandwiches we had were a great value and they tasted very good.  For a lunch on a whim, Kirchhoff's Bakery and Deli was a great choice and one that we didn't regret.   

Franky's Red Hots - Addison, IL

I stay in the western Chicago suburb of Addison from time to time - especially when I can't get into my favorite hotel near O'Hare Airport.  It turned out that I stayed a couple nights at a hotel along Lake Street in Addison on recent trip to Chicago.  For years, I've been intrigued by a place along Lake Street near the hotel that is in a strip mall that faces the street called Franky's Red Hots.  One rainy evening, I decided to stop in and give them a try.  (see map) 

Frank Espano is the Franky behind the name.  The Franky's on Lake Street opened in 1989 specializing not only in Chicago-style hot dogs, but Chicago-style Italian beef sandwich, pizza, ribs and gyros.  In April of 2014, Franky's opened a second location in St. Charles, IL along E. Main Street, about a half mile west of the Charlestowne Mall.  (see map)

Franky's dining area is large, open and well-lit.  It features booths as well as tables with chairs.  It's nothing fancy, but it's comfortable enough.  On a rainy night, there were a lot of people coming in to get "to-go" orders including a surprising number of pizzas that I saw go out the door.  

You place your order at the counter and they'll call out your name when your order is ready.  The menu board is above the counter and it's extensive enough that if you can't find something to eat at Franky's, you're probably not hungry.  As I said, they're best known for their Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef, but in addition to pizza, gyros and ribs they also feature burgers, chicken sandwiches, pork chop sandwiches, chicken wings, Italian sausage sandwiches, chicken tenders, salads and pasta dishes.  

I wanted to try both an Italian beef sandwich and a hot dog at Franky's.  Their Italian beef sandwiches are 8" in length and come wrapped in aluminum foil.  It came with a slice of mozzarella cheese on top.  I made the rookie mistake at Franky's for not asking for spicy giardiniera peppers on my sandwich, but that was fine on this visit.  The beef was very moist and juicy with a great Italian-beef taste.  The hoagie bun was a bit chewy like it had been sitting in a warming bin a little too long, but it was still fine.  

The hot dog came with the full complement of Chicago-style fixings - onion, green relish, mustard, tomato, dill pickle spear and the spicy sport peppers.  It, too, was wrapped in aluminum foil making the bun a little chewy.  The hot dog lacked the snap of a good Vienna Beef Chicago-style hot dog, but it was still good for what it was.  

For a place that has to go head-to-head with some more well-known Chicago Italian beef and hot dog places, Franky's does a fine job keeping up with the competition.  They seem to have found their little niche in the western suburbs and continue to do what they do pretty well.  The hot dog and the Italian beef sandwich were both good, not great, but good enough.  I wouldn't have any qualms about going back to Franky's in the future.  

Lester's Restaurant and Sports Bar - Ladue, MO

During our annual baseball trip to St. Louis earlier this summer, our group (my wife, our friends Scott and Marcia, and myself) met up for lunch with my friend who works for the St. Louis Rams.  We decided to try a place that I learned about after writing the entry on Dave and Tony's Premium Burger Joint in the St. Louis suburb of Creve Coeur, MO (click here to see that entry).  One of the owners of Dave and Tony's is the grandson of St. Louis entrepreneur/restaurateur Lester Miller, the man who owns Lester's Restaurant and Sports Bar in the Ladue area of St. Louis.  I was sort of intrigued reading about Lester's that I suggested we all go there for lunch.  

Lester Miller's back story is pretty amazing.  He rose from the dirty streets of New York where he sold papers for a 2 cents, to becoming a caterer at the age of 14, at the age of 17 he landed a job as a sales rep for a company selling cleaning and sanitation products.  

Miller's company sent him to St. Louis on sales calls in his early 20's and he immediately fell in love with the city.  He fell in love with a St. Louis girl and was married when he was 23.  He and his first wife had seven kids - a boy, then six girls - and Miller started a business - supplying condoms in gas station restroom vending machines.  He eventually started a company that made the condoms, but he also had a restroom cleaning service on the side.

His big break in business came when a friend introduced him to someone from a plastics company that was in the process of developing a thin-walled plastic bottle. Miller found that the new bottle design could hold toilet-bowl cleaner without shattering and splashing cleaning acid everywhere.  He and his friend partnered to make cleaning products contained in the new plastic bottles. 

Recognizing the low cost of production in Japan, Miller had the products made overseas.  The company eventually became Contico Plastics and developed the first trigger sprayer for household cleaners.  He imported cleaning bottles from Japan, then Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan changing factories whenever he could get a better deal.  

Miller found out that Union Carbide was wanting to sell its plastics division.  He made a cursory offer of $800,000 and they countered with $1,000,000.  Miller didn't have a million dollars, let alone $800,000.  But he scraped up enough money from banks and investors and bought the plastics division.  For years, Contico was undercapitalized, but they eventually began to make money.  Miller eventually sold Contico and related companies in 1999 and 2000 for $350,000,000.

In 2000, Miller was approached by four men looking to buy land that Miller owned in Springfield, MO to build a plant to make high-industrial batteries for cellphone towers.  Miller took a look at the deal and instead of selling the property, he invested $35,000,000 in the company.  In 2007, Miller and the minor partners sold NorthStar Batteries to an equity firm for an estimated $250,000,000.

Miller was also a land developer and owned tracts of lands in Florida and Georgia, as well as in and around the St. Louis area.  He got into the restaurant business in 2005 when one of his favorite restaurants - Busch's Grove - had closed, fallen into disrepair and was scheduled to be demolished for a boutique shopping center.  He bought the building, spent millions of dollars on the renovations and reopened in December of 2005.  (Miller sold Busch's Grove and it is now closed.) 

In 2007, Lester Miller opened his eponymous restaurant - an upscale sports bar that featured New York-style deli sandwiches and barbecue - on Clayton Road in Ladue.  He outfitted the place with memorabilia and commissioned a six and a half foot statue of his good friend and former St. Louis Cardinals great Stan Musial in front of the place.  

Pictured right - Lester Miller in front of the original Lester's Restaurant and Sports Bar in Ladue with the statue of Stan Musial over his left shoulder.

Miller opened a second location in west suburban Chesterfield in 2008 and a third Lester's location opened in the Central West End in 2011.  However, he closed the Chesterfield location in the fall of 2014 and the Central West End location closed just a few weeks after.  But the Ladue location is still going strong.    

We met up with my friend around 1:00 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon at Lester's on Clayton Road in a small shopping mall that abutted up to I-64/40 Highway.  (see map)  I'd been by the place, well, dozens of times over the past few years and never knew it was there.  We found our friend in the bar area just inside the front door of Lester's waiting on us.  The bar area was rather large and featured a number of flat panel televisions.  The place sort of looked classy for a sports bar.  

The hostess took us into the main dining area that featured a number of tables in the middle with booths along the outer walls.  An open kitchen was situated in the back of the dining area.  Sports memorabilia hung on the walls along with flat screen televisions hanging high throughout the room.  We were given menus to check out and ordered up some drinks.  

Lester Miller wanted authenticity when it came to his meats at his restaurant.  His head chef was sent to New York City to learn the art of smoking and preparing meats from the person who once ran the famous Carnegie Deli.   The meat is brined and smoked in-house daily over applewood chips.  They make everything from scratch at Lester's from the bread used in their sandwiches, to the salad dressings, to the sides, and to the baby back ribs that are smoked nearly 5 hours daily.  It was no wonder I was having a lot of trouble figuring out what to get.  

I really wanted to try a deli sandwich, but the barbecue offerings on the menu were calling my name, as well.  It's not that I didn't think that I'd ever be back to Lester's.  It's just that everything sounded pretty damned good and I wanted to try a couple of things.  

We let everyone order up before I ordered a pastrami on rye with Swiss cheese.  They have two sizes of sandwiches - a regular and a colossal.  I went with the regular sized and by looking at the picture below left one can almost imagine what a colossal sized sandwich would look like.  I also asked the server if I could try some of the beef brisket that they had as part of their barbecue menu.  He said that he could come up with a 3 ounce plate of brisket.  That would be perfect!  I just wanted a taste of the brisket, not a whole meal.  

Cindy was as much in a quandary about what to get.  She wasn't overly hungry, but she knew she needed to get something.  She saw something on the appetizer menu - the deli slider combo - that was a sampling of the corned beef and pastrami sandwiches.  When the server set the plate down in front of her, she realized that may have been a mistake.  They were four small sandwiches - two each of the pastrami and corned beef.  We could have easily gotten this for ourselves.  She was a tad embarrassed when she realized what it really was that she ordered and I told her that we could get what she didn't get to go and take it back to put in the fridge in our hotel room.  

I have to say that my sandwich was very good.  I'm a sucker for good pastrami and this was some of the finest pastrami that I've ever had.  It was tender and had a great beef taste with a hint of pepper and not a lot of salt.  The beef had some good marbling, but it was overly fatty or greasy.  The rye bread was equally impressive with the laste of fresh caraway seeds throughout.  

The brisket was equally as good as the pastrami.  It was lean and tender with a small smoke ring around the edge.  The spices they use as a rub on the brisket helped enhance the overall taste of the beef.  This was some excellent brisket.  

The other thing that was pretty good on my plate was the cole slaw.  It had a good creamy and vinegary taste and the cabbage was crunchy and fresh.  It was some of the better cole slaw that I've ever had.  

We spent a good portion of the afternoon at Lester's catching up with what had been going on with my friend.  The staff was very accommodating, allowing us to sit there for nearly two and a half hours before we realized how much time had passed and we needed to get going to the ball game.  The pastrami sandwich and the brisket at Lester's was surprisingly very good to excellent.  I'm worried about restaurants that have an extensive menu, but what I had at Lester's was all good.  I can't believe that I haven't tried Lester's before this visit and it certainly won't be the last time I go there.  

Arris' Bistro - Jefferson City, MO

I was in Jefferson City, MO earlier this summer calling on one of my dealers.  It was getting to be around 2 p.m. and my dealer said that he hadn't had lunch yet.  I hadn't either, so I suggested we go somewhere for a bite to eat.  He immediately said, "Let's go to the Bistro."  We got into my car and he directed me to a small strip mall near the downtown area of Jeff City.  When we pulled up in front of the place, I exclaimed, "Oh!  This is Arris' Bistro!"  I was familiar with the place as it is owned by the same people who owns the very good Arris' Pizza Palace across from the Missouri State Capitol building.  (Click here to see my entry on Arris' Pizza Palace.)  I was eager to go inside and give the place a try.  

Arris Pardalos is the "Arris" name associated with both the Arris' Bistro and Arris' Pizza Palace.  A Greek immigrant, Arris opened his first pizza place in Jefferson City in the early 1960's.  He was helped initially by his brother George, but the two split up when George went off to open a steakhouse.  A little over 10 years ago, Arris Pardalos was joined by his son, George in Arris' Pizza Palace.  George and his wife, Olga, eventually bought Arris' from his dad.  

George and Olga wanted to bring a bit of southern Europe to Jefferson City in the style of a bistro that featured Mediterranean cuisine, primarily Greek and Italian dishes.  In March of 2009, the Pardalos' opened Arris' Bistro.  It quickly became a favorite for the locals to get a quality and unique meal for lunch and dinner.  

Arris' Bistro is located in the corner of a small strip mall on a frontage road on the west side of U.S. Highway 50, just north of Broadway near the downtown area of Jeff City.  (see map)  We easily found a parking spot in front as it was well after the noontime rush.   

The restaurant is very hip-looking with LED lighting, modern-style tables and chairs, contemporary artwork and sort of a big-city lounge vibe to the place.  There was hardly anyone in Arris' Bistro when we walked in, so the hostess told us we could sit anywhere.  Our server, Floriana, came over to greet us and dropped off a couple menus.  She asked if we wanted anything to drink and we both thought a beer would be good with lunch.  She didn't have a beer list handy, so I walked over to the bar to see what they had on tap.  One of the beers they had was the Piney River Missouri Mule IPA from a relatively new, but quickly growing microbrewery in southern Missouri.  I got one of those and my dealer followed suit.  

The menu at Arris' Bistro is a cross between Greek and Italian fare with probably more of a Greek take on the appetizers, while most of the lunch time entrees have a decided Italian flair to them.  They have a dozen different types of salads on the menu, along with a number of pita bread pizzas merging Greek and Italian food into one.  But my dealer was raving about the sandwiches at Arris' Bistro - they have pita sandwiches and wraps, burgers and panini sandwiches.  After 5 p.m. the menu expands into steak, seafood and chicken entrees.

My dealer absolutely swore by the BLT that Arris' Bistro had on the menu.  It's a regular bacon/lettuce/tomato sandwich where they've also added fresh mozzarella cheese, except that he's come up with a couple of different twists - he asked Floriana to use French bread for the sandwich and to also put avocado slices on top.  He says that those are the two keys making it an excellent sandwich from merely a great one.  He got a side of the broccoli salad to go with the sandwich.  

I got the classic gyro - I love a good gyro and I was certain that they'd have a good one at Arris' Bistro.  And I was right.  The gyro meat was tasty and not all that salty, the sliced onions and the chopped tomatoes were very fresh.  Along with the tangy house-made tzatziki, this was a very good gyro.  

Floriana also did a good job of taking care of us.  She had a thick Eastern-European accent and my dealer asked her where she was from.  "Romania," she said.  Other than the thick accent, she spoke English very well.  She was pleasant and quickly accommodating with our requests.

I sort of figured that Arris' Bistro was going to be good and it didn't disappoint.   The gyro was very good, but I was also intrigued by the BLT with avocado on French bread that my dealer had.  Floriana's service was very good and the place had a unique and comfortable vibe.  As much as I liked Arris' Pizza Palace on my visit there, I equally enjoyed the meal I had at Arris' Bistro.   

Kaufman's Deli - Skokie, IL

Less than a mile from one of my dealers in the north suburbs of Chicago is a deli that I've been wanting to go to since I was told that they have tremendously great pastrami on rye sandwiches.  However, when I went to get a sandwich there about three years ago, I found that they were closed due to a fire.  They reopened in the fall of 2012 and I finally made it there to try one of their sandwiches on a recent trip to Chicago.

Kaufman's Deli has been around for 60 years and the story of survival, perseverance, setbacks and success among the two families who have owned the place is worth telling. Maury Kaufman survived the Holocaust and concentration camps of Nazi Germany during World War II before emigrating to the U.S. in the late 40's.  He ended up in the Jewish neighborhoods of Skokie and opened up a small bagel shop that immediately garnered acclaim for their taste and quality.  Kaufman's Deli grew into a traditional Jewish deli and thrived for years before Maury Kaufman sold the place in 1984.   

Arnold Dworkin grew up as a baker's son in Chicago.  As a young boy, he would gather up bread crumbs, bag and weigh them.  After graduating high school, he got his undergraduate degree then got his law degree fulfilling his father's wish that the young Dworkin do something other than working in a bakery.  Arnold Dworkin worked as a legal aid in the army, but it turned out that baking was in his blood and he returned to the family business coming out of the service instead of practicing law.  The rye bread made in his family's Imperial Baking Co. was said to be the best in all of Chicago in the late 60's and early 70's.  

When Arnold Dworkin bought Kaufman's in 1984, he had his wife Judy and his daughter Bette helping him out in the kitchen.  Almost as soon as they got things up and going, a salmonella outbreak that was linked to corned beef at Kaufman's sickened 250 people.   Not long after, a second, but smaller salmonella outbreak that was linked to Kaufman's caused Dworkin to shut down the deli and do a thorough cleaning while replacing most of the equipment in the restaurant.  

Pictured right - Arnold, Bette and Judy Dworkin 

The salmonella setback didn't affect the perpetually gregarious and effervescent Arnold Dworkin.  Moving past the salmonella scare, the family reopened the business with the Skokie village manager and city health inspector two of the first patrons.  A year later Arnold Dworkin was awarded the Skokie Merchant of the Year.  

Arnold Dworkin died in December of 2009 and his daughter and wife continue to run the daily operations.  However, in 2011 a malfunctioning stove started a fire that severely damaged the delicatessen and forced the Dworkin's to close Kaufman's for nearly one year.  This allowed Judy and Bette Dworkin to completely rework the establishment into one large space instead of having the deli on one side of the building and the deli on the other side.  

Kaufman's is located just east of the Edens Expressway on Dempster Ave. (see map)  There's a parking lot on the east side of the building and there was ample parking as it was after the noontime lunch rush.  

Inside Kaufman's, there was a large open space that featured the deli along the east side and the bakery along the south side.  A number of tables with chairs were placed in the center of the room.  (Moments after I took the above picture, an older lady came out and asked me why I was taking pictures.  I'm guessing it was Judy Dworkin.  I didn't tell her that I was a blogger, but that I liked to take pictures of neat places I've been to for meals when I'm on the road.  She nodded knowingly and went back behind the counter.)

The deli side of the restaurant had a glass counter that was full of nothing but fish - hickory smoked salmon, smoked sturgeon, smoked lake trout and full whitefish.  They also had New York-style whitefish salad and Chicago-style whitefish salad - don't ask me the difference between the two.   

The bakery had glass counters full of cakes, cookies and pastries.  Loaves of bread were lined on shelves behind the counters as were their famous bagels.  The bakery was a popular place at Kaufman's with a lot of people milling about in front of the counter looking for baked items.  USA Today once named Kaufman's bakery as one of the Top 10 in the United States.

The menu was on the wall behind the deli counter.  As I said, I was just there to get a pastrami on rye with some Swiss cheese.  But they had pretty much about any type of deli sandwich that you can think of at Kaufman's.  They have four different grades of corned beef from extra lean to what they call "regular" corned beef depending upon the dietary restrictions of customers.  They also have three different types of pastrami - from in-house smoked veal pastrami to lean pastrami to regular pastrami.  I got regular pastrami.  Sides include Jewish favorites such as potato pancakes, lentil and knishes, they had over a dozen different types of soup, and they also had full dinners such as sweet and sour meatballs, stuffed cabbage and lamb stew.

The pastrami was sliced lean and piled high on Kaufman's famous rye bread and topped with thick slices of Swiss cheese and a squirt of yellow mustard.  It was placed in a paper bag and I went to the opposite side of the deli to pay for it at the register.  
After I picked up a bottle of water and went to pay for the sandwich, the young lady asked me if I was going to dine in the deli.  When I told her that I was, she handed me a small paper plate on which to put my sandwich.

The taste of the pastrami on rye was outstanding - exactly what I was looking for in a great Jewish-style deli sandwich.  The meat had a slightly salty taste, but had great texture and flavor.  The rye bread was equally outstanding.  I'm guessing it's the same rye bread that the Dworkin family has had since the days of the Imperial Baking Co.  

I can't believe that it had taken me that long to finally get into Kaufman's for a great pastrami on rye sandwich.  The sandwich was simply excellent.  There are some other deli's in the northern suburbs I'd like to try, but they'd be hard pressed to equal or surpass the sandwich I had at Kaufman's.  Because of it's location, it will probably become my "go-to" deli in the northern suburbs of Chicago.   

La Mie Bakery - Des Moines, IA

My wife and I went to Des Moines for a weekend getaway earlier this year and one of the places that she wanted to go to was La Mie, a bakery/eatery that I was familiar with, but had never been to before.  Actually, I was rather impressed that she knew about La Mie.  I'd been wanting to check the place out and we had the chance to do that for lunch when we got into Des Moines.  

The story of La Mie starts with two brothers - Steve and Joe Logsdon - who decided to get into the restaurant business together.  They opened an Italian restaurant - Basil's - in a food court in the Locust Mall food court in downtown Des Moines.  That venture went so well that they soon opened a new venture - Basil Prosperi - in the skywalk system.  

The partnership between the brothers came to an end in 2003 when Joe Logsdon broke away to start La Mie and Steve Logsdon started Lucca.  At first, La Mie was known for its artisan breads and pastries before getting into more of a deli/sandwich shop.  It was a destination for many looking for authentic croissants and quality fresh-baked bread.  

Behind the scenes at La Mie, Joe's wife Christina was doing little things such as running the restaurant's booth at the Des Moines Farmers Market and helping out in the restaurant from time to time.  Christina grew up in a family who liked to cook, but working in a restaurant was not on her list of things to do after she got her degree in textiles and clothing from Iowa State.  However, her professional career consisted of working in some retail stores and not in the design of clothing.  Feeling a little disjointed, Christina tried selling real estate for awhile before deciding to become a stay-at-home mom for the couple's children.  Pressed into duty by the success and growth of La Mie, Christina started to work at the restaurant in 2007 primarily running the front of the house.

Pictured right - Christina Logsdon.  Photo courtesy Des Moines Register.

After a couple of years working together, Joe and Christina were thinking what they could do to add value to La Mie while keeping the core of the business philosophy intact.  It was at that time when Christina decided to enroll in the highly acclaimed French Pastry School in Chicago to learn the art of baking.  One of the best - if not THE best - pastry schools in the U.S., Christine took a six month course to learn how to make cakes, sweet rolls, chocolates, tarts and what has turned into her signature dessert - macaroons.  The world class pastry chefs who Christina studied under taught her the meticulous style that transferred to her work of art desserts that she (along with an assistant) make daily at La Mie.   

It was a busy Saturday afternoon when we pulled up to the parking lot behind La Mie which is located in the Shops of Roosevelt strip mall along 42nd Street just north of the I-235 freeway.  (see map)  The narrow place was packed when we made our way to the front of the restaurant to stand in line to place our order.   

The menu for La Mie is located on a chalk board behind the front counter.  Ready-made sandwiches, sides and drinks were in the coolers up front.  On a table behind the front counter were a number of breads, pastries and baguettes.  I've heard that La Mie's croissants are fabulous and was looking to pick some up.  However, they were all gone from the table.  The croissants are usually the first thing to sell out at La Mie during the course of the day.  I thought I could maybe get a sandwich made with a croissant.

But it turned out that wasn't possible.  The only problem I had with La Mie's menu was that the sandwiches that you could order were as is - they won't let you pick your bread, pick a cheese, pick the meat, etc.  I'm sure it's to help speed up the process of ordering and making the sandwiches, but I felt that the menu was a little shallow and restrictive. 

I ended up getting a tuna salad sandwich mixed with nuts and raisins and served on a homemade focaccia bread.  It was fine, but I think it would have been even better on a croissant.  The tuna salad was all right - the nuts and the raisins gave it a different taste, but I was fine with what I got.  

Cindy ordered up the smoked salmon salad - a smoked salmon filet on top of fresh greens topped with a sliced hard-boiled egg and sliced red onions.  She was told that red wine vinaigrette would come with the salad, but when it was brought out to her it came with a small container with ranch dressing.  She said she was all right getting the different type of dressing, but did admit later on that she thought it would have tasted better with the red wine vinaigrette.   

We thought about getting some dessert to go, but the line was still about a dozen people deep by the time we finished.  We decided to deep-six the desserts and let someone who was waiting for a table to take ours.  

And my wife was happy with La Mie and that's all that counts.  Sure, it's an eclectic place with an interesting menu and it's tough to beat the fresh baked goods in the place.  Like I said, I thought the menu was a little shallow and unwavering.  Still, I was fine with what I got for lunch.  I didn't need much for lunch that day and the tuna salad/focaccia sandwich was good and filling.  I would like to get back at some point to buy some of their croissants, but it will have to be early in the day.

Shapiro's Delicatessen - Indianapolis

Sometimes when I'm traveling, I just want a good ol' Jewish-style deli sandwich to have for lunch.  Something where the pastrami is piled high on rye bread, maybe add some Swiss cheese to the sandwich and top it off with yellow mustard.   Finding such a place can be challenging in the Midwest.  However, Indianapolis has had a great Jewish deli for over 100 years now - Shapiro's Delicatessen.  I went to Shapiro's on a recent visit to Indy.  

There seems to be two different historical accounts of the Shapiro family and how they made it to Indianapolis.  One account from Reid Duffy's book Guide to Indiana's Favorite Restaurants is featured on Shapiro's web site.  However, there is a link to an article from the Indiana Historical Society magazine Traces next to that account that has a more in-depth and somewhat different story of the Shapiro family.  I thought that seemed to be a more plausible story given that there are quotes in the article from family members, and even though the dates don't quite jive with the Shapiro logo stating that they've been around since 1905.  

Louis Shapiro was a grain broker and a grocer in his native Odessa, Russia (now Ukraine) along the Black Sea.  His grandfather was the food purveyor for the Tsar's Imperial Navy, so working with grain and dry goods was sort of in his blood.  Louis had heard of the riches of the great new world known as America and he named his store the American Grocery Company.

(Pictured right - The American Grocery Company)

On trips across Russia to buy grain, he would stay with Jewish families along that way as Jews were not permitted to stay in hotels.  On one of those stays with a Jewish family Louis fell in love with a young orphan girl who was living with her uncle.  When the young girl came of age, Louis asked her to marry him and he soon took Rebecca as his wife.    

He brought Rebecca back to Odessa to start their lives together, working in the dry goods store and raising a family consisting of five boys and a girl.  There was a large Jewish population in Odessa and anti-Jewish sentiment toward the end of the 19th century led to a series of pogroms - organized riots (and mass killings, in some cases) against Jewish people in Russia.  Led by conservative Pan-Slavic groups, the first pogrom against Jews was in 1871, a second one in 1881 was far more bloody and left scores of Jews dead in Odessa.  At Easter of each year after that, Jews in Odessa worried about the rumors of impending riots against their homes and businesses.  

In October of 1905, Tsar Nicholas II issued his manifesto that granted residents certain liberties and civil rights, a precursor to a democratic constitution for the Russian Empire.  Russian conservative political groups didn't like the new freedoms bestowed upon the Jewish population and a political riot broke out against the Jews and their liberal supporters in late October of 1905.  After three days of riots, the violence had taken 400 Jewish lives and injured another 300 - including Louis Shapiro who suffered a broken arm trying to save his store as his family hid in the basement.  However, the American Grocery Company was destroyed, and Louis and Rebecca decided it was the best time to leave Odessa for America. 

Louis and Rebecca along with their children were processed through Ellis Island in 1906.  They had hoped to open a grocery store in Brooklyn, but the Immigrant Removal Organization - a paternalistic group run by German Jews - had determined that too many Jewish immigrants were gathering in New York and worked to move families around the U.S.  Along with help from the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the Shapiros ended up in Lafayette, IN with Louis working for a Jewish junk dealer who sponsored the family's move to Indiana.  Finding that the junk business wasn't quite his cup of tea, the Shapiro's moved to nearby Indianapolis to join the ever growing Jewish population in the area.  

With the money they had saved, the Shapiros opened their first grocery store in the summer of 1906.  The store was so small that it could not initially provide a sustainable income for the Shapiro family.  Louis was forced to take a job at the Efroymson and Wolf department store, better known as the Star Store.  However, a falling box injured Louis' neck and while he was being treated for that injury doctors found that he was suffering from tuberculosis.  Louis was forced to go to Denver for months of treatment at the National Jewish Hospital.   

Faced with raising six kids, Rebecca Shapiro started a cart business where she went door to door selling 1 pound bags of ground coffee.  It turned out that she garnered such a large clientele that by the time Louis made it back to Indianapolis he went out and got a horse and carriage and sold tea and coffee to man in the immigrant neighborhoods south of downtown Indianapolis.  

(Pictured left, a photo of the Shapiro family - now up to 8 strong - circa 1920.  The youngest daughters, Sylvia and Belle, were the only American born children of Louis and Rebecca Shapiro.) 

Working out of their house on S. Illinois street, the Shapiro's were forced to find a new place to live when the floor collapsed under the weight of the dry goods they stored in the house.  With now enough money on hand, Louis was hoping to find a place to open a grocery store in addition to getting a new home for the family.  In 1911, he was able to find a building on the corner of the S. Meridian and McCarty streets that had a storefront on street level and an apartment on the upper floor.  It is the same corner where Shapiro's Delicatessen is today.  (see map)

Louis - known for having grandiose displays to catch the eye of customers - and Rebecca - who would offer suggestions to customers for what foods to make that evening - built a business that catered to the ethnic neighborhood around the store.   Rebecca would spread fresh spices on the floor of the grocery store daily to give the place a distinctive smell.  The Shapiro's were well known for their fresh produce as well as serving kosher deli meats from the Vienna Beef Company from Chicago.  The couple got their children involved with the store with the five boys sweeping, restocking and making deliveries, while daughter Fanny watched after her youngest sisters upstairs.  When the youngest daughters were as young as five years old, they, too, were enlisted in helping in the store.  

World War I had forced Louis to send his two oldest sons, Harry and Joe, off to the military - they would never return to the family business.  Son Max headed west to Southern California to hob nob with Hollywood stars and son Abe went to New York City to work in restaurants and delis there.  Youngest son Izzy stayed back in Indianapolis to help his parents by running the meat counter.  

In the mid-20's, Louis Shapiro redecorated and renovated his store into a clean and sleek modern day art-deco establishment.  By the time the Depression took hold across America, Louis Shapiro was hobbled with a bad back.  Max - now a dapper young ladies man - and Abe - now an award winning chef - came back to help their parents and siblings in the business.  When Prohibition ended, Max suggested the family sell bottles of beer to the workers that came in from the rapidly growing industrial area near their store.  Using some of the things he learned in New York City, Abe began to sell kosher meat sandwiches in the grocery store to go along with the beer.  

Mother Rebecca had long been known as a good cook and the brothers began to install steam tables to serve some of their mother's delicious food.  Her specialty was spaghetti and meatballs, a dish that the Shapiro's highlighted daily.  But there were family disputes who made the better corned beef - Abe or his mother Rebecca.  It quickly became Shapiro's signature item on their short menu.    

In the mid-30's, Louis and Rebecca took a short step back from the business to explore expansion options around the Indianapolis area and the kids stepped up to run the family business.  Abe was in charge of the kitchen, Izzy ran the take-out counter, and oldest sister Fanny opened the place every day.  But Max was designated as the heir-apparent to the family business.  His outgoing nature greeting people at the counter - plus the fact that he was single and could devote more time to the business - made him the natural choice to take over the original family business.  

Louis had planned on opening other Shapiro locations putting his kids in charge of each location.  However, only one location opened - on Indianapolis' north side which was experiencing a growth of Jewish immigrants who were displaced from their south side homes by new factories and warehouses - and it was run by Fanny for a short period before it was eventually closed.

By 1940, Louis and Rebecca were still around giving moral support to their kids working in the delicatessen.  The transformation from neighborhood grocery store to a full fledged deli serving south side warehouse and industrial workers - as well as workers at nearby Eli Lilly - was nearly complete.  Louis passed away in 1949 and three months later Rebecca suffered a debilitating stroke and was bed-ridden up to her death in 1956.  

Max oversaw a number of expansions in the 40's and 50's geared to serve the nearly 1500 people who came in to Shapiro's each week day.  He added a bakery that allowed the restaurant to bake up to 200 loaves of their signature rye bread daily.

Pictured right - Max Shapiro  

Max did find time to take time off to go to exotic locales - Miami Beach in the 40's, and after a brief marriage in the 50's he'd take trips to Acapulco in the early 60's.  But most of the time he'd work behind the counter at the delicatessen choosing to spend most of his waking hours kibitzing with customers and regaling his friends of the highlights his trips where the weather was warm year round.   Abe and Fanny Shapiro continued to work behind the scenes of the deli while Max became the "face" of the business.

Max married for a second time in his 60's.  His wife, Ann, came up with many of desserts that Shapiro's became famous for.  By the early 80's, Shapiro's was doing more than $3 million dollars in business.  But it was also time for Max to think about a successor.  His sister Fanny was still working in the deli well into her 80's, but his two marriages yielded no children.  Determined to keep the deli in the family, Max turned to his nephew Mort - a partner in the investment firm of Goezler and Co. - who was also a businessman who owned nearly two dozen liquor stores in the greater Indianapolis area - and Mort's son Brian, fresh out of the Indiana University's Maurer School of Law.   In 1983, Brian joined his great uncle in running the day-to-day operations of the business with Mort concentrating on the books and payroll.  A year later, Max Shapiro passed away and Brian and Mort became the proprietors of Shapiro's Delicatessen.  When Mort died in 1999, Brian became the sole proprietor.

Max had resisted opening a second location for a number of years, but before his death Mort and Brian convinced him to open a second location in a strip mall near a heavily Jewish neighborhood on Indianapolis' north side at W. 86th and Township Line Road.  The large space in the strip mall served Shapiro's famous sandwiches for 15 years before closing in 1999 due to dwindling dinner crowds and high rent.   

Pictured left - Brian Shapiro

Looking to stay open on the far north side of Indianapolis, Brian Shapiro scouted out a number of places over the next couple years before building a lavish brick building in Carmel's City Center entertainment and residential center.  The building gave Shapiro's 11,500 square feet of space, but development in and near the City Center project was slow to materialize.  For years, Shapiro struggled with keeping the space open before he was forced to close in 2013 for financial reasons.  

However, in the fall of 2014 Shapiro's opened a new north Indianapolis location in the Fashion Mall at Keystone.  Brian Shapiro was urged by Herb Simon, the owner of the Indiana Pacers and chairman emeritus of the Simon Property Group, the owner of the mall (and many other malls around the United States) not to forget about the north side of town "where all the money is" and to open a location there.   The 4200 square foot space is much smaller than other Shapiro locations, but is a perfect fit for the clientele of the upscale mall.  (Shapiro's also maintains a location with a limited menu at the Indianapolis International Airport.)    

It was just after 1 p.m. when I got into Shapiro's Deli.  The dining area - basically a big "L"-shape - is well lit, spacious and filled with a number of tables with chairs.  It had that sort of homey, Jewish deli feel to the place.  

As you come into Shapiro's, you'll find the baked goods and carry-out counters.  Shapiro's expanded their bakery a few years ago and offers fresh-baked bagels, pies and breads, as well as dessert bars, made-to-order cakes, cookies, cheese cakes and assorted sweets.  A number of people were in line at the carry-out after calling in deli orders when I walked in. 

It's cafeteria-style ordering at Shapiro's with the menu on the wall behind the steam bins up front.  In addition to sandwiches, Shapiro's Delicatessen serves fried or baked chicken, meat loaf, stuffed cabbage, Swiss steak, and beef liver and onions along with other things.  Soups include old fashioned Jewish-style chicken noodle soup, traditional matzo ball soup, vegetable soup and chili, as well as cabbage borsht - a Russian recipe handed down through generations of the Shapiro family.  Shapiro's also opens at 6:30 daily serving breakfast items such as omelets, corned beef hash, lox and bagels, and biscuits and gravy.  

The deli sandwiches are the star at Shapiro's.  You can get sandwiches made with meats - still from Vienna Beef in Chicago - such as corned beef, rare beef, brisket, salami, turkey or chopped liver, as well as a beef tongue sandwich - Shapiro's is one of the few places that offer sliced beef tongue I understand - made from a recipe that Abe Shapiro perfected years ago.  Tuna salad and chicken salad are available, as well.  

Shapiro's offers nearly a dozen different types of bread including their famous baked in-house rye breads, as well as other in-house baked breads such as sour dough and gluten-free.  Six different types of cheese, ketchup, mayo, three types of mustards and a chopped liver schmear is also available.  

I went with the pastrami on rye topped with Swiss cheese and slathered with yellow mustard.  A kosher dill pickle came with it and I got a bottle of water to wash everything down.  I passed up sides such as Shapiro's famous potato latke and their equally famous potato salad, cole slaw, bean or broccoli salad, and the house-made macaroni and cheese.  

From the first bite, I knew that I had something special in my hands.  The pastrami had that great peppery taste with a hint of smokiness.  It had a bit of marbling and was tender and almost melted in my mouth.  The rye bread had a crunchy crust but the inner part was soft and moist.  With the thick cut Swiss cheese and the liberal amount of yellow mustard, this was simply an outstanding sandwich.  I was in deli sandwich heaven.  

Sometimes I take many of the places I eat for granted when I'm on the road.  It's tough enough being on the road for long stretches of time, but going to places like Shapiro's Delicatessen bring back great memories of great food.  With a deep history of oppression, rejuvenation, success and setbacks, the Shapiro family story is - in many ways - more enlightening than the wonderful food they serve.  This is a place that I'll have no problem visiting again on future visits to Indianapolis.     

Rialto Cafe - Denver

During our stay in Denver for the annual CEDIA Expo, we stayed at the Courtyard Marriott in downtown Denver.  In the past, my boss was always big on the collegial gathering for meals.  But as our company has grown over the past few years, we found that getting everyone together can be a logistical nightmare for restaurants that weren't expecting us.  While I love my co-workers like brothers, I have begun to beg off of big gatherings for meals, mainly because the service and food suffer with a big group.  So, during the time we were in Denver we were told that for many of the meals we were on our own.  On the first full day that we were in Denver, I had not one, but two meals at the Rialto Cafe attached to the Courtyard.  

The Rialto Cafe is part of the Concept Restaurants group of eateries that also includes Table Mountain Grill & Cantina, Woody's Tavern, Humboldt, Via Baci, and Ignite Wood Fired Grill.  Frank Day is the man behind Concepts Restaurant with Kevin Brown running the day-to-day operations for the group.  Day started the Old Chicago chain of pizza and beer places in Boulder back in 1976, and also started the Rock Bottom Brewery concept in Denver in 1991.  Frank Day merged his Rock Bottom Brewery and Old Chicago restaurants with Gordon Biersch to form CraftWorks Restaurants and Breweries.  

(In addition to those restaurants, CraftWorks also owns the Chophouse Restaurant and Brewery with locations in Denver, Boulder and Washington, D.C., and a handful of brewpubs around the nation.  Day's wife, Gina, bought the Boulder Beer Company in 1991 saving the first brewery to legally brew beer in Colorado from bankruptcy.  Frank Day is now semi-retired and a consultant to both CraftWorks and Concepts Restaurants.)

The Rialto Cafe faces the 16th Street Mall and features sidewalk seating out front.  (see map)  The inside is a contemporary bistro with a mezzanine level that overlooks the restaurant.  A long bar with an ornate back bar sits along the east wall of the restaurant.  

They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Rialto Cafe and it was breakfast where I had my first meal. The breakfast menu at the restaurant isn't extensive, but it features some interesting items such as a crab cake eggs Benedict, stacked huevos that featured a flour tortilla with two eggs made to order, topped with green chili, grilled corn, black beans, avocado and cojita cheese, and a spinach and gruyere quiche.  

I almost ordered the buttermilk blueberry pancakes, but the beignet French toast really piqued my interest.  They came with sliced strawberries, but I asked if I could get them with blueberries.  

The French toast was really a triangle-shaped beignet that was deep-fried and topped with powered sugar.  There was no bread involved with the French toast.  When the waiter set the breakfast down in front of me, I knew good and well that I wouldn't be able to eat the whole thing.  And I couldn't - it was extremely doughy and super rich.  I think I ate one and possibly half of another one before I threw in the towel.  I'm not certain if I care for it all that much.  

We were having our company meeting at the hotel and instead of having lunch catered in, my boss decided for us to just go back to the Rialto Cafe.  We gave them a heads up that over a dozen of us would be there for lunch and they were fully prepared.  The lunch menu featured burgers, salads, sandwiches and a couple three dinner entrees.  One of them - the bacon-wrapped bison meat loaf was calling my name.  But I was still stuffed from the beignet French toast that I had about four hours before and I was thinking more along the line of the smoked salmon wedge salad or a club sandwich.

I opted for the club sandwich.  And it was good - I don't know if I've ever had a bad club sandwich.  And I don't know if I've ever had a great club sandwich.  It was a regular club sandwich with fries.  I didn't even bother to take a picture of it.

However, my colleague Ian went with the bacon-wrapped bison meat loaf.  It was approximately a 1/2 pound cut of lean bison meat loaf sitting on a bed of green beans and a pool of red wine demi-glaze.  Mashed potatoes usually come with the bison meat loaf, but Ian went with the fries.  He said that the meat loaf was outstanding.  

Also outstanding was an appetizer my colleague Simon ordered - the truffle fries.  They were French fries topped with parmesan cheese, fresh chopped herbs, and a truffle aioli.  Simon was seated across from me and he offered me some.  They were very, very tasty.  

I didn't eat at the Rialto Cafe the rest of time I was in Denver.  I found other options for breakfast and we were at the convention center for the whole day the rest of the time.  Dinner was an option there one evening, but I ended up going out to get a burger with Simon.  While the club sandwich was fine, I'm still uncertain if I liked the beignet French toast.  It may have been a bit of the culinary surprise that caught me off-guard.  It was unlike anything that I've ever had for breakfast.  And that may not be a bad thing.  

Callahan's Restaurant and Deli - Destin, FL

There's nothing worse than getting a bug while you're on vacation.  That happened to me during the last portion of our vacation to Florida's Emerald Coast.  I don't know if it was bad seafood - or maybe too MUCH seafood - but one day I had stomach problems that just wouldn't quit.  We had planned on trying a seafood place for dinner that night, but I wasn't really up for it.  We decided that maybe a sandwich or something like that would be what I needed.  Looking through Urbanspoon and a few other local websites we found Callahan's Restaurant and Deli in Destin.  Overall online reviews seemed to be positive, so we took off to find Callahan's. 

Established in 1992, Callahan's has long been a favorite of locals and tourists alike.  It's topped the "best of" lists for deli's and comfort food in both local magazine and newspaper polls a number of years.  Suzanne Chesbro is the current owner of Callahan's.

Callahan's is located off the main drag in Destin - Harbor Boulevard - near the Target store.  (see map)  If you're not familiar with the area, you can drive right past the road that takes you to Callahan's, like we did.  After figuring out that we'd passed it, we pulled into the next opening of a strip mall and doubled back.

A large group of people were milling about the entry way waiting for tables.  We both thought, "Oh, no.  Wonder how long of a wait this will be?"  When we went to the hostess stand, we found out that the group of people were all together and waiting for tables to be placed together in the dining room.  The hostess said that she could seat us right away.  She dropped off a couple of menus for us and our server, Luis (pronounced Lewis) came over to greet us.  

The dining room at Callahan's is well-lit and sort of spacious.  The windows were covered with wooden shutter doors and were still closed well after the sun went down.   Most of the tables were four-seaters that could be easily moved around to accommodate larger groups.  

They have an old fashioned meat counter up front in the restaurant.  Meats and cheeses were available for sale out of the refrigerated cases.  Maybe a good ol' deli-style sandwich is what I needed.  

The dinner menu at Callahan's was quite extensive, and that sort of worried us.  We've found that a restaurant that has such a long menu of different items, they usually do everything just all right, but not very good.  They featured a wide assortment of salads, pasta dishes, seafood, steaks, chicken entrees and sandwiches.  The menu is also quite kid friendly, as well.  It was almost too much to choose from.  

Cindy had pretty much decided on the pot roast - it came with mashed potatoes and gravy with a selected vegetable.  Cindy asked Luis what the vegetable was and he told her carrots.  She sort of said, "Oh...OK."  

Luis said, "I can get you something else.  I know we have a zucchini and squash medley in the kitchen tonight."  Cindy perked up and said she'd take that.   She also got her choice of a salad or soup.  She asked what the soup was that evening and Luis told her it was a potato ham soup.  She went with that.  

I ended up with just getting the grilled pastrami and Swiss sandwich.  Potato chips came with the sandwich and I told Luis that would be fine, even though I probably wouldn't be eating many - if any - of the potato chips.   

After Cindy finished her cup of the potato ham soup, Luis brought our dinners out to us.  Cindy's eyes got big.  There was a lot of food on her plate.  Both the pot roast and the mashed potatoes were covered with a brown beef gravy.  Luis apologized for the carrots on the plate, but Cindy said, "Oh, gosh, that's all right.  I like carrots, but I just wondered if there was anything else other than carrots that you had to offer."  

My pastrami and Swiss sandwich was pretty basic.   It was oozing with a generous amount of Swiss cheese on top of a bed of pastrami.  Tomato slices and lettuce usually come on the sandwich, but I had Luis tell the cook to leave them off.  The sandwich had a nice crunchy outer shell from the grill and the flavor of the Swiss cheese and pastrami was a great combination.  With a little yellow mustard to give it a little more flavor, it was a good sandwich.

Cindy thoroughly liked her pot roast.  She offered me a couple bites of the roast beef and gravy.  The gravy was a bit salty, but it was thick and flavorful.  The roast beef was tender and cut easily with a fork.  It was probably the comfort food meal that I needed more than a pastrami and Swiss sandwich.  But that would have been way too much food for my somewhat uneasy stomach at that point.  

While we have some trepidation with a restaurant that tries to do to much with their menu, we couldn't come up with any negatives with our meal at Callahan's.  The food was fine and basic, Luis' service was impeccable, the place was clean and bright, it hit us just right on a night where we needed to step away from rich seafood or Cajun food.  If you're hungry and can't figure out exactly what you want - or if you're in a large group who can't make up their minds what to have for dinner - Callahan's is good place to go.  

Modica Market - Seaside, FL

While we were on the Emerald Coast of Florida, we stayed a couple nights with my cousin, John, and his wife, Bonnie.  One of their favorite places they like to go to is a small market/restaurant in the planned community of Seaside, Modica Market, not far from their house in Santa Rosa Beach.  Bonnie knew that my wife is big on breakfast and she proposed going to Modica Market for one of their Belgian waffles one morning.

Charles and Sarah Modica operated a small grocery store in Bessemer, AL.  In 1988, the Modica's moved south to the new Seaside development that was being built along the coast.  They built one of the first houses in the planned community and after developer Robert Davis found out that the couple had grocery store experience, he asked them to own and operate the small market that he was building in the city center of Seaside.  Davis envisioned a small market that sold a little bit of everything, a place where people would have to make multiple trips to encouraging a neighborhood feel to the place.  

In 1989, the Modica's opened their market that catered to not only the local population, but to the thousands of tourists who came to the Emerald Coast each year.  Modica Market quickly became a local landmark with Charles Modica, Sr. being one of the area's most loved icons.  Dozens of local kids got their first job working at Modica Market, many of them calling Charles, Sr. as their first and foremost role model.

Pictured right - Charles Modica, Sr.

Charles Modica, Jr., and his sister, Carmel, also helped in the store.  Charles, Jr. worked along side his dad until Charles, Sr. retired in 2006, handing the reins over to Charles, Jr.  Charles Modica, Sr. died in 2010 and part of Highway 30A that runs through Seaside is named the Charles Modica, Sr. Hospitality Way. 

Carmel Modica lives just around the corner from my cousin and his wife and they've become good friends with her.  In fact, when Spring Break hits the Emerald Coast, my cousin volunteers at Modica Market to watch for shoplifting and to help out restocking shelves.   

Modica Market is located in Seaside's Central Square.  (see map)  The Central Square features shops and restaurants with a spoke of streets leading into the center area which features a sloping grassy area with a stage for live music and entertainment.  Due to the heavy rains they had just days before we got there, much of the area near the stage was roped off because the ground was still saturated.  

 
The inside of Modica Market features lively colors and high shelves with gourmet foods and boutique-style goods from both America and abroad.  Rolling ladders allowed for staff to reach for products on the highest shelves, but most of the items on the upper shelves were decorative in nature.  The majority of goods they sold in the store were available by standing and reaching. 

The deli part of the market is in the center of the store.  Breakfast in the morning includes Belgian waffles, breakfast sandwiches and pastries.  For lunch time, the deli will make fresh submarines and sandwiches.  Fresh baked goods are available at Modica Market.  

In 1996, the town of Seaside became a movie set for the Jim Carrey movie, "The Truman Show."  Many of the scenes were shot around Seaside and particularly in Modica Market.  Many townspeople - including Charles and Sarah Modica - were featured in the movie.  Many still shots of the movie were hanging on the wall near the front door.  I've never seen The Truman Show and I'll probably have to rent it at some point to see some of the places we saw in Seaside.

The beer and wine selection at Modica Market isn't extensive, but what they had was pretty impressive.  And, I would say, a tad bit pricey.  Many of the beers that I like and were available in the market ran a buck or two higher per six pack than what I would normally pay for the beer.  Same with the wine.  Bottles of wine that would be $15 to $20 bucks in Iowa were as much as 25% higher at Modica Market.

The deli/meat case at the kitchen area in the center of the store features fresh-cut meats, fresh deli salads and ready-to-eat foods.  The market also had a number of different types of gourmet cheese from around the world.  

It was time to order our Belgian waffles.  Bonnie ordered a Belgian waffle with strawberries.  I asked one of the young gals behind the counter if I could get fresh blueberries on mine considering I saw that they had blueberries for smoothies.  She asked another girl if that could happen and she said it was no problem.  

But the only problem was that the girl thought that both Bonnie and I wanted blueberries, so she made up two blueberry Belgian waffles.  The girl was going to take Bonnie's back and make a strawberry waffle for her, but it took about 10 minutes for a waffle to get made (there were a lot of people in line for Belgian waffles).  Bonnie just decided to take the blueberry Belgian waffle.  

Cindy didn't want a Belgian waffle figuring she could have a bite or two of mine and she ended up getting a spinach and feta cheese croissant that was already made up and wrapped in cellophane and sitting on the counter.  John just got a pastry for breakfast.  We each got fresh squeezed orange juice. 

After John paid for our food at the front counter with Charles Modica, Jr. manning the register, we found some plastic composite tables and chairs out in front of the place.  John and Bonnie were looking at the tables and said that they were brand new.  "Much more comfortable than the old ones they had," Bonnie said.  Carmen Modica told us later on that the city of Seaside had put the new tables and chairs in front of the market.

The Belgian waffles were served on paper plates and we had to eat them with plastic forks.  But the blueberries were big and juicy, the whipped cream on top was real whipped cream and the waffles were pretty darn good for basic Belgian waffles.  It was a nice simple breakfast.   Nothing fancy and definitely laid back. 

Modica Market caters more to an upscale crowd than just your normal run-of-the-mill grocery store.  Their gourmet items and unique food items sets it apart from a normal grocery store.  Major grocery chains have come into the area over the past few years and that's cut into Modica Market's bottom line.  But given the amount of people milling about and waiting in line to buy something at the register they didn't seem to be hurting.  Modica Market has seemed to achieve what developer Robert Davis envisioned for an old-style grocery store in Seaside - someplace that develops a sense of community within the small town.  And that's a testament to the two generations of the Modica family who have run the place for 25 years.  And it's what keeps the people coming back.

Main Deli Steak House - Montreal

First a full disclosure about today's post - I really didn't come here.  But colleagues of mine did and got me a sandwich, so I believe I can still talk about the Main Deli Steak House in Montreal.  (Photo courtesy Trip Advisor/Canada.)

A couple months ago, I was working a dealer event in St. Louis with Costa, the V.P. for sales for Simaudio which is based in Montreal.  I told him that I was going to be heading up to Montreal the following week for meetings at our head office.  I mentioned that I was getting into Montreal around noon and that I would probably head to the iconic Schwartz's Deli for a Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich.  (Click here to see my entry on Schwartz's Deli.)   

Costa said, "If you want to stand in long lines (like we did) at Schwartz's and get hustled in and out of the place, then that's fine. But where the locals go to is right across the street.  It's called Main Deli and I think they have better sandwiches than Schwartz's."

After Costa's recommendation, I looked up Main Deli and found that while it didn't have quite the long and savory history that Schwartz's did, it appeared that a lot of people liked the place more than Schwartz's.  Main Deli was founded in 1974 by Peter Varvaro, a son of Italian immigrants who grew up running to get his family Montreal-style smoked meat sandwiches from local deli restaurants up and down Boul St. Laurent.  Varvaro immersed himself in Jewish culture as a young man and learned the art of making smoked meat which originated in Romania.  Peter Varvaro said that the secret wasn't so much in the spices and herbs that were used to help cure the meat before smoking, but rather the whole process of making the smoked meat - a family secret that was kept between Varvaro, his wife, his daughter and four sons, all of whom worked at Main Deli.  

Varvaro's initial restaurant - Main St. Laurence Steakhouse and Delicatessen - was a small place along Boul St. Laurent, regarded by many locals as the main street of Montreal.  In 1984, Varvaro moved to a larger, but still cozy place, right across the street from Schwartz's Deli.  (see map).  He renamed it Main Deli Steak House at that time.  Peter Varvaro passed away in 2013 at the age of 81, but the family still owns - and runs - the restaurant.  

Two of Peter Varvaro's sons have gone out on their own to open similar smoked meat restaurants in the suburbs of Montreal.  Oldest son Peter Jr. opened Smoke Meat Pete's in 1996, giving the restaurant his nickname that friends called him when he was growing up working in the family business.  And Philip Varvaro runs Delibee's, a full delicatessen that also serves Montreal-style smoked meat.  

I found this little five minute plus video on Peter Varvaro, Sr. that was made before he passed away talking about smoked meat and what little he says about his process of making it.  

On this recent trip to Montreal, it turns out that a couple of my west coast colleagues had taken red-eye flights to get into Montreal around 9:45 in the morning.  Two other colleagues had gotten in around 10:30 a.m.  I wasn't due in until around noon.  I had suggested all of us go to Main Deli for a sandwich, but then I got to feeling guilty that some of them would have to be waiting around a couple hours or more for me to meet up with them.  They all said they were up for a sandwich at Main Deli and suggested that I take a cab from the airport to meet them.  Once again, I didn't want them to wait for me - especially the guys who had taken red-eye flights into Montreal and who were, undoubtedly, tired and ready for a nap.  I said that I would just take a cab to our hotel and meet them there later on.

But my colleague, Ian, had a better idea.  He said that they would go to Main Deli, have lunch, then come back out to the airport to pick me up - and bring me a sandwich.  While I was disappointed that I couldn't physically go to Main Deli for a sandwich, I was somewhat humbled by the fact that they'd grab me a sandwich and come all the way back out to the airport to pick me up.  I work with a great bunch of guys.  

Right around 1 p.m. on a beautiful day in Montreal, the guys came around the pick-up lane in a van and picked me up.  In a small sandwich bag was an aluminum-wrapped sandwich.  It was sort of mashed and scrunched up, but there it was - a glorious pile of smoked meat sandwich slathered with yellow mustard placed between two thick (at one time) slices of white bread.  I took a couple pictures of the sandwich in the foil.  While I wish the sandwich looked like this one on the right, it didn't - thanks to the wear and tear of wrapping it up and traveling in a sack.  (I got this picture of a Main Deli smoked meat sandwich from Yelp.)  

The tender smoked meat was fabulous.  The seasonings were very discernible on the outside bark of the meat.  The overall flavor was outstanding.  I pulled a couple slices off the sandwich as we were driving down the road and savored the taste and smell of the meat.  I was in Montreal-style smoked meat heaven.

I have to hand it to Costa from Simaudio - he certainly had Main Deli and Steakhouse pegged.  I probably did like it better than Schwartz's, which has sort of gone commercial over the past few years.  (They're starting to sell Schwartz's packaged smoked meat in grocery stores around Montreal.)  While I can't comment on what the inside of Main Deli was like (I should have had the guys take pictures for me), all I can say that even going down a freeway eating a smoked meat sandwich from Peter Varvaro's original recipe made me especially happy.  I'd just love to get there in person at some point and get one hot out of the kitchen. 

Bat 17 - Evanston, IL

On a recent trip into the Chicago area, I had an appointment in Evanston one morning, so I spent the night in the downtown area.  After the appointment, I went back to the hotel to return e-mails and pack up to go down the road.  It was getting near lunch time and I was getting hungry.  I decided to walk to a place that I'd had on my list to try for sometime - Bat 17 - for some lunch.  

The distinctively named Bat 17 is a full service deli and pub that opened in 2007.  Partners Jim Pomerantz and Jim Hurley opened their deli in early 2007 after getting advice from one of the co-founders/co-owners of the iconic Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor, MI, Paul Saginaw.  Pomerantz and Hurley wanted their deli to be more than just a good deli that serves sandwiches.  They do breakfast and dinners at Bat 17, and they also have a wide selection of eclectic micro-brewed beers on tap and in bottles.  

The meats they use at Bat 17 comes from Kelly Eisenberg, a Chicago meat purveyor who has been in business since 1929.  The breads and buns are baked at Evanston's iconic Bennison's Bakery each day by award winning Certified Master Baker Jory Downer.  Bennison's uses organic and whole grain flours in many of their breads, and they bake the breads and buns for Bat 17 using unbleached, unbromated flour.

Bat 17 is located on Benson Ave. in downtown Evanston (see map).  It was a five minute walk on a cold day from the hotel to the deli.  Bat 17 gets its name from an acronym - Benson Avenue Tap - and the fact that it's in the 1700 block of the street.  Hence, Bat 17.  The main entrance opens to a vestibule that has two doors.  The deli/restaurant is on the left, and a new addition that Bat 17 took over for night time and weekend overflow is to the right.  That room features pool tables and another bar area.  

The deli part of the place is not large.  It features a handful of tables and a small step-up bar area.  The deli menus are on a blackboard on the wall, but they also featured printed full menus, as well.  Along one wall of the deli dining area is a large open cupboard filled with a variety of hot sauces that people can use with their meals.

I was able to get a seat at the bar and not long after I saw down I was greeted by a lady who was the bartender.  As I said, Bat 17 has an extensive beer menu with a number of interesting beers on tap and in bottles.  I took a quick look before I came up with a Lagunitas India Pale Ale to have while I looked over the menu.  

As I was looking over the menu after getting my beer, I looked over to my right and saw what appeared to be these tube containers on a shelf with the Bat 17 logo on them.  These are Bat 17's 105-ounce "beer towers" that can be filled with any one of the draft beers the place has and put on tables for easy - and quick - access to beer.  I understand they're a popular thing to order at Bat 17.  

Interestingly, Bat 17 is known for their burgers.  The burgers are 10 ounce 100% certified Angus beef and Bat 17 has about a half dozen signature burgers including the K-2 Bat 17 burger with applewood smoked bacon, onion strings and American cheese on a brioche bun, as well as the Sunny Side Up burger that features a burger topped with a sunny side up egg, Vermont cheddar cheese, along with applewood-smoked bacon on a brioche bun.  And for those guys who want to impress their friends, Bat 17 has "The Terminator" - two 10-ounce burger patties, four slices of American cheese, 4 slices of applewood-smoked bacon and onion strings on a triple decked brioche bun.  For the health conscious, Bat 17 also has a bison burger, as well as ground chicken, ground salmon or ground turkey burgers, along with a veggie burger.

Bat 17's deli menu features your typical deli meat fare - corned beef, pastrami, roast beef, ham and turkey sandwiches.  They also feature pulled pork sandwiches, a classic B.L.T., grilled chicken sandwiches, and a number of vegetarian sandwiches.  Interestingly, they also have a number of breakfast items they sell nearly all day long.  The Door County French toast with warm cherry compote sounded pretty damn good.

I saw one of the deli sandwiches and they're huge.  They have two sizes - the regular and the full.  A guy next to me got a sandwich that was the regular size and I was afraid to see how big the full was.  For me, it was down to either getting the Buzz - warm pastrami topped with Swiss cheese and a housemade Russian dressing on an olive-oil drizzled/grilled pumpernickel bread; or getting the Pretzel Boy burger - a 10 oz. patty topped with smoked Gouda cheese, roasted red peppers, and onion strings on a pretzel bun and served with a side of a horseradish sauce.  

I hemmed and hawed on both until the bartender came over to take my order.  I thought I was getting kind of burned out on burgers, but I really wanted to try the Pretzel Boy.  So - of course - I ordered the Buzz hot pastrami sandwich with the dressing on the side.  I got a side with the sandwich and I had my choice of American-style fried potatoes, potato salad, a gorganzola cole slaw, a corn and bean salad or fresh fruit.  I asked her what she liked and she said, "I really like the potato salad.  We make it a little spicy with bits of bacon."  She had me at "spicy".  

The sandwich featured thick slices of pumpernickel and a generous portion of the warm pastrami.  The pastrami was slightly salty, but had the great peppery taste to it.  The Swiss cheese was very fresh and went great on the sandwich.  I tried a couple dips of the Russian dressing - it was more of a 1000 Island dressing - and I'm glad I got it on the side.  It would have overpowered the taste of the great pastrami meat and the Swiss cheese.  The bread - although it was thick - was moist and far from dried out.  It was a superb sandwich.  

But as good as the sandwich was, the highlight of the meal was the spicy potato salad.  At first, there really isn't much of a spicy taste to the potatoes - it sneaks up to you on the back side.  And the chunks of bacon were just a bonus taste sensation.  The potato salad was just out of sight.  It was a very good lunch.

But - whoa!  It wasn't cheap.  My Buzz sandwich was $14.50 on its own.  I can get a similar sandwich (without the artisan bread and the high quality pastrami - but still good) back home in the Quad Cities for half the price. The one thing that Bat 17 doesn't apologize for is its prices.  That may be the only thing that I can think would be a detriment to going to Bat 17.  But everything else I liked tremendously.   Bat 17 has a little bit of everything for everyone.  You want breakfast at 3 p.m.?  They got it!  A great deli - no problem.  And you've got to try the potato salad.   I do want to go back at some point this summer and try a Pretzel Boy burger.  And I'll be getting a side of the potato salad with it. 

Fozzie's Sandwich Emporium - St. Louis

Sometime a few months ago, one of my dealers in St. Louis mentioned a little place that had great sandwiches and burgers that was located on Big Bend Blvd. just north of 40 Highway (Interstate 64) in Richmond Heights.  The place had a unique name - Fozzie's Sandwich Emporium.  They had garnered some local and national mentions regarding their sandwiches in the short time they'd been open.  One afternoon while in St. Louis, I went to Fozzie's to see what all the hubbub was about.  

The guy behind Fozzie's Sandwich Emporium is Mark Lucas, a restaurant veteran who took turns at St. Louis eateries such as El Scorcho (now closed), Momos, Roxane and Boogaloo.  Lucas opened Fozzie's in June of 2010 naming his restaurant after the cat of his then-fiance/now-wife.  The original Fozzie's is in what was a small Chinese restaurant and right across the street from the former Hi-Fi-Fo Fum audio store in that I used to call on years ago at the corner of Wise and Big Bend. (see map)  In August of last year, Lucas opened his second Fozzie's Sandwich Emporium in Des Peres in the South County area of St. Louis.  

In July of 2012, Lucas was named as one of the nation's "Sandwich Chefs to Know" by Food and Wine Magazine.  The article noted that Lucas has a garden behind Fozzie's where he grows many of the vegetables and herbs that he uses on his sandwiches in the summertime.   Fozzie's has also received local media recognition for "Best New Restaurant" in 2011, and "Best Delivery."  During the World Series last year, Fozzie's gained national notoriety for the "Wacha Wacha" milkshake named after St. Louis Cardinals' rookie pitcher Michael Wacha who was instrumental in the Cardinals late season run.  

It was around 1:30 when I pulled into the parking lot on the north side of Fozzie's Sandwich Emporium.  The front door opens into a funky little space that contains some tables and chairs with a counter.  The menu is located on chalk boards behind the counter.  

The menu features a number of salads, traditional sandwiches, hot dogs, gyros and burgers including Fozzie's take on the Juicy Lucy, a Twin Cities burger staple.  They also have a number of Fozzie's original sandwiches that include the Big Bend Mafia with roast beef, sweet Italian sausage, giardineira and provolone cheese on a garlic hoagie bun; the Black 'n Blue that had sliced steak, blue cheese, spinach and Fozzie's homemade Tiger sauce (kind of a creamy horseradish sauce) on a garlic hoagie bun; and the Animal which featured grilled chicken, arugula, and a portobella and red pepper cream cheese on a sourdough bun.  

I thought about getting a burger, but a couple of their traditional or "Classic" sandwiches caught my eye.  The Italian Grinder had cappicola, mortadella, and salami with provolone cheese and topped with lettuce, tomato and Fozzie's made-in-house Italian dressing was the one I damned near went with.  But then I saw "Da Dip" - roast beef with debris, topped with onions, Swiss cheese and the Tiger sauce and served on a baguette.  You can have it dipped or served with the au jus on the side.  It was the complete antithesis of The King sandwich - an homage to Elvis Presley with peanut butter, bacon and fried bananas on sourdough bread.  I decided to get "Da Dip" with keeping the Italian Grinder on my "next time" list.    

The sandwich was served to me in a paper bag with a couple tubs of the au jus.  This au jus was different from au jus you get with a French dip sandwich - Fozzie's has herbs and red pepper flakes mixed in.   

The sandwich looked pretty nondescript with slices of beef piled on a lightly toasted baguette roll with the Swiss cheese and the Tiger sauce underneath the beef.  

The sandwich - with the spicy au jus - was very good.  The beef was tender and there was a lot on the sandwich.  I really enjoyed the Tiger sauce which seemed to have a little more kick than a regular creamy horseradish sauce.  The au jus with the red pepper flakes gave it an extra kick in taste.  The sandwich itself was definitely a "seven napkin-er" as the combination of the Tiger sauce and au jus made it pretty messy.  But it was a great kind of messy - the delicious kind.

I was thoroughly impressed with "Da Dip" and my first visit to Fozzie's Sandwich Emporium.  It was a funky and fun little place that had enough variety where I will have to go back at least two more times to get a burger and an Italian Grinder at some point.  And they have other interesting items on the menu - including their hot dogs - that have piqued my interest, as well.  Don't expect anything fancy from Fozzie's in terms of an inside, sit down experience.  But they have a number of picnic tables outside that are inviting on a nice St. Louis day.  Sort of like today.  (Photo courtesy Riverfront Times)

The Village Green - Middleton, WI

Traveling to the Madison, WI area one Monday evening, I stayed at a hotel in Middleton on Madison's west side.  I found an Indian restaurant on-line and went there for dinner.  Unfortunately, I found out when I pulled up in front of the place that they're closed on Monday's.  I drove toward the old downtown area of Middleton looking for some place to eat.  Now, a place that I've eaten at in the past - but not for a long time - is the venerable Village Green, a tavern/eatery that I first went to back in the 80's.  The only problem is that the Village Green didn't take credit cards and a meal with two or three beers adds up fast and I usually don't take a lot of cash with me on the road.  I just happened to go by the Village Green this one particular evening and glanced at their front windows.  There were the familiar "Visa" and "MasterCard" stickers in the window.  I whipped into a parking spot on Hubbard St. and went into the Village Green for the first time in about 10 years.  (see map) 

The Village Green first opened in 1976 when Ron and Cricket Boyer bought an old four-lane bowling alley with a bar that had come up for sale.  Ron Boyer had extensive restaurant experience in the Middleton area having first managed, then owned a Kelly's Hamburgers franchise since 1961.  But Ron Boyer has a side story that I found rather fascinating.

In addition to having a day job as the manager of the small fast food burger joint in the early 60's, Ron Boyer was also a drummer who met a young guitarist from Milwaukee who was going to school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison - a guy by the name of Steve Miller.  Along with a couple of other guys, they started a band called The Ardells and played a number of campus and Madison-area gigs.  

The Ardells line-up changed with the addition of Miller's boyhood friend Boz Scaggs, and then later on keyboardist Ben Sidran joined the group.  Of course, Steve Miller and Boz Scaggs went on to have big careers in rock and pop music, and Ben Sidran - who is the brother of Quad City-area musician Dr. Ezra Sidran (Ezra sits in with my friends Wicked Liz and the Bellyswirls from time to time) - became somewhat of a legendary rock and jazz studio musician playing with the likes of Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Diana Ross and Rickie Lee Jones.  

Miller eventually moved to Chicago to immerse himself in the blues and Scaggs ran off to London to get into the music scene over there.  Sidran got his English literature degree from the U of Wisconsin before going off to study in the United Kingdom where he eventually became a studio musician.  Ron Boyer went back to slinging burgers at Kelly's Hamburgers.      

Boyer eventually turned his restaurant into a Pickle Pete fast food restaurant, but sensed that the days of a non-major chain/cheap burger joint were numbered in the mid-70's.  When they found out that the former bowling alley in downtown Middleton was for sale, the Boyers bought the place.  Ron ended up putting a floor over the bowling lanes, taking the pool tables out and putting in a grill behind the bar area.  

The Boyer's four children were all involved in the business as they grew up.  Two of their sons, Craig and Chad, who began to work in the place busing tables when they were in middle school, continue to work in the place today running the day to day operation.  (Ron Boyer is semi-retired, but Cricket will come in and wait tables four or five times a week for a few hours.) 

There's two distinct areas at the Village Green - the main dining area where the bowling lanes is on the left as you come in the front door.  The dining room is well lit and a number of signs and chalk boards with food specials are on the wall.  While it's far from fancy, it's got a nice neighborhood tavern-like feel to the place.  The bar area is partitioned off to the right as you come in the front door.  

 
I took a seat at the bar and was greeted by a young lady who asked me what I wanted to drink.  They had a list of their draft beers on the wall and I saw that they had Esser's Best on tap, a good local beer brewed in nearby Cross Plains.  She gave me a menu to look over. 

The Village Green is locally known for their very good, flat-grilled burgers.  But, quite honestly, I've never had a burger in the place each of the times that I've eaten there.  I've had their reubens there, including a rather interesting and good Summer sausage reuben.  They also have a number of appetizers, salads and soups including Ron Boyer's homemade chili that I've had before, as well.  It's got a nice spicy kick to it.  

Since it had been so long from the last time I was in, I couldn't order anything but the Village Green reuben sandwich - one of the best I've ever had.  The girl asked me if I wanted a side with it and for some reason I said I'd take French fries.  But the reuben is probably all I'd eat that evening. 

They grill the corned beef and sauerkraut at the Village Green, placing the Swiss cheese on top of the corned beef before putting everything on thick sliced pumpernickel bread.  Dill pickle slices come on the side.  In fact, Chad Boyer was running the grill this particular evening.

The corned beef is thin sliced, but piled high on the sandwich.  They use a lot of sauerkraut on the sandwich and the thing I like is that they serve the 1000 Island dressing on the side.  Sometimes, I'll run into a reuben where the dressing is so overpowering that it kills the taste of the corned beef.  I was able to dip parts of the sandwich into the small tub of 1000 Island dressing, using what I wanted to get that dressing taste on the sandwich.

And the sandwich was just as good as I remembered.  The slightly salty taste of the corned beef was offset by the somewhat sour taste of the sauerkraut.  The bread was fresh and a great part of the sandwich.  On the menu, they call their reuben "the best around".  I may have to agree with that.  It's still very good.

While the Village Green isn't fine dining, it's a great place to get a sandwich.  One of these days I'll have to go in and try their flat-grilled burgers.  There's a lot of great watering holes in the greater Madison area and the Village Green remains one of my all-time favorite places to go get a beer and a reuben.  Now that I've found that they take credit cards, I'm sure I'll be back for a burger at some point.   

The Closing of the Belgian Village - Moline, IL

I got a text message from my wife while I was on the road earlier this week telling me that the venerable Belgian Village Inn in Moline would be closing on February 1.  I was aghast at the notion of another favorite food place in the Quad Cities closing down, but after a quick reflection on the last two or three visits to the place I found that I wasn't overly surprised.  (Click here to see my entry on the Belgian Village.)  (Belgian Village sign courtesy Trip Advisor.)

Citing health reasons, Karen Manning and her husband, Shawn, decided earlier in the week to close down the 37-year-old restaurant today.  The couple bought the business in 1997 from Karen's mother and father, Loretta and Denis Ceurvorst who had started the business in 1977.  The Mannings broke the news to employees after a frigid outbreak earlier in the week shut the place down for a couple days.

The draw to the B.V.I. (as the locals called it - short for Belgian Village Inn) was their Vande Reuben sandwich.  I'm not gonna tell you it was the greatest sandwich ever - it was good, but not great.  It wasn't even much of a sandwich with a couple thin slices of ham, a similar amount of shaved corned beef and a small spread of sauerkraut.  The winning taste for the Vande Rueban was the bread that was baked fresh each day.  The over-sized sandwich was made even better by slathering Boetje's Mustard and placing copious quantities of dill pickles on it.  

We'd order one - lightly grilled. (A former cook used to overcook the Vande Reubens years ago - we just got used to ordering it that way, even though that cook was long gone and they never overcooked them after that.)  We'd cut the Vande Reuben into thirds, then the thirds into halves.  My wife and I would both eat two "squares" at the sitting, taking the other two pieces of the sandwich home with us for a light lunch a day or two later.  

Now, I'll tell you that when I was younger I could eat a whole Vande Reuben sandwich on my own at one sitting.  I did it three or four times before I realized that all I did was make myself miserable and overstuffed.  But a third of a sandwich after a cup of clam chowder and half a bowl of the marinated cole slaw was enough for me.   

But, to me, the Belgian Village was just more than just an over-sized sandwich with skimpy toppings.  They had great clam chowder and it was a treat to get their prime rib when they served it on Friday and Saturday nights. Getting a big frosty mug of beer (Budweiser, but it used to be Old Style when I first started going there nearly 23 years ago) was also a pleasure.  And my wife and I particularly loved their sweet marinated cole slaw.  The ambiance of the place was cozy, warm and sort of blue collar.  We always jumped at the chance to go to the Belgian Village.

I was turned on to the B.V.I. by one of my co-workers when I was the General Manager of an audio store in Davenport in the early 90's.  It quickly became one of my favorite places to take friends from out of town who came to visit.  My wife immediately liked the place the first time I took her there almost 20 years ago.  Each time we took someone new to the Belgian Village, they left with a favorable impression.  "What's the name of that place you took us to that had the huge sandwiches," was a question I heard many times from friends who we turned on to the Belgian Village.  

But on recent visits, we noticed that things weren't quite the same at the B.V.I.  The last time we were there, the tap lines for the beer were broke down so I couldn't get a frosty mug of tap beer.  I did get a bottle of beer and they poured it into the frosty mug for me, but, mentally, it wasn't the same.  The wait for a table or booth on a Friday or Saturday night had become non-existent.  Over the past couple of years, we could always count on getting into the Belgian Village with no problems on the weekend.  In years past, we may have had a 30 minute - or more - wait to get a place to sit on a weekend night.  I don't think the food had gone downhill - my wife may disagree - but the place had sort of gotten tired and we could see that parts of the building needed some upgrades.  

Now, hindsight is always 20-20, but announcing four days before you're going to close forever is probably not the way I would have handled the closing of the Belgian Village.  I was told last night that they ran out of food at both the main location and at their drive-thru location in Moline on Thursday.  And I heard that the Moline police were called out last night to handle a disturbance at the drive-thru after they ran out of food - again.  Given how popular the B.V.I. once was, it was no wonder that crowds have gathered early and waited a long time for one last sandwich.  I understand there was as much as a four-hour wait yesterday at the drive-thru location around the corner from the original Belgian Village.  I would have given locals a month - heck, even two weeks - to have a chance for one last visit to enjoy a Vande Reuben sandwich.   

My wife is in the Iowa City area visiting her daughter this weekend and I thought about going over there either last night or sometime today to get one last Vande Reuben.  But after the reports I've heard about big crowds and long waits, I've decided that I'm going to pass on that and rely upon my memories of the many visits to the Belgian Village.  It's sad that another landmark local restaurant is closing and I'm hoping beyond hope that someone will come in, buy the place, spruce it up and resurrect the Belgian Village to its glory days.  For what it was, it wasn't much.  But the B.V.I. will always hold a special place in my heart - and my stomach.

(Update - According to this article in the Quad City Times, the Manning's have had about two dozen inquiries to buy the Belgian Village.  A local commercial real estate agent says he's fielded a number of phone calls from people since last Wednesdy looking to buy both the Belgian Village Inn and their drive-thru location.  Meetings with what were termed as "serious" buyers could begin next week.)

Goose the Market - Indianapolis

Earlier this year, I was talking with a guy at one of my dealers in Indianapolis and we were talking about places to buy eclectic beers in the area.  He was telling me about a place that was a wine and beer store not far from his business in near-north Indianapolis - an interesting place with an interesting name - Goose the Market.  He told me that in addition to beers, they also had a butcher shop that sold dry aged steaks and their own artisan meats.  I figured I needed to check this place out at some point.

Then not long ago, I posted a picture on Road Tips' Twitter account of the meal I was having at an Indian restaurant in the Indy suburbs.  One of Road Tips' Twitter followers, the guy who has the wonderful Chicago BBQ King blog site (a.k.a "Smokin', Chokin' and Chowin' with the King") replied back to me and asked if I'd had a sandwich at Goose the Market.  I still hadn't made it there yet and I didn't know that it was also a deli that served sandwiches.  He said it was a "must stop" for him each time he made it down to Indianapolis.  With that kind of recommendation, I made it a point to stop into Goose the Market on my way out of town to grab a sandwich for the road.  

Christopher Eley is a native of Indianapolis who found his passion working in restaurants as a teenager working at one of the Sahm's locations in the area.  A self-professed under achiever in high school, Eley went off to Johnson and Wales College of Culinary Arts in Providence, R.I., to learn how to be a chef.  He then went to Purdue University where he studied hotel and restaurant management.  

Eley went to Chicago and worked with legendary chef Rick Tramonto (Tru, Tramonto Steak and Seafood, Osteria di Tramanto) and Tramonto's ex-wife - and revered pastry chef - Gale Gand.  Eley tells the story of telling a chef he used to work for - possibly Tramonto - that he wanted to possibly open his own restaurant at some point.  The chef's advice to Eley?  "Give me $500,000 and then I'll punch you in the face.  Then we'll call it even."  

Tired of working for someone else and wanting to get back to Indianapolis, Eley and his wife, Mollie, (pictured right) bought a newly developed building in the Fall Creek Place neighborhood on the corner of Delaware and 25th just north of downtown Indy.  His goal was to have a gourmet butcher shop that focused on selling naturally and locally raised meat products.  Mollie's nickname growing up was "Goose", hence the name - Goose the Market - and they opened for business in October of 2007.  Chris and Mollie made their home on the second and third floors of the building which stood where an old abandoned gas station once sat before the area was redeveloped.  

After awhile, Chris Eley began to sell wine and cheese in his store.  And, against his own better judgement, he eventually began to sell artisan sandwiches in Goose the Market.  A year after they opened, Goose the Market was named by Bon Appetit magazine as one of the 10 top sandwich places in the United States. 

The Eley's eventually began to sell eclectic beers and opened the Enoteca, a small wine bar in the basement of their business that they call the "Goose Cellar".  The downstairs area has seating for 15 people and a seasonal outdoor patio in the back has room for 10 more patrons.  Goose the Market is now a full-service deli that also sells coffee, espresso, pastries and gelato.

Chris Eley's goal was to have his own USDA-inspected facility to smoke and cure the naturally-raised meats that didn't use compounded nitrates in the process.  In 2011, they opened their own meat processing business - the Smoking Goose - that sells handcrafted salami, sausages, cured and smoked meats to restaurants and hotels in the greater Indianapolis area.

I was through with my last appointment in Indianapolis around 10:30 a.m. and I drove over to Goose the Market, finding a parking spot just up the street on Delaware.  (see map)  Walking into the restaurant you immediately see the long counter filled with all different types of meats.  They had 100-day-old aged steaks in the case along with their own smoked and cured meats from the Smoking Goose.  I didn't bring my cooler with me or I would have picked up some salami, capicola and pepperoni for my homemade Italian sandwiches.  

 
On the wall directly opposite the meat counter were boxes filled with a number of locally and naturally raised produce.  The produce is seasonal so you won't see many summer veggies in the produce bins in the wintertime.  

The menu for sandwiches is on one of the blackboards on the wall behind the meat counter.  Their signature sandwich - the Goose - consists of prosciutto, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella and extra virgin olive oil on a hard roll hoagie.  The Tatiana featured beef brisket, Emmental Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and topped with a sweet pepper mustard on a hoagie.  And the Stahly had sliced smoked turkey breast, Mascarpone Italian cheese, stewed apples, pink peppercorns and fresh lettuce greens on a hoagie.  

The one that caught my eye, however, was the Batali.  It was an Italian hoagie that featured capicola, soppressata, dry cured capicola (or coppa), provolone cheese, hot giardiniera, tomato preserves, fresh romaine lettuce and sliced marinated red onions.  Actually, it was the one sandwich at Goose the Market the Chicago BBQ King told me was his favorite.  I ordered that from one of the young ladies behind the counter. 

Since they weren't busy, it wasn't long before I got my sandwich.  After paying for it, I asked if I could have a look around the downstairs area.  She said, "Have at it!"  

The Enoteca (from the Italian "wine depository) in the Goose Cellar features a number of bottles of wine for sale.  A large community table with heavy benches on two sides sits in the middle of the wine room for people to use while they're eating sandwiches from the deli upstairs or to sip some wine when the wine bar is open.  Deep well windows let in some natural light into the room to give it a more open and less sub-terranean feel.  

 
Of more interest to me, they had a varied selection of microbrews and imports in the Enoteca.  Many of the microbrews were from Indiana craft brewers such as Three Floyds, Sun King and Oaken Barrel Brewing Co.  Some beers I was familiar with, some were not.  There wasn't anything that jumped out at me that made me want to take something home.  At least, not on this trip.  

The wine bar area of the Enoteca was situated in a small room off to the side of the larger room in the basement. There was a small bar where you can get wines by the glass.  I believe they also sold beer at the wine bar, but I'm not certain about that.  They also offered cheese and charcurterie plates in the Enoteca.  This would be the kind of place my wife would like to go to.  

 
They had a number of package goods available in the wine bar area.  Salsas, jellys and jams, coffees and other packaged goods were available for sale.  

Ah!  The Batali sandwich - the main reason why I went to Goose the Market in the first place.  The hoagie bread had a crunchy outside and a chewy inner core.  The fresh Italian meats were a mix of spicy and robust flavors, but not hot enough to detract from the overall taste of the meats.  The giardiniera was not that hot - at least, to me - but it was a nice accompaniment to the taste of the Italian meats.  The sandwich was good served cold and the flavors of the meats would have probably been enhanced even more if they would have been warmed up - the way I like to make my homemade Italian sandwiches.  I was able to eat one half of the sandwich and the other half kept well for a couple days.  The Batali was as good as the Chicago BBQ King told me it would be.  (You can follow him here on Twitter.)

Goose the Market is one of those little places that makes traveling on the road a worthwhile experience.  Finding a place that is as unique and diverse as the little butcher shop/delicatessen/wine bar on N. Delaware in Indianapolis is a large treat.  The Batali sandwich was very good and the overall vibe to the place was very pleasing.  If you get to Indianapolis at some point, you need to go check out Goose the Market.  Oh, and take your cooler. 

PattyPats - West Des Moines, IA

In northwest Iowa, there is a loose-meat sandwich called "taverns" that is different from other loose-meat sandwiches that I was brought up on.  The ground beef has some sort of an additive to help keep it from crumbling out of the bun (I've heard the additive can be anything from oatmeal, corn meal, tomato sauce or mustard).  I've tried the "taverns" at Bob's Drive-Inn in Le Mars, IA (click here to see my entry on Bob's), and the "Charley Boy" at the Miles Inn in Sioux City (click here to see my entry on Miles Inn).  Earlier this year, my neighbor, Murray, alerted me to a new place in West Des Moines that has brought "taverns" to Central Iowa - PattyPats.  On a trip through Des Moines recently, I stopped off at PattyPats to give the place a try. 

Everybody, it seems, has a homemade recipe for their taverns in Northwest Iowa and growing up in Le Mars, Pat Langel's family was no different.  His mom made her own taverns and he, no doubt, had many a tavern at Bob's Drive-Inn when he was younger.  

After graduating from the University of Iowa, Pat Langel went to work for Norman Hilton, the renown New York tailor who gave Ralph Lauren his start in business.  Langel's task was to find ways to cut the time it took the company to make a custom suit from 11 weeks to 4 weeks, a project that he was able to accomplish.  After 4 years with Norman Hilton, Langel made it to Des Moines in 1991 and opened his own tailor shop.  He later became a partner in Langel and Woods Clothiers - an upscale fine custom tailor in the Valley Junction area of West Des Moines.  

(Pictured right - Pat Langel.  Photo courtesy Des Moines Register.) 

Langel dabbled with cooking as a hobby, making taverns for his co-workers who universally liked them.  After 36 years of being a successful tailor, making suits for entertainers, captains of industry and world leaders (he counts rock star Huey Lewis and former President George H.W. Bush among his customers), Langel decided that he wanted to bring taverns to the good people of Central Iowa.  After perfecting the recipe and working on a menu, Langel opened PattyPats - named after his wife, Patty, and himself - in June of this year.   Langel is still involved with Langel and Woods and has hired a staff to help run the day-to-day operations of PattyPats.  But you'll also find him in there a good portion of the time.  

I found PattyPats in a strip mall along the north side of E.P. True Parkway near the intersection of where Valley West Drive/35th St. and Mills Civic Parkway meet up with E.P. True (see map).  Ample parking is available in front of the restaurant.  A small outside dining area is along the side of the building.  It was a little too chilly to be seated outside that particular day.  

As you go into PattyPats, there's a window in the entry way for pick-up orders or outside dining, but there's the main ordering window just around the corner in the dining room.  The menu is located on a board on the wall next to the counter.  

 
The dining area is not large, but it's well lit with natural light from the large front windows and fluorescent lighting.  About five or six tables with a like number of booths were in the dining area.  It wasn't long after the lunch rush and I was the only person in the place.  I didn't know if that was a good sign or not.   

Langel's "tavern" burger is called, surprise! - a PattyPat.  True to his Le Mars heritage, they also have the Patty Dog, a hot dog covered with the tavern meat.  They have a chili dog and something called the spicy coney dog.  In addition to the PattyPat and the hot dogs, PattyPats features Chicago-style Italian beef sandwiches and Chicago-style hot dogs and sausages.  But I am just so spoiled by the Italian beef sandwiches and the Chicago dogs at Portillo's in the Chicago area that I know I'd be disappointed in the ones at PattyPats even if they were dynamite.  They also have a chicken sandwich and a pork tenderloin on the menu.  And as a nod to Bob's Drive-Inn in Le Mars, PattyPats also features ice cream.  

I ordered a PattyPat and a Patty Dog, rather than getting the chili dog.  The guy at the counter cheerfully took my order and said he'd bring it out to me in a bit.  Less than a couple minutes later, he brought out a cafeteria tray with the PattyPat and the Patty Dog wrapped in wax paper.  

When I unwrapped the PattyPat and the Patty Dog, I was momentarily stunned.  The meat was so finely ground that it looked more like a pâté than a ground beef sandwich.  It also had somewhat of a yellow tint to the meat.  I looked up at the pictures of both the PattyPat and Patty Dog that they had on the wall and the ground meat in those pictures were much more coarse and looked like beef.  I wasn't certain what the meat sitting in front of me looked like. 

 
When I looked closer at the Patty Dog, I had to stop for a moment and try and figure out if it really was ground beef or a heavy-style stone ground mustard on the hot dog.  The beef was so finely ground that it looked like a spread.  

I took a bite of the PattyPat, garnished with chopped onions and some sort of mustard (at least there looked like some yellow substance on the bottom of the bun).  The taste was definitely unique.  Taverns in Northwest Iowa are an acquired taste.  Had I not had a tavern before, I would have probably hated the taste and texture.  It wasn't unpleasant, but it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, either.  The tavern wasn't large and I made quick work of it.  Because of the additives to the ground beef, it was moist and held together without any of the meat crumbling onto the wax paper.  

The hot dog was next.  It, too, looked like it had some chopped onions and mustard on the bun.  The hot dog, itself, had a nice snap to the bite - the quality of a good hot dog.  However, coupled with the tavern meat, I couldn't get much of a taste of the hot dog.  

Later in the day, actually not long after I left PattyPats, I developed a case of stomach gas.  I burped up the PattyPat and the Patty Dog for a good four hours plus after I had them, re-tasting the ground beef with each belch.  I don't like it when the food lingers with you for that long.

All right, I tried PattyPats.  I guess I don't really know what to think.  As much as I like to support restaurants where someone is following a dream, I just hope they're able to make a go of PattyPats.   As I said, the meat is an acquired taste and it wasn't something that made me think, "Boy, I can't wait to have another one of these sometime!"  I also felt it was a little expensive ($3.25 each for the PattyPat and Patty Dog) for the portion of the serving.  The place was clean, the person I interacted with was very friendly, but the food was... Well, I really wanted to like it, but I'm not sure I cared for it.  But everyone is different and it could be that you may like PattyPats tavern-style burger and hot dog better than I did.  Give 'em a shot and see what you think.    

(Update - You're going to have to wait a few weeks if you want to try PattyPat's.  They're closed for the season until February 2014.  Thanks to Roger for the "heads-up"!)

(Update 2 - Citing that he was spreading himself too thin, Pat Langel announced that Patty Pat's was closed as of January of 2015.)

Big Horn - Estes Park, CO

During our trip to Colorado this past late summer, we stayed at a Swiss-style villa called the Appenzall Inn.  Even though it had a nice little restaurant/lounge, we had told the young lady at the front desk that we were looking more for where the locals go out to eat.   We were going to go back up into Rocky Mountain National Park for the day and we wanted to have a good breakfast because we didn't know when we'd eat lunch. One place that she wholeheartedly recommended for breakfast was a place called the Big Horn.  She talked so enthusiastically about the place that we didn't even seek any other place out for breakfast.  

The Big Horn has been a staple in the Estes Park community for over 40 years serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.  In the late 90's, Estes Park residents Sid and Laura Brown had retired from their local jobs and bought the Big Horn.  The Browns added deli sandwiches and Sid eventually brought in a smoker trailer for barbecue favorites.  

The Big Horn is located just west of Estes Park's downtown district on West Elkhorn (see map).  There's a large parking lot on the west side of the building that they share with a small strip mall.  The Estes Park Performance Park is located just behind the Big Horn.

It was around 8:30 a.m. when we pulled up to the Big Horn.  We went inside and were greeted by a young lady at the cash register near the salad bar.  The main dining room (below left) was already full and she took us into a back room area, sat us at a table and dropped off menus for us.  

 
There are a couple other rooms at the Big Horn that can be used for overflow or for meeting rooms.  It looked like the place had been added on to with the labyrinth of hallways and openings off the main dining area.  But the place was clean, brightly lit with natural outdoor lighting, and somewhat cozy.    

Inside the menu was a sheet that touted Big Horn's deli menu.  It said something along the lines of, "Going into the park?  Let us make a picnic lunch for you!"  It said that while we enjoyed our breakfast, they'd make deli sandwiches for us and pack them in bags for us to take when we went to the park.  I said to Cindy, "Hey, maybe we should do this."  

She looked at the sheet and said, "Yeah, that's not a bad idea."  After being with my wife just over 20 years now, I learned long ago that she needs three square meals a day.  I can get by with a big breakfast and then dinner on some days.  But she needs something in between.  

If we got a sandwich, then I figured I didn't need to go whole hog on a breakfast.  I was looking at getting an omelet, but decided against it.  Blueberry pancakes were an option, but that probably would have been a lot of food, too.  But then I saw that I could get blueberries on French toast.  Oooo...  I love blueberries on French toast.  

Our server, Janea, came over to greet us.  By that time, we were ready to order.  Cindy ordered up a croissant with scrambled egg whites, American cheese and bacon.  Hash browns came with the croissant and she said that I could help her eat them.  I ordered the French toast with blueberries, a side of bacon and a large milk.  Cindy said, "Don't you want to order a deli sandwich?"  

Janae said, "Are you going to take it with you?  I can take the order when I bring your breakfast out and we'll make it up while you eat."  That sounded fine with us.  

When Janae brought our breakfasts, the place had steadily filled up.  Our little room was full of people and they were beginning to seat people back in one of the two meeting rooms.  We figured we came at the right time.  

Cindy's croissant was big with a layer of fluffy egg whites topped with bacon and cheese.  Her side of hash browns inundated the plate.  In fact, it looked like she ordered hash browns with a croissant breakfast sandwich on the side.  

 
My French toast with blueberries were served on a smaller plate.  It featured six half-slices of white bread, battered and grilled, then topped with warm blueberries and powdered sugar.  

Before we dug in, I ordered a hoagie - that we could share - with ham and turkey, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions with yellow mustard and mayo.  Janae said she'd have them cut it in half for us.  

My French toast was sort of bland.  It was like they needed more sugar or something on it.  The blueberries were a bit over-ripe, as well.  But they still tasted great with the French toast.  It wasn't the best French toast I've had, but it did the trick for me.

Cindy was happy with her breakfast croissant.  The croissant was light and flaky, but seemed to hold together well as she ate it.  She said the taste of it was "good".  "I'm glad I got this," she said.  

She told me to take some bites of her hash browns.  I was getting pretty full from the French toast, so I declined.  But she insisted.  "I've got a load of hash browns here," she said.  "Help me eat some.  I don't want them to go to waste."  The hash browns were, quite actually, pretty good.  They had a nice crunchy and buttery taste combination along with a firm consistency to the shredded potatoes.  I generally don't go for hash browns, but these were good.     

When we finished, Janae brought our bill along with our hoagie sandwich, cut in half, wrapped in paper and put into a plastic bag with a bag of potato chips and napkins.  Cindy said, "What a great idea!  Why didn't we think about this yesterday before we went up into the park?"  

(Later in the day, we found a little picnic area along a babbling brook near Sprague Lake.  The sandwich was good.  It's pretty difficult to screw up a ham, turkey and Swiss hoagie.  It probably tasted better because we were soaking in the sunlight at 8200 feet above sea level next to a picturesque creek - which was probably a raging rapids five days later due to the excessive rains they received in the area.)

There's not many bad things that I can point out about our visit to the Big Horn.  The breakfast was good - not great - but satisfying.  Janae's service was good and it was a nice atmosphere.  The place was clean and it had a nice homey feel to the dining area.  There may be better breakfasts in the Estes Park area, but the Big Horn is definitely worth a try.

New York Deli - Appleton, WI

After checking out the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Museum (click here to see my entry), I decided that I still had time to grab a quick sandwich before a scheduled appointment in Appleton.  I had a hankering for a good ol' pastrami on rye sandwich and I did an Urbanspoon search for deli's in the area.  The New York Deli came up and I found that it wasn't that far away from where I needed to go.  I put the address into the GPS and headed to get to the New York Deli.  

The New York Deli is owned by Don Sanderfoot and his son, Carl Sanderfoot.  A few years ago, the Sanderfoots went to New York and were impressed with the old school Jewish deli's that piled the meat high on fresh bread.  After returning to the Fox Valley area, the Sanderfoots saw a need for an authentic New York-style delicatessen.  They opened their New York Deli in 2004 providing deli and sub sandwiches, expanding into wraps, panini sandwiches, soups, salads, and dessert as the years went on.

The New York Deli is sort of hidden if you aren't familiar with it.  It's located on Casaloma Drive north of the Fox River Mall and near Time Warner Fox Cities Stadium that houses the local  Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Class A Midwest League baseball team.  (see map).  Technically, it's in the Trasino Park business area of the Appleton suburb of Grand Chute.  I found the New York Deli in a small strip mall on the north side of Casaloma.  

Inside, the deli is heavy on corrugated tin siding, but in an elegant way.  Granite tiled floors and somewhat modern industrial chairs and tables were mixed throughout the dining area.  The area was well lit with natural light from large windows on the south and west sides.   

 
The menu is located on the wall behind the front counter.   I pretty much knew what I was going to get, I just had to make sure they had rye bread.  And they did.  As I was standing at the counter getting ready to order, I saw a small bag of Sprecher's beer flavored kettle chips.  Sprecher's is a micro-brewery located just north of Milwaukee in suburban Glenview.  I don't like their beer as much as I like other Wisconsin beers - it's a little too sweet for my tastes - but they do make a damn fine root beer.  But the beer-flavored kettle chips intrigued me.  I had to pick up a package of them to try.

When I order pastrami sandwiches, I'm pretty basic.  All I want is the pastrami, some Swiss cheese and yellow mustard on rye bread.  And that's how I ordered my sandwich.  I also got a bottle of water to go along with the sandwich and chips.  After I ordered and paid, the young lady at the counter gave me a number tent to place on my table so they could bring my sandwich out to me.

I had to open the bag of beer flavored kettle chips while I waited for my sandwich to show up.  I don't know if they really tasted like beer or not.  They had that crisp kettle texture to them and they were a little salty.  But I think they were more hype than substance.  I made a mental note that I wouldn't be sucked in to buying them again.

After a few moments, someone brought my sandwich out to me.  True to New York-style delicatessens, the meat was piled high between two slices of dark rye bread.  Thin slices of Swiss cheese were on the bottom of the sandwich and a thin layer of yellow mustard adorned the top.

The thin-sliced pastrami was flavorful and had that great salty taste to it.  The dark rye bread was a little dry for my standards and it didn't hold together very well as I ate through the sandwich.  I found that I had to use my fingers to pick up pieces of pastrami that fell from the bread that was slowly fell apart as I ate.  It wasn't a deal breaker by any means, but it was slightly annoying.  

Some deli aficionados - especially those from New York City - would probably laugh at the sandwich from New York Deli.  But for Appleton, Wisconsin, it's not bad.  The pastrami was fresh and tasty.  However, the bread was a little dry and I won't get fooled again on the Sprecher's beer-flavored kettle chips.  But for a quick deli sandwich - from a place that tries to be a real deli - I was happy with what I got at the New York Deli.  It wasn't the best pastrami sandwich I've had, but it certainly wasn't the worst.

Mayslack's Bar - Minneapolis

On a tip from my dealer in Fargo (who used to live in the Twin Cities for a number of years), I was told that I had to seek out Mayslack's Bar in Minneapolis.  His description of the sandwiches they have at Mayslack's almost had him in a frenzy.  "Oh man," he exclaimed.  "They do their own beef at Mayslack's.  It's goooood!"  With a recommendation like that, I had to look for Mayslack's on my next trip to the Twin Cities.

The history of Mayslack's starts with former pro wrestler, Stan Myslajek.  The handsome Stan was a crowd favorite in pro wrestling circles around the upper Midwest in the 1930's and 40's.  Along the way, he American-ized the spelling of his Polish surname so it was easily pronounceable for wrestling fans.  When Stan's ring career ended in the late 40's, he became a wrestling and boxing promoter.

Pictured right - Stan Mayslack   

In 1955, Stan bought an old tavern in Minneapolis' Nordeast neighborhood that had been built in the 1890's.  He renamed the tavern "Mayslack's" and began to make huge garlic-roast beef sandwiches.  Stan served the sandwiches on paper plates and he would implore people to use "two hands!" when eating the sandwich.  

With Stan making sandwiches in the kitchen, Stan's wife ran the till using a cigar box as their cash register.  A juke box played nothing but polka music.  Mayslack's was the epitome of a neighborhood bar.  

Stan Mayslack died in 1994 (or 1995, I've seen both years listed doing research on Mayslack's wrestling career) and in 2006 bar veteran Dean Jacklitch bought Mayslack's.  Determined to continue the Mayslack's experience that Stan began 50 years prior, Jacklitch dedicated himself to making sure the food was of the highest quality.  On weekends, Mayslack's brings in local bands to play in the place.  But there's still a number of polka songs on the jukebox.

I had an appointment with a dealer on the north side of downtown Minneapolis one morning and when I finished, I remembered about Mayslack's.  I put the address in my GPS and it guided me to a brick building at the corner of NE 4th St. and NE 15th Ave. (see map)   Mayslack's is on the southwest corner of the intersection and there's a large parking lot on the south side of the building.  Four guys were having lunch on the patio connected to the south side of Mayslack's building.  

For those expecting an elegant setting, well, Mayslack's ain't the place.  While the place is clean, it is somewhat aged.  But that helps with the charm of the place.  It is simply a dive bar.  And I immediately loved the place.

The main room when you walk in is where the bar is. There's another large room off to the side behind the bar.  I bellied up to the bar and was greeted by a young lady who asked me what I'd like to drink.  I took a quick look at the beer spigots and decided upon a Summit Summer Ale.  She got me my beer and pulled out a menu for me to look at.  

Mayslack's signature sandwich - the Original - consists of sliced beef that is slow roasted (at least 8 hours) in a concoction of garlic and natural juices.  The beef is piled onto a dark rye bun and topped with sliced onions and banana peppers, and served with a side of au jus and cole slaw.  

In addition to the "Original", Mayslack's also has variations of other roast beef sandwiches including a Chicago-style Italian beef that is topped with giardiniera, a "special" club sandwich that is consists of roast beef, ham, bacon, Swiss and American cheeses, with lettuce, tomato and mayo, and Mayslack's Dip sandwich that features roast beef, sauteed mushrooms, onions and provolone cheese.  

If you're not looking for roast beef sandwiches, Mayslack's also features over a dozen different types of sandwiches including a Cuban sandwich, a roasted pulled pork sandwich, and "The Chicken Royale" - a grilled chicken breast served on a egg bun and topped with pepperjack cheese and a bourbon barbecue sauce.  

Along with the sandwiches, Mayslack's has a number of burgers on their menu, as well as pizza.  Of course, there are appetizers, soups and salads.  And Mayslack's also serves breakfast with pancakes, biscuits and gravy, French toast and build-your-own omelets.  

On your first visit to Mayslack's, you've got to try the Original sandwich.  And once the young lady came back to take my order, that's exactly what I asked for.  It wasn't long when she brought me a plate - with two hands - that bore the Original Mayslack sandwich.

She set it in front of me and I took one look and said, "Holy shit!"

She said, "Yeah, it's somethin', isn't it?"  It was somethin' and more, that's for sure.  

Piles of thinly sliced beef spilled from the sandwich onto the blue plate.  There was no way that even two hands would be able to handle the sandwich.  

My first bite produced a somewhat bitter surprise.  A rather tough piece of meat was my first experience of a Mayslack's Original sandwich.  So tough that I had to pull it out of my mouth.  I don't know if it was an end piece, a piece of gristle or what.  But it wasn't a pleasant start to my sandwich.  

I took a fork and began to eat some of the beef slices that were on the plate.  My first real bite of Mayslack's beef yielded a tender piece of beef, almost silky and easy to bite into.  However, it also made me realize that it was permeated with garlic.  

Now, I love garlic - I use garlic in many of my dishes that I make at home.  My wife and I are both garlic fiends and we say that with us, you can never use too much garlic.  Well, with the Mayslack's Original sandwich, yes, you can use too much garlic.  The sandwich was - by far - the most garlic that I had ever tasted on a food item.  It was overpowering, so much to the point that I almost couldn't taste the beef because of the garlic.  

I dismissed my first bad bite as an anomaly until about halfway through the sandwich I hit another chunk of tough beef that I had to pull out of my mouth.  That kind of got me skittish and I started to use my fork to eat the sandwich out of that.  I didn't want any more surprises getting hung up in my mouth.  

But other than those two bites, the rest of the beef that I had was tender, but it had WAY too much garlic.  Thankfully, I wasn't going to be calling on any more dealers that day.  And when I finally made it home later that night, my wife kissed me and said, "Oh, my God!  Did you eat garlic today?"  And that was after having about a dozen Altoids on the way home.  Even brushing my teeth didn't mask the garlic smell I had.  It was literally coming out of my pores.  There was no way vampires would be harming me that evening.    

But overall, I really liked Mayslack's.  It was a great dive bar and I wouldn't have any problem going back at some point to try a burger or even one of their pizzas.  The service was fine, but I found that while they do take credit cards, it has to be at least a $20 charge.  My sandwich and beer with tax came to about $17.50 and I just laid a $20 bill on the bar when I left.  You've been warned - there's a ton of garlic cooked into the beef on a Mayslack Original sandwich.  I would probably get another Original at some point (or maybe even the Chicago-style beef), and this time the amount of garlic they use wouldn't gob-smack me in the face.  And it could be that I would enjoy it more.      

Schwartz's Deli - Montreal

I like it when my boss calls us to Montreal for a meeting.  I like it even more when he calls the meeting when the weather is nicer than it is in mid-December, such as the two previous times I went up there.  The night before we were to all meet in Montreal a few weeks ago, my colleague, Ian, e-mailed that he was going to have a smoked beef sandwich at Schwartz's Deli in the heart of Montreal for lunch the next day.  I was familiar with Schwartz's and immediately replied that I was in for it, as well.  After getting through customs, and along with my colleagues Matt and Chris, we met up with Ian at Montreal Trudeau International Airport for a trip to Schwartz's Deli.

Schwartz's was opened in 1928 by Romanian Jewish immigrant Reuben Schwartz.  The original name of the place was "Montreal Hebrew Deli" before becoming simply known as "Schwartz's Deli".  Even though he owned the deli for over 40 years, it is said Rueben Schwartz was a very disagreeable man who was not good at running a business.  He was also said to be a gambler, a womanizer, and a man who liked to drink.  Even his immediate family hated him - so much so that he eventually had to move in with Maurice Zbringer, a classically-trained musician who played violin, and Zbringer's wife.  As a sign of appreciation for taking him in, Schwartz made Zbringer a partner in Schwartz's Deli.  And at the age of 75, Zbringer eventually bought the place from Schwartz in 1971.   

During Zbringer's ownership, Schwartz's Deli became profitable and renown for their smoked meat sandwiches - basically they take beef brisket that is cured in water with salt, peppercorns, coriander and sugar.  The meat is cured for 10 days before it is deep smoked for about six hours, then steamed to moisten the meat.  Schwartz's Deli was not the first place to serve Montreal smoked meat.  Local legend has it that Ben's De Luxe Delicatessen was the first to serve the smoked meat sandwiches.  Ian told us that he used to go to Ben's before it closed down a few years ago after being in business for 98 years.  He thought it was the best of the smoked meat sandwiches in Montreal.  But Schwartz's - now by default - is the oldest and most well-known of deli's that serve Montreal-style smoked meat sandwiches.

(I've had a Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich before - in, of all places, Omaha, Nebraska.  Click here to see my entry on the Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich at Brewburgers in Omaha.)   

It's also said that the Montreal Steak Seasoning - a popular spice and herb seasoning that some people (including myself) use to put on steaks - had its beginning at Schwartz's.  Legend has it that back in the 1940's a broiler cook by the name of Morris "The Shadow" Sherman began to season steaks with the pickling seasoning Schwartz's used to season their briskets.  The basic spices and herbs were garlic, coriander, dill weed, black pepper, cayenne pepper and salt.  Customers liked it so much that other deli and steak places in Montreal began to use it.  The Montreal Steak Seasoning is available in most grocery stores in the spice area, or you can order it directly from Schwartz's web site.  (Click on the Montreal Steak Seasoning link at the top of the paragraph.)     

Maurice Zbringer was in poor health for the later years of his life, but he took a lot of the profits out of the business to fund free music concerts around the Montreal area.  After his wife passed away, he had a professional caretaker - Armande Toupin Chartrande - that looked after him and his affairs.  As a token of his appreciation for her service to him in his later years, Zbringer willed the delicatessen to Chartrande.  She ran it from Zbringer's death in 1981 to 1999.

In 1999, Chartrande sold the business to its accountant, Hy Diamond.  Up to that point, Diamond was the only owner of Schwartz's that had any type of formal business training.  To help alleviate the long lines of people looking to get a quick sandwich to go, Diamond opened a take-out only location next door to the original Schwartz Deli in 2008.    

Diamond owned the business until 2012 when he sold it to a group that included Paul Nakis, owner of the Baton Rouge restaurant chain that started in the Montreal area; Eric and Martin Sara, whose father, Paul Sara, owned the Nickels Deli restaurant chain in Ontario and Quebec; and their aunt and uncle - superstar singer Celine Dion and her husband/manager Rene Angelil.  (Dion and Angelil were also owners in Nickels restaurants from their inception in 1990 until they divested themselves from the company in 1997.)  

Immediately after the nearly $10 million dollar purchase of Schwartz's Deli, rumors abounded that the group was looking to sell franchises.  But Nakis and Angelil have repeatedly said that they are not interested in franchising the Schwartz's Deli concept.  However, earlier this year, the group began to sell pre-cooked vacuum-packed Schwartz's Deli smoked meat in grocery stores in the greater Montreal area.

Schwartz's Deli is located on Boulevard Ste. Laurent in the heart of Montreal. (see map) Boulevard Ste. Laurent is known as the Main Street of Montreal, or simply "The Main" to the locals.  The street features a number of small restaurants, shops and boutiques, and a somewhat Bohemian population.  Because it was a Sunday and there were a lot of people in the area, we were forced to find parking on a side street a couple blocks away from Schwartz's.  (Unfortunately, we unknowingly parked in a No Parking zone.  When we got back we encountered a Montreal parking attendant writing us a ticket. We soon found out that not being able to read the French "No Parking" signs was not a credible excuse to get out of the ticket.)  

We had driven by Schwartz's and noticed the long lines outside the place - something that happens most every day.  Even after 2 p.m., the line was about 25 people deep when we walked up to get in the queue.  It took us about 25 minutes waiting for people to leave and tables to open up.  

(A quick, but important note - Schwartz's is a cash only establishment.  They have an ATM in the back of the restaurant if you don't have any Canadian money on you.) 

Getting up closer to the front door, we saw a pile of cured smoked meat sitting in a refrigerated case in the window.  Chris was wondering what kind of meat it was.  I tried to explain that it started out as beef brisket, but it was neither categorized as corned beef or pastrami.  Chris decided that it was some sort of "mystery" smoked meat.  He was a little leery of trying it, I believe.   

 
We finally got inside and got a table right as you come in the door across from the deli counter.  The small place was packed with people sitting at tables and at the counter.  A waiter weaved his way through the crowd and came to our table with menus.  He took our drink order - no beer at Schwartz's - and the guys got cans of Coca-Cola and I got a water.  

In addition to the smoked meat sandwiches - which seemed like what everyone was ordering in the place - they have turkey, chicken or salami sandwiches available.  Originally, Schwartz's was a steakhouse when Reuben Schwartz opened 85 years ago and they still have steak dinners on the menu.  They have ribeye steaks on the menu and you can also get smoked meat plates if you don't want a sandwich.  I almost got the large smoked meat plate because I'd been hankering for a good corned beef-style sandwich or dinner for quite sometime.   

The traditional order at Schwartz's is a smoked beef sandwich ($6.40 Canadian Dollars), an order of fries, a kosher dill pickle, cole slaw and a Cherry Coke.  That sounded like a lot of food.  When the waiter came back to take our order, I was the first to order.  I ordered a smoked beef sandwich, fries and a pickle.  The waiter asked me how I wanted the sandwich.  I looked at him quizzically and he explained, "You can get it lean, medium, medium-fat or fat."  I figured fat would be brisket with a lot of the fat still on the meat, so I went with medium.  I understand medium-fat is one of the more popular choices among the regulars who go to Schwartz's.   

Everyone else at the table followed my lead and went with the exact same thing.  And it didn't take long for our sandwiches appear at the table.  The meat was piled high on the rye bread with sandwich halves teetering precariously on top.  Yellow mustard comes on the sandwich.  

I took a bite of the meat without the bread and it was moist and tender, but it was missing that corned beef or pastrami "pizazz".  There wasn't much of a smoky taste to the meat, nor did I get much of a salt or peppercorn taste to the meat.  It wasn't that it was dull in taste, it was different that what I expect in a cooked beef brisket.  Maybe the steaming takes some of the taste out of it.  The Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich I had in Omaha was more like a corned beef sandwich.  While the sandwich at Schwartz's was similar in look and texture, it was missing that little bite in taste that I like in a good cured brisket sandwich.  

I will say the French fries were pretty damned good, however.  Whatever they cooked them in gave them an excellent taste.  They were a bit soggy, but were loaded with great flavor.  My sandwich was OK, but the fries were great.  I purposely didn't eat any breakfast that morning so I devoured my sandwich, my fries and the large kosher dill pickle with ease.  

Schwartz's Deli is one of those places you have to experience at least once if you're seeking historic places to eat.  My sandwich was fine, but not the earth-shaking taste sensation that I had hoped it would be.  The reactions of my two colleagues who had never had a Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich before were "Yeah, it was good," to "Aaah, yeah, I guess it was all right."  But we decided it probably wasn't anything that we'd stand in line for again.  Overrated?  Possibly.  But it was still cool to give Schwartz's Deli a try. 

Palmer's Deli - West Des Moines, IA

Cindy and I were driving through the Des Moines area in the middle part of the day not long ago when I suggested we stop somewhere for a quick lunch.  She asked me what I had in mind and I immediately said, "I was thinking of stopping out at Palmer's Deli in West Des Moines."  She told me that I read her mind.  We hopped off Interstate 80/35 at the University Ave. exit and made our way to Palmer's.

Palmer's is one my favorite deli's in the Midwest and I had written about it about seven years ago in a small post on Road Tips before the blog found its compass and voice.  This time, I can do a much better job than saying, "It's a good deli.  Go eat there."  

Palmer's Deli began in 1989 when Gayle and Carol Palmer added sandwiches and salads to the menu of their small ice cream parlor in the Des Moines suburb of Urbandale.  The Palmer's immediately garnered a following for their great sandwiches, fresh ingredients and made-from-scratch desserts.  They found they had to double the size of their location in Urbandale to handle the business.  

The Palmer's son, Joe, and his wife, Margaret, saw a need for a Palmer's location in West Des Moines.  The younger Palmer opened that location in 1995 and they have had to expand that location three times since, more than doubling the original floor space.  The Palmer's opened a third location in downtown Des Moines in the sky walk at Kaleidoscope Mall in 2002, a fourth location opened on Ingersoll Ave. in Des Moines in 2004, and a fifth location opened six years ago in the northern Des Moines suburb of Ankeny.     

It was around 12:30 when we pulled into the Palmer's Deli location just north of the corner of Westown Parkway and 50th Street in West Des Moines.  (see map)  Predictably, the parking lot was full and we had to maneuver around to find a spot on the far end of the strip mall.  Walking in, there was a line to order at the front counter.  I was looking to get a sandwich while Cindy decided she wanted to get a salad.

I stood in line for a sandwich, having time to look over the menu on a chalkboard behind the counter.  I was sort of hungry for a good ol' pastrami and Swiss on pumpernickel rye.  But they had a board with the day's specials just as you walked in and they were featuring an Italian-style sandwich that had capicola, salami, pepperoni, ham and provolone cheese with lettuce and tomatoes on a hoagie bun.  That got my attention for a moment.  But I ended up getting the pastrami and Swiss on rye.  

 
Cindy stood in a line to my right to order up a salad.  My line had moved pretty quickly - they had four people taking orders and making sandwiches - and she was still waiting to order her salad.  She finally got to the head of the line and she ordered the Greek salad - romaine lettuce mixed with chopped kalamata olives, cucumbers and tomatoes, then topped with Palmer's housemade Greek dressing.  

While Cindy waited for her salad to be made, I got in line for some pasta salad.  Below left is the line for not only the pasta and potato salads, but for the cash register, as well.  For as busy as Palmer's was during the lunch rush, the wait was far from excruciating.  

 
Above right is a picture of the deli case at Palmer's that features their made-fresh-daily pasta salads, potato salads, cabbage salads, and meat salads such as chicken, ham, tuna and turkey salads.  Various sizes of containers are available and Palmer's does a pretty brisk "to-go" business from their deli case.

I ended up ordering a small container - about 4 ounces - of the tri-color cheese tortellini pasta salad.  Cindy met up with me at that point with her salad and we waited in line to pay at the register.  I got a bottle of water and Cindy got some tea.  As I was getting ready to pay, Cindy spied a chocolate-frosted brownie bar on the counter next to the register.  She couldn't help herself and had to get one.  I certainly didn't protest.

The one thing about Palmer's Deli is that it can get a little pricey when you load up on sides and desserts.  Our order came to $22 bucks - that's a little too much if you eat there on a regular basis.  But since we only get to Palmer's once a year - at most - I didn't have any problem paying the bill.   

We found a seat in the dining area that had been packed about 15 minutes prior.  Getting to the end of the lunch rush, parked ourselves at a four-seat table and were able to spread out a bit for our lunch.  

My pastrami on rye was served cold - I could have gotten the meat steamed, but I decided not to on this trip.  A thick slice of Swiss cheese was on top of a heaping amount of fresh and flavorful pastrami.  You don't get cheated with the amount of meat they put on a sandwich at Palmer's.  I got some yellow mustard to go on the sandwich and a dill pickle spear was included on the side.  

 
The bread at Palmer's Deli is made fresh daily by their Breadworks operation - their locally-based bakery that turns out fresh bread, desserts and salads on a daily basis for the five Palmer's locations.  I will have to say, however, that I thought my pumpernickel rye bread was a little dried out from what I tasted.  Still, it was far from deal breaker for another good sandwich at Palmer's.

Cindy's Greek salad was the smaller of the two sizes available at Palmer's.  And it was a lot of romaine lettuce doused with a liberal amount of the housemade Greek dressing.  A potato bun came on the side with her salad.  She said the romaine lettuce was very fresh and the salad had a great flavor.  We traded bites - she liked my pastrami sandwich, but was happy she got the salad.  And I enjoyed the taste of the dressing and especially the kalamata olives that were chopped up in her lettuce.  

But the highlight of the meal was the chocolate-frosted brownie that we split.  Oh, my God!  The chocolate frosting was so thick and sweet that it literally stuck to the roof of our mouths.   Cindy said it was too rich for her and she wouldn't have been able to eat the whole thing or she would have gone into a sugar coma.  It was a decadent ending to our lunch.  

The one thing I've found about Palmer's Deli over the years of going to either their Urbandale or West Des Moines locations is their consistency in quality and taste.  I've never been disappointed with any of the sandwiches I've gotten - even though I did have a small quibble with the dryness of their pumpernickel rye on this visit.  But if that's the only thing I have to complain about after eating at Palmer's for over 20 years, they're doing something pretty good.  As I said, Palmer's is one of my favorite deli's in the Midwest and they do a fine job.

Waterfront Deli - Bettendorf, IA

My wife and I have a Monday night tradition when I'm in town to go out on a "date night".  We usually go get something to eat, then eventually end up back home and catch a movie or television show that we've taped on the DVR.  Lately, we've been getting into funks about where to go out to eat.  Most of the places we like are getting expensive or they offer too much food and we're just miserable afterward.  One particular Monday evening a while back, we didn't know where to go until I decided to drive to a place we hadn't been to in quite sometime - the Waterfront Deli in Bettendorf.  

I've lived in the Quad Cities for over 21 years and the Waterfront Deli was in business for 10 years prior to my arrival.  Mike Chupka was the longtime owner of the restaurant and he ended up selling the place about seven years ago to Ray and Christine Brandt.  Chupka was the first general manager at the Symposium Cafe (click here to see my entry on the Symposium Cafe) before he went over to open and co-own Rivals Sports Bar in Davenport.  The Brandt's daughter, Nicole, is the manager of the Waterfront Deli.  

The Waterfront Deli is located on State Street in Bettendorf, the eastbound one-way that goes through downtown Bettendorf (see map).  It is situated next to an abandoned strip mall and a plot of land where - in my opinion - the best Dairy Queen in the world once stood.  (They had a great pork loin sandwich as well as great burgers.  The owner had a falling out with Dairy Queen and he lost his franchise affiliation.  He changed the name of the place to "Usta Be's" as he was having to answer to patrons who were coming in and asking if his place used to be a Dairy Queen.  He was open for only a couple more years before closing and the building was razed a number of years ago.  But the sign is still there.)

We got into the restaurant just after 6 p.m. and like most evenings it was pretty dead. (They close at 7:00 p.m. through the week, 4 p.m. on Saturday and are closed on Sunday.)   They do a brisk business throughout the day with both dine in and take-out orders.  You order at the front counter from a number of signature sandwiches they have at the Waterfront Deli, or you can build your own sandwich with your choice of five different types of meat, six different types of cheese, five different types of veggies, and six different types of bread.  They also have soups, salads, and interestingly, hot dogs including their own "Chicago style" hot dog topped with tomato, cucumber and hot peppers.  I've never had a Chicago Dog at Waterfront Deli.  I guess Portillo's spoils me enough with their great Chicago style hot dogs. 

They have a number of signature sandwiches at Waterfront Deli including the Touch of Class - pastrami, turkey, Swiss cheese, sliced fresh mushrooms, onions, tomato and alfalfa sprouts on marble rye.  I almost pulled the trigger on that sandwich this particular evening.  They also have a good reuben sandwich - the Riverside Reuben with your choice of pastrami or turkey, topped with melted Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and a horseradish/1000 Island dressing served on sour dough bread.   

But my favorite sandwich they have on the menu is the 1020 Sandwich.  (1020 State Street is their address.)  You have your choice of roast beef or turkey - I always get the beef - topped with cheddar and Swiss cheeses.  Then they pile on shredded lettuce, tomato slices, onions, fresh sliced mushrooms and alfalfa sprouts, then finish it off with honey mustard on a toasted onion roll.  That's exactly what I ordered.  

Cindy was always partial to their Waterfront Hoagie - ham, turkey, American cheese, chopped lettuce and tomato on a poppy seed hoagie bun.  She ended up ordering that.  You get a choice of potato chips, potato salad or cole slaw with the sandwich.  I took the potato chips and Cindy asked the girl at the counter, "You used to have this great pasta salad with the dill in it.  Do you still have it?"

The girl said, "The garlic dill pasta salad?  Sure, we still have that."  Cindy asked if she could get a side of that instead of the others and the girl said there would be a small upcharge and Cindy said it would be no problem.  Actually, I remember the garlic dill pasta salad and I went ahead and ordered a side of it to go along with the potato chips I got with the sandwich. 

There was only one other couple in the restaurant, so we took a table next to a large window in the larger of the two dining rooms they have at the Waterfront Deli.  The wooden ceiling has exposed rafter beams with lights and ceiling fans hanging down.  The wooden walls are sort of rustic and gives the place sort of a country feel.  Some people may say that it's designed to be more of a waterfront warehouse, but to me it's like eating in a barn.  On the walls throughout the Waterfront Deli are original watercolor paintings of local landmarks and buildings by local artist T.F. Hempel.  Hempel's works are very good and we spent a little time looking around at some of the pictures on the wall as we were waiting for our sandwiches.

A handful of people came in and picked up sandwiches to go.  Some had called ahead and the sandwiches were waiting for them.  It took about 10 minutes for our sandwiches to make it out to our table. 

The 1020 sandwich was exactly as I remembered - a soft and pungent onion bun, slightly toasted, piled high with thin sliced roast beef.  The honey mustard is a nice compliment, and even though I don't care for alfalfa sprouts all that much, the combination of their taste with the fresh mushrooms gave the sandwich a somewhat pleasant earthy taste.  It's a very good sandwich.  

Although she liked the sandwich, Cindy was a little perplexed with her Waterfront Hoagie. "I remember it being bigger than this.  But, then again, it's been a few years since we've been here.  They may have made it smaller instead of raising the price."  But she did remember how good the garlic dill pasta salad was.  The pasta salad has more of a dill taste than garlic and has a light oil base to it.  "This would be easy to make at home," Cindy said as she ate the pasta out of the small cup.  "I should make this sometime."  

In all the years we've been coming to the Waterfront Deli, we've always had good sandwiches and the pasta salad is excellent.  But it can get a little expensive - it was $7.50 for the 1020 sandwich and $6.95 for the Waterfront Hoagie.  Still, the Waterfront Deli is a unique little place that is consistently good.  And I'll pay a little more for that. And, obviously, for as long as they've been in business, others will, too.   

(Update - October 2013: After 33 years along State Street in Bettendorf, the Waterfront Deli has moved due to the upcoming construction of the new Interstate 74 bridge across the Mississippi.  They have moved to 1813 Kimberly Road in Bettendorf (see map) across from Duck Creek Golf Course in a building that was most recently housed La Flama Mexican Restaurant, but was called Papi's Bar and Bites before that.  I'm sure the sandwiches won't change at all from the former location.  But maybe the 1020 Sandwich will become the 1813...)   

Maid-Rite (Mr. Dan's Sandwich Shop) - Newton, IA

 

 

If there's anything that causes more food arguments in the state of Iowa, it has to be Maid-Rites. Maid-Rites are, quite simply, loose meat beef sandwiches served on buns. It's like a hamburger, only the meat is steamed in bins and falls out on wax paper as you eat them. In the 1900's, nearly every town of any size in Iowa had a Maid-Rite and natives from each of those towns will swear that their local Maid-Rite is the best. I grew up in Newton, IA and the oldest continuous Maid-Rite-style shop is located there. And while the sign out front still says "Maid-Rite", the official name of the place is now Mr. Dan's Sandwich Shop. But to the locals in Newton, it's still the Maid-Rite.

The Newton Maid-Rite has a long and interesting history behind it. Here it is -

After he opened the original Maid-Rite sandwich shop in Muscatine in 1925, Fred Angell was looking for a location to put a second restaurant. He settled upon the Central Iowa town of Newton, home of the burgeoning Maytag Washer Company. Fred figured the workers would love his loose-meat sandwiches.

The Newton Maid-Rite opened in 1926 and it was originally known as the Maid-Rite Hamburg. The original building was a stucco and wood structure with two entrances on the front side. To get from one side of the counter to the other, patrons would have to walk out the front door on the one side and re-enter in the door on the opposite side.  There was a wooden sign out front cut in the form of a lady with a broom. I believe this may have been the Maid-Rite Maiden that Angell's wife used as the first logo of Maid-Rite shops. Angell ran the Newton location for six months before selling it to Gus Foster. 

Mr. Foster ran the Maid-Rite in Newton until 1937 when he sold it to Ethel Shelley, who was described as a "colorful lady." Some older people in Newton remember Ms. Shelley and fondly remember her running the shop in the late 30's into the early 40's.

Also in 1937, two years after franchising the Maid-Rite name (the first food franchise in the Midwest), Fred Angell decreed that all Maid-Rite's add a seasoning to their meat. Ms. Shelley and Cliff Taylor, who founded and owned the Marshalltown Maid-Rite location since 1928, decided that they didn't want to use the seasoning. I understand they fought Angell who finally backed down on his commandment. Actually, I believe every Maid-Rite that was franchised after 1937 had to use the seasoning, but the Newton Maid-Rite and Taylor's Maid-Rite in Marshalltown were "grandfathered" in to not having to use the seasonings.

In 1944, Cliff Taylor passed away and his son, Don, took over Taylor's Maid-Rite. Don Taylor then bought the Newton Maid-Rite from Ethel Shelley. A young man by the name of Quentin "Bud" Holland who worked for the Taylor family in Marshalltown was asked to move to Newton to run the operation there. Bud and his wife, Marty, moved to Newton where they raised two girls, Mardy and Chris.  Bud and Marty Holland eventually purchased the Maid-Rite in Newton from Don Taylor in 1958 and promptly renamed it Bud's Maid-Rite. 

In 1962, the front half of the Maid-Rite in Newton was reconstructed. While it was being built, patrons ate in a screened in room in the back of the building. The locals referred to it as "the shack in the back."  After the renovation, it became the present day building with a single entrance in the front.  

In 1964, Mardy Holland was a junior in high school and her younger sister, Chris, was a sophomore. Bud and Marty decided to add a room in the back of the building.  This became sort of the defacto "teen center" in Newton. It had a serving counter in back, a jukebox and booths for the teen-aged kids to hang out. With sisters who were Mardy and Chris' age, I remember this part of the Maid-Rite very vividly. It was the place to go if you were a teenager in Newton in the mid to late 60's. 

In 1970, Bud and Marty retired and sold the Maid-Rite to Dan and Pam Holtkamp. The Holtkamp's had moved to Newton in 1968 as Dan had taken a job as an accountant for the old Parson's Manufacturing. They fell in love with Newton and wanted to make the town their permanent home to raise their kids. The Holtkamp's jumped head first into the business. Dan had a degree in business and one of the golden rules in business school is not to tamper with success. The Holtkamp's did little to the Maid-Rite after they took over and the transition was smooth. In fact, for years people still referred to the Maid-Rite as just "Bud's".

About the biggest change the Holtkamp's did was to take out the teen room in the back, change that into a full service seating area and open a back entrance to the restaurant. They also put in a drive-up window for people to get their Maid-Rites, fries and shakes. The Holtkamp's also introduced a smaller Maid-Rite - the Joey Rite (named after their son) - for smaller appetites. The Danielle Special (named after their daughter) was a Joey Rite, small soft drink and ice cream. The Holtkamp's also put in the Jaarsma Connection, a small counter in the back of the restaurant that served fresh Dutch pastries from the Jaarsma Bakery in Pella, IA.

Today, the back room has pencil sketches on the wall above the booths of the four owners of the Maid-Rite since late 1926 (below left).

One thing that Dan did not do was change the way the meat was prepared at the Maid-Rite. He told me one time that he doesn't use any seasonings in his meats, the way his predecessors did in their day. And the key is that he buys his meat from the same supplier who Bud Holland was using for years before Dan became the owner. Dan continues to grind his own beef in the basement. The taste of the Newton Maid-Rite comes from the old steamer that is used to cook the meat (above right). The steamer has been internally seasoned over the decades that it's been used to make countless Maid-Rites. The only thing that is added is a little bit of salt added to the top of the meat before the Maid-Rite is wrapped up in wax paper.

In 1982, the Angell family sold the Maid-Rite franchises to a company in Des Moines. The Maid-Rite franchise company was eventually bought by a gentleman by the name of Bradley Burt who insisted that all Maid-Rite franchises have uniformity in the way they prepared their sandwiches. He wanted - no, demanded - that all Maid-Rites buy their meat from his company and prepare it in a specific way. Dan Holtkamp and Don Short, the grandson of Cliff Taylor, resisted the changes and were allowed to continue to do business they way they had.

However, in 2006, the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals decided that the bins that the older Maid-Rites around the state used were deemed to be "unhealthy" as they allowed for the cooking of raw meat next to fully cooked meat. This is a process that Maid-Rites have used for well over 70 years, and they usually have a stainless steel partition in the bin to keep the cooked meat from the raw meat. Once the raw meat is cooked through, the partition is removed and the meat is all mixed together. As far as I know, no one has ever gotten sick from this type of cooking method.

Both Short and Holtkamp said that the changeover to new steamers would be cost ineffective for their businesses and Short led the appeal to the state of Iowa to overturn the ruling. However, it was determined that the original Maid-Rites were in violation of the administrative guidelines set forth by the Iowa Department of Inspections. But, both the Newton Maid-Rite and Taylor's in Marshalltown use the same old steamers and cooking process, so I'm guessing they were able to beat the ruling somewhere along the way.

The biggest change happened a few years ago when Dan Holtkamp silently changed the name of his shop to "Mr. Dan's Sandwich Shop". For years, Holtkamp's workers referred to him as "Mr. Dan" and the nickname stuck. Dan is still running the place daily, his big smile and friendly demeanor greeting customers as they come in. Dan told me, "You know, I'm 72 years old and I've owned this place for 41 years. If I'm able to - and I plan on doing it - in five more years I'll have owned this business in the same amount of years that all three of the previous owners owned it." I'm not betting against him.

Sadly, one of the biggest changes to Dan's business has been the downturn thanks to the closing of Maytag in 2007. Lunch time at the Newton Maid-Rite was an adventure and scene of much jockeying of seats throughout the place trying to get a Maid-Rite and get back to work at the office or factory. I learned a long time ago that you just don't go to Maid-Rite between noon and 1 p.m. on weekdays. Unfortunately, that isn't the case any longer. Business at the Newton Maid-Rite is still steady, but it's not at the same level that it was years ago.

During Newton High School reunion weekends, the Maid-Rite is overrun by former residents back in town for their class reunions. The blackboard on the east side wall has been there for years announcing food specials, game scores, events and even allowing patrons to post their own notes on the board. The menu boards on both walls, I have to believe, are the same ones that have been in the place since Bud Holland refurbished the place in 1962. The front part of the Newton Maid-Rite hasn't changed much - if any - since the building was reconstructed 50 years ago.

I was passing through Newton on my way home recently and decided to stop in and have a Maid-Rite. Actually, I like their Cheese-rites - basically a Maid-Rite with a slice of American cheese on top. And I love to drink milk with my Maid-Rites and/or Cheese-rites. Don't know where I got that from, but I always order a large milk when I have a Maid-Rite.

The Cheese-rites are wrapped in an outer wrap with yellow stripes to denote the cheese on the sandwich. When the Cheese-rite is unwrapped, the excess meat falls out. A spoon is provided to pick up the loose meat on the wrapper. In the winter time, the Maid-Rite also has chili and it's good chili. What I like to do is get a bowl of chili and pour the excess meat into the chili after I have the Cheese-rite.

Some people will ask for the Maid-Rite/Cheese-Rite moist. I like mine a little dry, just as ordered. Like the original Maid-Rites, everything is mustard, pickle and onion. I put a little ketchup and, surprisingly, a little more salt on my Cheese-Rites before I eat them. I hardly EVER put salt on anything, but I like my Cheese-rites salty. The buns that Dan uses are pretty basic, but it's never really been about the bun at Maid-Rite all the way back to the day of Bud Holland. The meat is the thing that keeps bringing me back to the Newton Maid-Rite.

It's sort of like the people in the Quad Cities who grew up eating Harris Pizza and thinking that it is the best pizza in the world. Being from Newton, I think the Maid-Rites from the Newton Maid-Rite are the best in the world. I will admit there are others who think Taylor's in Marshalltown is better. Of course, there are thousands of natives of Ottumwa who think the Canteen's at the Canteen Lunch are the best. People in Sioux City think the "taverns" at Miles Inn are the best. But I could easily be accused of being provincial when it comes to the Newton Maid-Rite, or more correctly Mr. Dan's Sandwich Shop. It's the oldest and, I think, the best.

Let the debate continue...

Carnegie Deli - Las Vegas

We've stayed at the Mirage the past three years during our time at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Like many of the better hotels in the city the Mirage has a number of pretty good places to eat - and a couple three not-so-good places. One place I had never tried before, but really wanted to try, was the Las Vegas location of a New York institution, the Carnegie Deli. After arriving in Las Vegas and being picked up by my colleague, Ian, we decided to have lunch at the Carnegie Deli after we got into the Mirage.

The original Carnegie Deli was established in 1937 just across the street from the famed Carnegie Hall on 7th Ave. (see map). The three original owners, Max Hudas, Bernie Gross and Thomas North, ran the place for 39 years before hard times forced them to sell the restaurant. The trio sold the deli to partners Milton Parker and Leo Steiner in 1976 (a third minor partner, Fred Klein, was bought out shortly after). Parker and Steiner had previous experience working in restaurants - Parker had run a coffee shop until he retired at the age of 55 and sold the business; and Steiner owned a deli at 23rd St. and 3rd Ave. in Manhattan. Knowing that Parker was bored in retirement, a business broker got Parker in touch with Steiner so they could team up to buy the once proud Carnegie Deli - at that time a 40 seat restaurant that hadn't been updated either in decor or in food choices since it opened.

Steiner, who was 20 years younger than Parker, worked the front of the restaurant, welcoming celebrities and the locals alike with his jovial nature, while Parker worked behind the scenes revamping the menu and offering sandwiches that featured 5-inch high slices of pastrami, corned beef, brisket and beef tongue that were smoked, pickled and cured in Carnegie Deli's own processing plant in New Jersey. Steiner made it a full traditional Jewish deli adding knishes, matzoh ball soup, potato pancakes and cheesecake to menu.

Carnegie Deli's chief rival was the Stage Deli, a similar Jewish delicatessen only two blocks away. When Parker and Steiner took over the Carnegie Deli in 1976, the Stage Deli had the better reputation in town. However, Steiner had a secret recipe for corned beef and pastrami - curing the meats for 13 days rather than 7 days - and in 1979 a food critic for the New York Times declared the pastrami sandwich as the better of the two. Parker and Steiner said the key was the water - Carnegie Deli cured their meats in water from New Jersey, while the Stage Deli cured their meats in New York City water.

The Carnegie Deli tried expansion in the 1980's putting two locations in New Jersey, one near Washington D.C., and one out in Beverly Hills, CA. However, all of the locations ended up closing because it was apparent that they were nowhere near as authentic as the original Carnegie Deli.

Leo Steiner tragically passed away in 1987 from complications from a brain tumor and Parker was pressured by family to consider retiring. However, he forged ahead and continued to run the famous deli for the next 15 years. He finally retired in 2002 handing over the reins of the business to his daughter, Marian, and his son-in-law, Sandy Levine (pictured left). Milton Parker passed away in 2009 at the age of 90. Upon his death, one person remarked, "(Parker's) sandwiches were incredibly much too large for human consumption." 

In 2005, the Carnegie Deli opened a location at the Mirage using meats and cheesecake that were made at their commissary in New Jersey and shipped to Las Vegas. Since then, the Carnegie Deli has opened similar locations at casinos and theme parks in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

The Stage Deli had a second location for 15 years at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. I'd eaten at the Stage Deli a handful of times on previous visits to Las Vegas. It had been awhile since I'd eaten there and went over to the Forum Shops three years ago to get a monstrous corned beef sandwich. But I found that they had closed in 2008 after their lease expired. So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a Carnegie Deli in the Mirage.

The only problem is that I couldn't get anyone to go with me. Oh, I could have gotten a sandwich on my own, but we had a deli tray in one of our suites during CES and I didn't think it would be good to go down and get a sandwich when deli sandwiches were provided for us. This year upon arrival, we met up with some of our colleagues who were having lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. Having not a pleasant experience there last year, (see my post on CPK here), I told Ian, "Let's go over to the Carnegie Deli."

We were seated at a table for two along a short wall near the front of the restaurant. Art deco-style lamps hung from the wooden-beamed ceiling. Tables for two, four, and six were throughout the place along with a handful of booths. The waitstaff was dressed in white shirts, black vests and pants. It was fairly busy when were seated and it took awhile for our server to get to us.

 

The menu at Carnegie Deli in Las Vegas isn't much different from the original Carnegie Deli in New York City. In addition to their signature sandwiches, they have comfort food like beef brisket pot roast, meatloaf and boiled half spring chicken served with potatoes and veggies. They also have burgers on the menu, but I wanted a big-assed sandwich. Another thing that we noticed is that they serve breakfast at the Carnegie Deli. After a couple years of so-so and bad valued breakfasts at B.B. King's at the Mirage, we were happy to see another place that served breakfast in the hotel.

 

Ian has eaten at the original Carnegie Deli and asked our server if the sandwiches were the same deli style as the one back in New York City. She sort of stammered, "Well, they're the same..."

 

Ian said, "Good. I just wanted to know if it was the same size as those gargantuan sandwiches back in Manhattan."

 

The server said, "Oh, yes. We get the same meats as the one in New York."

 

Ian ordered up pastrami sandwich on rye. For good measure, he got an order of fries, which are more than enough for two people. I also ordered a pastrami on rye, but I had her add Swiss cheese to my sandwich.

 

She asked, "Would you like some fresh sauerkraut on the sandwich, too?" I couldn't say no! So, my pastrami on rye basically became a pastrami reuben sandwich.

 

One of the traditional treats at the Carnegie Deli is their homemade kosher dill pickles (below left). The pickles have a great tangy taste to them, there's a hard little "snap" with each bite and they are so much better than any processed kosher dill pickle on the market. I'm partial to Claussen kosher dill pickles for a store-bought pickle, but the ones at the Carnegie Deli bury them in quality and taste.

Interestingly, the fries (above right) were brought out to the table before our sandwiches. I was getting pretty hungry - it was past 2 p.m. in Las Vegas and it was past 4 p.m. "body-time" for me and I hadn't eaten anything since a steak salad the previous evening. So having the fries brought first was another nice little appetizer. And the fries, I have to say, were fabulous. The were crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. I don't know what they fry them in, but the taste was so much better than most fries I've had at other restaurants.

Our sandwiches came out not long after we had made a dent in the fries. Of course, they were huge. This is half of my sandwich - yes, half! The lean and rare pastrami was piled high on the bread and held together with a long toothpick. There was the sauerkraut on top as well as the Swiss cheese. However, I was somewhat dismayed that they hadn't melted the cheese giving me instead three thick slices of Swiss cheese. It wasn't a deal breaker by any means, but I would have rather had the cheese melted.

The pastrami was just excellent. It was flavorful, had a little bite of pepper to it and was simply some of the best pastrami I've ever had. Ian said, "Oh, yeah. This is the same stuff that you get in New York."

But there was entirely too much of it. I could only eat half the sandwich before I had to say, "Uncle!" The taste was out of this world. It was one of the best pastrami sandwiches I'd ever had. And I had some good ones over at the Stage Deli when it was in business over at Caesar's. But I don't quite remember the taste sensation being so overwhelming as the pastrami at Carnegie Deli.

 

Ian was called to go over to the Venetian to help with getting into some of the rooms we had reserved to show products in and he left half his sandwich on the plate. I asked him, "Do you want me to keep it?"

He said, "I don't care. I don't know when I'll be able to eat it." I had the server box up both sandwiches and I took them up to my room to store them. The only problem was that I didn't have a refrigerator in my room and the fridge in the adjoining suite was on the blink. I put the sandwiches on ice in my sink and I did piece on the meat from my sandwich as we were setting up the displays later that day. But I ended up throwing the sandwiches out later that evening. The meat had dried out and lost its deep red color.

I had mentioned that Carnegie Deli also served breakfast and we were pleasantly surprised that we could get in rather easily each morning for breakfast while we were staying at the Mirage. Like the sandwiches, the portions were huge. The first morning, I just got the eggs and bacon plate, but they served it with three eggs. Ian got the egg and bacon sandwich and it's the size of one of their deli sandwiches with basically an egg and bacon omelet piled high on bread. The next day I got a sausage, mushroom and cheese omelet and this is what they brought me. The omelet nearly covered the whole plate. I could only eat about half of it.  

 

The following morning, I got the corned beef and eggs breakfast. They brought the plate out - a full sized plate - and it was covered in corned beef hash. Homemade corned beef, at that. And there were two eggs on top of the hash. It was very good, but, oh! So much food! The breakfasts I had were good - much better than the ones over at B.B. King's - and, like the sandwiches, were pretty expensive. An average per person charge for breakfast was around $17 to $22 bucks. For me, that included juice and milk.

 

The last day of the show, my colleague, Todd, was complaining that he was getting hungry just around 1 p.m. I said, "You can go down to the Carnegie Deli and get us both a pastrami on rye sandwich." He did and brought them back up to the suite. We shared one sandwich while Alain Chlous, the international sales manager for Micromega, tried his best to down one on his own. He could only eat half and we ended up "vulturing" the other half of the sandwich, picking up the delectable pastrami by hand and feeding it to our faces. All I can say about the pastrami at Carnegie Deli is that it is outstanding. Make sure you bring a large appetite or someone else to share a sandwich with you. But if you have the capabilities to store the other half of the sandwich, it would be a great late night snack in your room.

Berghoff Cafe - O'Hare International Airport - Chicago

Having to fly out of Moline four or five times a year usually means a connection through Chicago. These days when I do fly, I nearly always take United Airlines as I'm trying to get my point totals up to be able to go on a vacation with my wife somewhere far, far away in a year or two. Inside Terminal 1 on the C Concourse at O'Hare International Airport between Gates C-24 and C-26 on the far north side is the Berghoff Cafe (see map). If I'm ever laid over for any significant amount of time, I always try to get to the Berghoff Cafe for a sandwich and a couple beers. On a recent trip back from New York City, I deplaned at C-23 - a very short walk to the Berghoff Cafe.

The Berghoff Cafe is part of the Berghoff Group of restaurants and catering. I've written about the Berghoff in the past, primarily this entry, just before they closed the original Berghoff in 2006. The back story behind the closing is that Herman Berghoff, the grandson of the original owner of Berghoff, also named Herman, and his wife, Jan, wanted to retire from the restaurant business. The only Berghoff involved in the business was their daughter, Carlyn, who owned and operated the Berghoff catering business. She wanted to continue to concentrate on that part of the business and not run the restaurant. The Berghoff family announced in late 2005 that the restaurant would close on February 28, 2006. Like thousands of other people, we went into Chicago for one last meal at Berghoff and waited in a long line that stretched for a good 100 yards down Adams Street during a typically cold Chicago winter.

The original Berghoff was one of the very few Chicago area restaurants that had unionized waiters. The numbers of restaurants that had union waiters had dwindled to around 10 by the time the Berghoff had closed. Some of the waiters at The Berghoff had worked there for over 40 years. I've heard stories from more than one person that the intent of the Berghoff family was to close the main restaurant under the guise of Herman and Jan Berghoff retiring, but it was more to force the union waiters out. I'm not saying that is true - it's just what I've heard from a couple three people.

Carlyn Berghoff had converted the main dining room into her new catering venture and called it "The Century Room". In April of 2006, she reopened the Berghoff Cafe in the basement of the building offering a lunch menu of sandwiches, paninis, salads and soups. Shortly thereafter, Carlyn Berghoff reopened the historic bar (it holds Chicago Liquor License No. 1 - pictured right) and renamed it 17 West at The Berghoff. And in June of 2006, she quietly reopened the original Berghoff with a smaller and slightly different menu than what her father, grandfather and great-grandfather offered before. This immediately brought on some skeptism from people who really wondered why the closing took place to begin with and angered many - including me - who thought the Berghoff was gone for good and waited for hours for one last meal.

Carlyn Berghoff explained that she was a perfectionist and she had never actually run a restaurant before and the team she had in place had also never really run a restaurant. She wanted to make sure that everything was right before they reopened. And presumably without unionized waiters.

Through all of this, the Berghoff Cafe at O'Hare stayed open. I don't quite remember when the Berghoff Cafe opened at O'Hare, but it had to be more than 10 years ago. They open at 5:30 a.m. for the early morning flyers and stay open until at least 9:30 p.m. - and even longer for some people who are delayed by weather. The menu at Berghoff Cafe at O'Hare is somewhat similar to the one in downtown Chicago - sandwiches, paninis and so on.

There's two parts of the Berghoff Cafe, the part where you order your food at the kitchen counter (left), and the bar area where you can dine and get a beer. There was a short line to order, but a full house in the bar area when I got there just before 2 p.m. after my flight from New York.

I always seem to get the same thing at the Berghoff Cafe - the reuben sandwich. They take fresh corned beef brisket out of a steam tray, cut it thin on a rotary meat slicer, then pile the meat high on thick rye bread before topping it with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and 1000 Island dressing. Then they take it over to the panini press and warm it up for about a minute giving the sandwich nice charred lines on the top and bottom while melting the cheese.

It had been awhile since had been to the Berghoff Cafe at O'Hare and one thing that they added to the ordering line was beer. In the past, you could get your sandwich, but then you had to go to the bar and get a beer. That meant two charges on your credit card for one meal. But now, they have three Berghoff beers on tap including their Lager and Dark beers, as well as their seasonal Oktoberfest beer. I took an Oktoberfest as they placed my sandwich in a styrofoam container. I found a place to sit at one of the communal tables they have in the not-so-large bar area.

The sandwiches at the Berghoff Cafe are always great. First of all, they're pretty good sized so it's always good to have a healthy appetite when you go. Secondly, the combination of the very tasty corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and dressing on the homemade rye bread is absolutely mouth-watering. The bread is a little charred on the outside, but everything is melted together in a fashion that each bite is a gooey pleasure. It's definitely a four napkin sandwich. A large dill pickle spear comes with the sandwich and you can also get chips and some other sides to go along with it, if you want. The sandwich, itself, runs $9.45 and, in my estimation and opinion, is worth every cent. It's much better than getting food at a lot of the other food outlets they have to offer at O'Hare. Unfortunately, a lot of other travelers know that, too. And that's why it's always full at the Berghoff Cafe.

 

So, if you're flying United through O'Hare - as many people seem to do now that they merged with Continental Airlines - with a layover of an hour or more, it's with my high recommendation to take a walk to the Berghoff Cafe and get a sandwich and a beer. Even if you're on the B concourse of Terminal 1, it's worth the walk through the tunnel connecting the two. They also have a shuttle between Concourse C and Concourse F where most of the regional jets arrive and depart. As I said, it's much better than the fast food alternatives that proliferate Terminal 1 and is much better than many of the sit down places in the same terminal. The only bitch I'd have is that I just wish it was a little bigger in the bar area.

Manny's Cafeteria and Delicatessen - Chicago

A shout out to my friend, Bes Nievera, at Music Direct in Chicago for directing me to Manny's Cafeteria and Delicatessen, an old-world deli in the south loop on the near west side of Chicago (see map). Manny's has served Chicago's famous and elite as well as the run-of-the-mill "Joe's" and "Jane's" since 1946. It was during our little "tourist" trip into Chicago that I had my first experience with Manny's Deli.

Manny's is the quintessential Jewish delicatessen featuring sandwiches piled high with kosher meats, and large portion hot entrees such as beef stew, liver and onions and corned beef dinners, soups, sides such as knish and kishke, and daily specials with such diverse items as stuffed cabbage, roasted tongue with mushrooms, fried smelts, and lamb shanks. It's truly a cafeteria where you get your tray at the start of the line, then go down and tell the guys behind the counter what you want. And you usually end up with a lot more food than you can eat.

The beginning of Manny's pre-dates 1946, but just four years before when Russian immigrant brothers Jack and Charlie Raskin opened their first deli using home-grown recipes they learned from their mother. The brothers split their business just after World War II as Jack wanted to be closer to the open air markets on Maxwell Street. He set up shop at a place that used to be called "Sunny's" at the corner of Roosevelt Road and Maxwell Street. Money was tight and Jack couldn't afford a new sign. He decided to call his place "Manny's" - after his teenaged son, known as Manny to family and friends - and it only cost him to change two letters in sign.

Manny had worked in his Uncle Charlie's deli prior to working at his dad's place and he was the first cook of the new deli. He had learned how to cook by watching his uncle cook at the old place. Manny eventually took over for his father and the location of the deli bounced around the area until it finally settled into its present day spot just north of Roosevelt on Jefferson in 1964. Manny styled the place after a New York-style delicatessen and business flourished.

Manny's son, Ken, started to work in the restaurant when he was a young kid and took over the place when Manny died in 1983. Today, Ken Raskin continues to run the place, but his sons Matt and Danny (all pictured at right) are involved with the day-to-day operation. Ken Raskin's wife, Patti, as well as their two other children, Stephanie and Jason, come around from time to time to help out when needed.

It was about 2:30 when we finally got to Manny's after a long and somewhat expensive cab ride from Navy Pier. I figured that it wouldn't be that busy at Manny's at that time and I was right. There was no one standing in line when we walked in.

The menu including the day's specials are up on the lighted board behind the counter. We made the rookie mistakes of not grabbing a fiberglass tray as we made our way down the line to see what we wanted to order. One of the line cooks asked us what we wanted and Cindy said, "Gee, I really don't know."

The cook said, "Well, we've got up until closing time for you to figure it out." And I sort of panicked as I took that to mean that they closed at 3:00 p.m. (They don't - they close at 8 p.m.)

I really didn't know what to get either, so I took a little time to figure out the menu. We finally just decided to get a corned beef sandwich. And I knew it would be huge, so I told the guy that we'd just split it.

They sliced the corned beef on the spot with the large industrial slicer (above right). And then they piled it high on a slice of rye bread, topped it with another piece of rye and cut it in half. For good measure, we got a potato pancake as a side and a couple kosher dill pickle spears along with some cole slaw. I got a bottle of water while Cindy got an iced tea.

The next thing you encounter at Manny's as you get to the end of the line is a lady at a cash register. Only she isn't the one who takes your money. She just comes up with the ticket that you'll use to go up and pay at the REAL cash register at the front door. I thought it was a little strange, but I'm sure it's something they've been doing at Manny's for years.

We sat in Manny's main dining area, a well lit room that had pictures of famous politicians and celebrities, as well as a number of articles about Manny's over the years from local and national publications. The formica tables and vinyl padded chairs at Manny's are all right, nothing special. They're along that style of sterile cafeteria furniture.

But we were there for the sandwich and I'm sure we could have zipped it up a bit more with some cheese and maybe some veggies (spicy mustard was available on the table, so that was a plus). But it was just plain, piled high sandwiched between soft rye bread.

The meat was lean, juicy and very tasty. It was, of course, too large to take a full bite. So we just sort of nibbled around the meat and the bread, forking up the tender morsels of corned beef that fell out onto the plate. It was salty (I ended up getting a second bottle of water), but the taste was very, very good. It was some of the best corned beef I'd ever had. And having it thinly sliced as they do at Manny's made it even easier to eat.

The cole slaw at Manny's is "eh!" Nothing really special. But the potato pancake was flavorful and had a nice crust on the outside. They make it with eggs and onions mixed in with the potatoes and then they fry it up. It, too, was a damn fine potato pancake.

Before we left, we looked at all the pictures, articles and memorabilia on the wall at Manny's. Chicago politicians from aldermen to U.S. government officials have descended upon Manny's for years. But no one is more famous than President Barack Obama who has come to Manny's for years starting even before his days as state legislator in the Illinois Senate. Obama visited Manny's days after he won election to the presidency in November of 2008. Here's a picture of him ordering corned beef sandwiches at the same spot where I ordered our corned beef sandwich.

After paying at the cash register on the way out, I sort of wished that we would have driven down. (Manny's does offer valet parking, but there are parking areas on the street and on the side of the building, if available.) It didn't appear any taxi's would be driving by any time soon. I looked to the north and I noticed a cab pulling out of a gas station and heading north. A moment later, I saw another cab pulling out of the gas station and heading north. We started to wander up the street and as soon as we made it to the corner just north of Manny's, I looked over and there was a cab company right behind the gas station. It was shift change just after 3 p.m. and the cabs were gassing up at the BP station and then heading out. We flagged a cabbie at the station, he told us to hop in and he gave us a ride back to our hotel in River North. That was kind of lucky.

It turns out that a corned beef sandwich and a potato pancake is the exact thing you should order if you're a Manny's Deli rookie, like we were. Regulars usually have a good idea of what they want as they go through the line. It's not good to hold people up who are behind you and who can probably recite the menu - along with the daily specials - off the top of their heads. The corned beef at Manny's was just excellent as was the potato pancake. Now that I know where Manny's is, what they have to offer and how the drill works I'm sure my next visit will go even more smooth. I just gotta remember to get that tray before I move on down the line...

Colony Point Deli - Williamsburg, IA

Since this blog is named Road Tips, the purpose should really be to point out some of the more obscure and secret places that I've found in my travels around the Midwest and beyond. One place that I've stopped at for years and years is the Colony Point Deli located in the BP gas station at the Williamsburg (IA) exit on Interstate 80. (see map) They have a great little sandwich place in there and I thought I'd share it with you today.

I have no idea of the history of the Colony Point Deli, but it's just a part of the Colony Point travel stop located right next to the Tanger Outlet Mall off Interstate 80 at exit 220. But it's not unlike many travel plazas that you find on any interstate across the nation. First of all, it caters to automobiles and not trucks, so it's definitely not a truck stop. Secondly, Colony Point is sort of like an upscale convenience store with knick-knack gifts, Amana foods and, of course, a pretty good little deli in the place.

The nearby Amana Colonies feature a handful of very good German-American restaurants (we've been talking about going there to one of the restaurants and doing an entry for Road Tips), a good little bakery called the Amana Bakery that makes breads, rolls and bagels, and the Amana Meat Shop and Smokehouse that is famous for their hams, bologna, sausages and smoked pork chops, as well as their cheese.  The Colony Point sells a number of these items for people who aren't willing to venture the 10 or so miles to the north and east to go to the Amana Colonies.   

One thing that Colony Point sells is the Amana pickled ham.  This stuff is like heroin.  In fact, I contemplated making a separate entry for the Amana pickled ham under the "Guilty Pleasures" column of this blog.  They take an Amana smoked ham, cut it into square chunks and then put it pickled vinegar water with onion slices and let it cure.  Oh, man!  It is so addictive.  I've found myself just sitting with a fork, watching TV and eating the pickled ham until I looked down and realized that I'd eaten half the bottle.  Then, of course, I'm wrought with guilt afterwards.

The first time I'd had the pickled ham was at one of the Amana Colony restaurants that I went to with my old college roommate, Billy Wilson.  Billy grew up near the Amana Colonies and every once in a while his parents would invite us to come over from Iowa City to have dinner with them on a Friday night.  The first time I went there nearly 30 years ago, they brought out a bowl of the pickled ham with the family style meal, I had one and I was hooked.  It got to a point where when we sat down we'd order our drinks AND a bowl of pickled ham.  And Billy and I would constantly fight over the last few morsels of this delectable offering from the God of Pigs.  If you would tell me the secret of the taste of the Amana pickled ham is pig urine, I'd still eat it.

Since I was on my way home, of course, I had to pick up a jar to take with me.  I can't tell you how many times I've resisted  picking up a plastic fork and taking it with me so I could eat some on the way home.  I'll admit, I've done that a couple of times.  It's amazing how your dignity vanishes when it comes to the Amana pickled ham.  

The deli area isn't much.  It's a small counter with a menu behind it on the wall, and a small station where the sandwiches are made.  The menu isn't big - they just have the basic ham, roast beef, turkey, etc.  They also have capocolla and hard salami sandwiches.  I really like a good spicy capocolla and Colony Point Deli's capocolla is very good.  

I ordered up a roast beef with provolone cheese on the Amana German rye bread.  They also have a great Amana dark rye, as well as wheat and regular white breads from the Amana bakery.  You get your choice of veggies - tomato, lettuce, onion - as well as either German mustard or yellow mustard, and a vinegar and oil topping.  I ordered mine with all the veggies, oil and vinegar (with Italian spices mixed in) and yellow mustard. Since they're made to order, you have time to walk around and check out what else Colony Point has to offer. (They also have pre-made sandwiches in a case if you don't want to wait.)

Another guilty pleasure in life is Sterzing's Potato Chips.  This is another taste sensation that I acquired while going to the University of Iowa in the early to mid-80's.  I have to tell you, Sterzing's Potato Chips are another horrifyingly addictive guilty pleasure of mine.  Once again, I could dedicate a whole entry for my Guilty Pleasures category on Sterzing's.  But I decided to make it just another part of this entry. 

They make the potato chips in Burlington, IA and have been in existence since 1933 when it started out as a candy factory.  Founder Barney Sterzing began to play around with the notion of making potato chips about the time World War II ended.  The taste and texture of a Sterzing's potato chip is very unique and it's the same recipe they've used since Day 1.   They claim they only use salt and oil in cooking their potato chips, but I have to guess there are small amounts of opium mixed in, as well.  They are just that addictive.  They were a great late night, munchy snack after the bars closed for a guy like me when I was going to college.  But I would always eat too many of those grease-sponged chips that it would make my stomach hurt.  

Barney Sterzing's daughter, Billie, and her husband, Dutch Duttweiler, took over the family business in 1959.  Dutch Duttweiler oversaw an expansion of business that included moving to their present day production facility in Burlington along with an expansion of distribution.  For years, Sterzing's Potato Chips were only available within a 50 mile radius of Burlington, but in the 90's they expanded their distribution and the prominent yellow and red bags can now be found at convenience stores such as Casey's and Kum and Go, as well as many Hy-Vee grocery stores.  

In 1994, the Duttweiler's retired and their daughters, Jill Blackwood (with her husband, Tom) and Judy Arledge took over.  Earlier this year, the third generation family sold their interest in Sterzing's to long time employees Craig Smith and Gary Schmeiser.  Smith started with Sterzing's in 1980 as a route driver and worked his way up to production manager for the plant.  Schmeiser also started as a route driver in 1989, but became the sales manager for the company in 1997.  Smith and Schmeiser aren't planning on any wholesale changes for Sterzing's, saying "Why tamper with success?"

Of course, I had to get a small bag of Sterzing's Potato Chips to go along with my sandwich.  It had been such a long time since I'd had some that I decided to treat myself to some.  

One other thing that makes a trip to the Colony Point Deli a treat are their wonderful home-baked cookies. Of course, they put them right up in front by where you order and pay for your sandwich.  They have all types of cookies including chocolate chip, M&M's cookies, chocolate chips WITH M&M's, white chocolate chip - the list goes on and on.  They also have baked goods including pastries in the case.  I decided to treat myself to a white chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookie for a dessert.  Hey, I was on vacation at the time and I thought I deserved it.  

On the other side of the counter where they have the pre-made sandwiches, they also have homemade pies that you can buy whole or by the slice.  A slice of their lemon pie has been calling my name for years, but I've successfully have dodged all attempts by the ladies behind the counter to take a piece with me.   

The lady called out my name when my sandwich was ready and I took all my goodies including the jar of pickled ham, the Sterzing's and a bottle of water to the counter and ordered up the cookie when she asked if there would be anything else.   The sandwich also comes with a pickle spear and each sandwich also gets a peppermint candy placed underneath the sandwich.  

You can get half sandwiches at Colony Point, but I got a full one this time.  And it's pretty big.  They really lay on the vegetables and the Italian spice-infused oil and vinegar tastes great on the lettuce, tomatoes and onions.  I normally don't get onions on my sandwiches from the Colony Point Deli, but this time I did.  And they were fresh and strong! 

The sandwich had three thick slices of roast beef and a thick slice of provolone cheese on top.  The bread was a little dried out - I knew I should have gotten the dark rye bread.  But it was still good.  I like a lot of yellow mustard on my roast beef sandwiches and they slathered it on.  This is not a sandwich that you can easily eat while you're driving down the road.  Even though there is a small dining area in Colony Point, I sat out in the parking lot and ate a good portion of the sandwich before heading back home.  

The sandwiches at the Colony Point Deli aren't going to be as good as what you'd find at a big city deli such as Manny's Deli in Chicago (look for an upcoming entry on that place on Road Tips), but for out in the middle of the cornfields of Iowa and just off Interstate 80 it's a good place to stop, grab a sandwich and other Amana food stuffs, then head on down the road.  While my sandwich was a little dry with the bread and almost had too many veggies (lettuce, especially), it's still a pretty good value.  The Colony Point Deli a great alternative to Arby's, McDonald's or Subway - all of which are also in the immediate vicinity at that exit.  It's all the extras that you can get at Colony Point that makes this place one of my guilty pleasures in life.