Kristen and I love a good sandwich, and are always on the lookout for new places to frequent. We had spotted Cafe Zupas recently and thought we should give it a try, but just hadn't gotten around to stopping in. Well, we got a takeout menu in the mail last week (how do they do that?). While perusing the menu, even as we were dilly-dallying over what we should cook for dinner, we decided the time was now.
Well, words cannot express the disappointment when we got our food. My turkey bacon avocado panini was little more than a glorified grilled cheese sandwich. Kristen's Chipotle Chicken Salad was beyond generic. As we were picking through the meh-riffic remains, Kristen accidentally tipped my water straight into my lap. With that icy surprise, the time had come to make a hasty exit.
On the other end of the spectrum, while out and about acquiring Eddie's Halloween costume this past Saturday, we tried yet another new place—
Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches. Even though their employees were trained to maintain that obnoxious "we're here to serve you with a goofy, happy-go-lucky attitude" customer service persona (you know the kind), we couldn't argue with the tastiness of the food. My "Italian Night Club" had just the right amount of zing to go along with the delicious pun.
These recent experiences got us to thinking about some of our favorite sandwich places, past and present, and our obligation to share them with you, our fellow bloggers. We frequent the big chains (Subway, Quiznos, Gandolfo's) as much as the next sandwich addict, but this list is comprised of those select establishments that aren't every third block, and are well worth the extra effort.
Kneaders Bakery & CafeSouth Jordan, Riverton, Midvale, Orem, Provo
A sandwich is only as good as its bread, and Kneaders doesn't disappoint with several artisan breads to choose from as your foundation. And while I am usually a roast beef and pastrami kind of guy, I find myself going for Kneaders' delicious pulled turkey sandwiches more often than not. Their Turkey Bacon Avocado on Focaccia could definitely beat up the one from Cafe Zupas.
Leger'sPark City, Downtown Salt Lake
Leger's makes the kind of sandwich that has a certain homemade quality, only it always tastes so much better than what I make myself. A regular in my lunch rotation when I worked for the corporation that shall not be named, I'd grab a half pastrami on sourdough, then make a quick stop at the 7-Eleven for a 32 oz. Mountain Dew Code Red (no wonder I was packing on the pounds). I made sure to take Kristen there on the way to the family cabin earlier this summer.
Logan's HeroesLogan
Shockingly enough, for all the time we lived in Logan, and as many times as we drove past this little hole-in-the-wall on Main Street, we didn't get around to trying it until just before we moved down to Salt Lake. I don't remember a whole lot about it other than their sandwiches were indeed heroic. We have still only been there that once, but we definitely need to make time for a return visit next time we are in Cache Valley.
New York NY Fresh DeliFormerly South Jordan, Downtown Salt Lake
Not long after moving to South Jordan, we spotted this little deli and quickly became faithful patrons. After a few visits, we noticed we were typically the only ones in the place, save the stocky Italian man making the sandwiches, so we kind of figured its days were numbered. However, that didn't lessen the blow any when earlier this year I stopped by to grab some take-out and was met with a handwritten note explaining they had closed. Apparently there is another location downtown, but suburbanites like us are scared of the big city.
The Robin's NestFormerly Sugar House, Downtown Salt Lake
Once we discovered The Robin's Nest, we'd stop in all the time to grab a few sandwiches (on "squeak & bubble" ciabatta bread as they called it), and head over to Sugar House Park for many an impromptu picnic. That is until they moved their location downtown and we moved to South Jordan. Apparently we need to plan a weekend getaway to the city and dine on nothing but sandwiches from our old favorites (plus, I've heard good things about
Tony Caputo's).
Schlotzsky'sSandy, Downtown Salt Lake
I was first introduced to the serious sandwich with the funny name when my dad was doing the Money Mailer thing, and we met him there for lunch one day. I have been a believer ever since. We aren't over in Sandy all that much, but when we are, we know where we are going to eat. The soon to be former location in the ZCMI food court was also a favorite dinner stop when going to do sessions at the Salt Lake Temple.
Village Baker West Jordan
Village Baker is a takeout staple of the Salt City Candle office, offering generous portions at very reasonable prices. Along with New York NY Fresh Deli, it was also a hot spot where Kristen could get her chicken salad sandwich fix when she was pregnant and deli meat was off limits (have I mentioned I'm grateful to be a man?).
Now it becomes your obligation to notify us of any other good sandwich places we may be missing out on. But wouldn't you know it, Kristen has made a stop at Village Baker in her travels today so she can meet me at the park for lunch. If you will excuse me, all this blogging has made me hungry.
Everything went just fine, although the surgeon determined that another procedure was needed on Monday to fish out any loose gallstones still floating around in her bowels. Once she was officially "de-stoned," Kristen got to enjoy a delicious diet of beef broth, jello, and apple juice on the road to recovery.
Eddie's first ride on a slide. His mommy was much more scared than he was.
Once it was time for Eddie to eat, I hit the street with camera in hand to continue my photographic series of old timey Utah. Previous installments can be found here and here.
Eddie wasn't a fan of his baby carrier, and since my face was beet red after about a quarter-mile (due to the 75 degree+ climate and my general wimpiness), my mom willingly offered to carry him most of the way. All I can say is it's amazing what grandmas will do when they're suffering grandchild withdrawals.
By the way some of our fellow hikers were gawking at and snapping photos of the local squirrels, you would have thought they'd seen Sasquatch. Personally, I try to avoid squirrels as much as possible, since they all seem to have some sort of vendetta against me—I don't think they ever forgave me for running over one of their second cousins with my bike.
This photo was taken at the end of the day, which is why Eddie is passed out with no pants on. Oh, how I envied him.
