The Leader • Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020 • Page 1B
Local residents take sandwiches seriously By Zarah Parker zarah@theleadernews.com
“I miss Carter and Cooley.” Those are the words Garden Oaks resident Leslie Ryan typed when asked where the best place in the area is to get a sandwich. The former West 19th Street shop Carter & Cooley Company Delicatessen closed its doors more than a year ago and is still remembered and longed for by former patrons. Carter & Cooley had been a longstanding staple in the neighborhood to get a sandwich. Now you can get a sandwich almost anywhere on any local street. But while there’s more dining options now, Oak Forest resident Benjamin Ward said his favorite will always be the “ma and pa sandwich shops.” His personal favorite is Mr. Submarine, 3313 Mangum Rd.
“They’ve been around for many years. The sandwiches are fantastic,” Ward said. In a Facebook post on community pages, residents shared more of their favorite places to grab a sandwich to make it easy to filter through the numerous options. Two that were often mentioned were also ones that have been part of the neighborhood for a long time, Antone’s at 2724 W. T.C. Jester Blvd. and Supreme Sandwiches, 2752 W. T.C. Jester Blvd. “Antone’s. They’re a lot higher than they used to be in the (1970s) but they still blow a lot of people away,” Garden Oaks resident Edward Gallardo said. Jen Prejean recommends the tuna fish sandwich from Antone’s as well as the one from Supreme. According to Theresa Baranowski, Supreme Sandwich-
Photo from Facebook Pictured are sandwiches from Antone’s Famous Po’ Boys, a longtime community staple at 2724 W. T.C. Jester Blvd.
es has also stood the test of time. She said its sandwiches are just as good today as they
were 40 years ago. “I’m in college and every time I come home I have to go
to Supreme,” Kaitlyn Edwards said. A fairly new favorite of the neighborhood is Ploughman’s Deli & Café, 965 Pinemont Dr. “If anyone says anything other than Ploughman’s Deli, it’s because they haven’t been there yet,” Chelsea Coolican said. “Their sandwiches are the absolute best, no contest.” While many said anything and everything was good at Ploughman’s, the sandwiches that were highlighted by residents were the Reuben, the Pastramarama, the Roll The Hard Six, which is roast beef on ciabatta, the chicken salad croissant, the egg salad and the meatball sandwich. Other recommendations include the Reuben sandwich and the hot chicken sandwich from Revival Market, 550 Heights Blvd., the Albacore Tuna salad from Barnaby’s Café, 181 Heights Blvd., the
Italian Sub from Spaghetti Western, 1951 W. T.C. Jester Blvd., the crunchy chicken sandwich from Local Foods, 714 Yale St., the smoked bologna sandwich from Gatlin’s BBQ, 3510 Ella Blvd., the turkey BLT from Wakefield Crowbar, 954 Wakefield Dr., the Aloha chicken sandwich from Lola, 1102 Yale St., the turkey on ciabatta from Onion Creek, 3106 White Oak Dr., the Italian sub form Pappa Geno’s, 1801 Ella Blvd., and the braised short rib and cheddar grilled cheese from Rainbow Lodge, 2011 Ella Blvd. Hughies, 1802 W. 18th St., and Les Ba’get, 1717 W. 34th St., were suggested for banh mi. So while residents will miss the sandwich shops that have closed, they still have plenty of options from which to choose.
Review: Ploughman’s proves reliably delicious By Zarah Parker zarah@theleadernews.com
The gem of Pinemont Drive is Ploughman’s Deli & Café. With six specialty sandwiches along with a make-your-ownsandwich option, the deli delivers on delicious, freshly made items. The deli is currently closed for dine-in, but during a previous visit, I was able to enjoy its Star Wars decorations and cozy outdoor patio. On that visit I made my own sandwich with turkey, mustard, salt and pepper, lettuce and onion on a toasted baguette. I loved the thick slices of turkey breast used on the sandwich and the bread was fresh. More recently I ordered to-go food through Ploughman’s online system, which was seamless. Everything is
sectioned into different categories, and everything is customizable. I chose the Reuben, which is a specialty sandwich at Ploughman’s. It is made with corned beef, beer-infused sauerkraut, house-made Russian dressing and Swiss cheese on toasted rye bread. The corned beef was tender, with a blend of salty and spicy flavors. It was great alongside the sauerkraut, which is a mix of sour, salty and sweet. I wasn’t a fan of the Russian dressing at a previously reviewed restaurant, but I found I didn’t have the same problem with the dressing on this sandwich. The light mayo and tomato flavors of the dressing complemented the Reuben. The sandwich also came with a side. I chose the pasta salad. The cavatappi noodles were tossed in an oil mixture.
In a way the dish seemed creamy. The main thing I tasted was olive oil, but I enjoyed the side overall. I got the honey lavender lemonade to wash it all down. It’s very tart and sweet. The honey is a good addition, and while the drink was tasty, I couldn’t drink more than half the cup because it made me feel like I had too much sugar rushing through me. From just a few tries of Ploughman’s sandwich options, I’d happily make this a place I regularly visit when seeking a sandwich I can rely on to be good. But it wasn’t just the sandwiches I enjoyed. I was glad to have added two of Ploughman’s desserts to my order. Online the fruit cobbler doesn’t specify which fruit is used, so I took a chance and decided to be surprised. It
turned out to be apple. There was also more bread to the cobbler than I was expecting, making it more of an apple cake in my opinion, but at the same time it didn’t take away from the apple-cinnamon goodness. My favorite dessert was the second one I ordered, the chocolate Oreo pudding. Milk chocolate pudding mixed in with cream and crumbled Oreo. It was creamy and sweet and perfect along with the Oreo. Ploughman’s Deli & Café Address: 965 Pinemont Dr. Hours: 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday Pricing: $9.50-$13.40 Alcohol: Yes Kid-friendly: Yes Healthy options: Yes Star of the show: Reuben
How to make a better sandwich at home Zarah Parker Managing Editor
If you’re not a sandwich aficionado, it’s easy to fall into a simple, boring sandwich-making routine. “A sandwich is a sandwich,” is something someone told me once. They weren’t necessarily wrong, but they were missing out on all the variety you can have in your sandwich at home. What some haven’t realized yet it that a lot of the time you can probably make a better sandwich at home than from somewhere else. You just have to break out of the ham-lettucemayo routine. Here are some helpful ways to get inventive with your sandwiches at home. Let’s start with bread. You can use sliced packaged bread from the grocery store, but give yourself some variety,
too. There’s so many different types of bread, like sourdough, bagels, flatbread, ciabatta, rye, Irish soda bread and more. If you have time, I suggest stopping by your local bakery and seeing what options are available, and if you’ve never tasted it, try it. It might just end up being the perfect sandwich bread. You can also bread shop at local farmers markets. To go further, you can also try making your own bread. If you’re new to making bread, you might have to do a practice loaf or two. This way you can experiment with your bread by adding different seeds or herbs. It’s also important for the bread and filling to make sense to your taste buds. One rule of thumb you can use is that if you have soft bread, have a crunch inside. If you have crunchier bread, don’t add even more crunch to the toppings. That way there’s a nice balance. Toasting your bread is always
a nice touch, even if the contents of the sandwich are cold. But you can have hot sandwiches at home, whether you throw it in a pan to toast and melt together or put it on a panini press. For your protein options, you have your basic deli meats: ham, turkey, salami, bologna, pastrami, etc. But you don’t always have to rely on the deli for your meat. Use your leftovers to fill the space between your bread. For example, if you made meatloaf the night before, add it to your sandwich the day after. I enjoy lots of vegetables on my sandwiches. At home, you can do more than what Subway provides, such as roasted vegetables. You can roast jalapenos, bell peppers, onions, zucchini, squash and more. And while I enjoy lettuce and tomato, sometimes they make my sandwich soggy, so you could also use avocado, cucumbers or shred-
FOOD BRIEFS: Amsterdam Co. hosting ‘Roaster Series’ By Zarah Parker zarah@theleadernews.com
The cannabis coffee shop Amsterdam Co., 807 W. 19th St., is launching its “The Roaster Series,” which features a new roaster and a single origin espresso every month. This month patrons can taste a blend from Cleo Roasting Co. The Dr. Congo Organic North Kivu Gorilla Blend has grapefruit, oolong and semisweet chocolate flavors. From 2-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, the head roaster of Cleo Roasting Co., Vivian Nguyen, will be at Amsterdam Co. for a meet-and-greet. Twisted Grilled Cheese opens The gourmet grilled cheese food truck Twisted Grilled Cheese is opening its first brick-and-mortar location on Saturday at 5555 Washington Ave. Twisted Grilled Cheese will
feature an expanded menu and full bar featuring craft cocktails. A total of 13 gourmet sandwiches will anchor the menu. A pie lover’s croissant EggHaus Gourmet, 2042 E. T.C. Jester Blvd., is often releasing seasonal, limited croissants, such as its banana pudding and S’more croissants. Now for a limited time, EggHaus has released a croissant pie lovers may especially enjoy — the apple pie croissant. It is filled with apples and cinnamon and topped with vanilla whipped cream, milk chocolate pearls, candied walnuts, caramel drizzle and 24-karat edible gold flakes. Sweet trailer outside of Wicklow Heights Vanilla Blue Creamery is a food trailer that’s bringing sweet treats to the neighborhood as it parks in front of Wicklow Heights at 1027 W.
19th St. Vanilla Blue, which specializes in both ice cream and sno-balls, started in August but began a more consistent schedule outside of Wicklow last week. You can find the trailer parked outside from 4-10 p.m. Thursdays, 4 p.m.2 a.m. Fridays, noon-2 a.m. Saturdays and noon-10 p.m. Sundays. The menu includes ice cream-stuffed donuts, cookies and brownies as well as sundaes and regular scoops. Its sno-ball options include “fancy” and “less fancy” selections. The former includes flavors like Lean in 7, which is made with grape, Sprite, Nerds candies and Sweet Tart Spritz, and Mangonada, which is made with mango, fresh mango pieces, Chamoy, Tajin rim, lime and Tamarind Candy Spritz. The less fancy options include regular sno-ball flavors, such as tiger’s blood and blue raspberry.
Photo by Zarah Parker The Reuben from Ploughman’s Deli & Café comes with corned beef, beer-infused sauerkraut, house-made Russian dressing and Swiss cheese on toasted rye bread.
ded cabbage. Mayo and mustard are standard sandwich condiments, but you can change it up by mixing mayo and Sriracha on a turkey sandwich or using pesto with a chicken sandwich. If you’re like me and you’re mostly a mustard kind of person, then try a different variety of mustard. Cheese is also an important topping, but one I will admit to not knowing much about. So my advice would be to put whatever cheese you want on it. One topping that is often overlooked at home is seasoning. Before you finish up your sandwich, add salt and pepper or Italian seasoning, depending on the type you’re making. The best thing you can do while making sandwiches at home is just try different combinations. That’s how you find an interesting sandwich that you would have never thought to make.
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