Syracuse Sandwich: Brooklyn Pickle's Cajun Turkey

Who: Brooklyn Pickle What: Cajun Turkey
Where: Burnet Ave, Syracuse Phone: 463-1851 Website: Brooklyn Pickle
Parking: Yes Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Take-Out: Yes Delivery: No

     This is the moment many of my regular readers have patiently been waiting for, for over a year now. I finally had the opportunity to visit what I considered to be the “Mecca” of sandwich places here in Syracuse. Now, re-read that last sentence. If you didn’t catch it, I said considered not consider. Yes Brooklyn Pickle is the first thing that comes to mind when you talk about sandwiches anywhere in Syracuse but after my latest trip, I feel the times could be a changing, at least for me. Christine and I had a Wednesday off together recently and decided to go to BP after our dentist appointments before we hit up Books and Memories on James Street. Knowing I was going to a review, I had to decide what the best selection would be to give BP a fair shot at a delicious rating. Two sandwiches came to mind, the Brooklyn Pickle Special and Cajun turkey on light rye. I decided to go for the latter and added mayo, lettuce, and onions. The Cajun turkey isn’t on their menu but when you go in, there are signs on every window advertising it. I’ve had it many times in the past and enjoyed it every time. I can remember BP as my favorite place to go when were anywhere near Erie Boulevard. Anyway, I grabbed a bottle of water, some baked Lay’s, and a small macaroni salad then headed to the “new” seating area to find a booth. I say new because it’s only been there a few years now.

     I unwrapped my sandwich and immediately discarded my complimentary homemade pickles because they are disgusting. I have always thought this and don’t know anyone who actually enjoys them. I only ordered a half because even at that size, they are much larger than any whole deli sandwich you will get in Syracuse. My sandwich was sloppily put together by a girl who was to busy gossiping with her coworkers than paying attention to what she was doing. But it doesn't matter how it looks so much as it does how it tastes so here we go. The light rye bread was boldly flavored and usually goes very well with the spiciness from the turkey but the turkey was lacking heat this time. This lead me to wonder if they just got an under seasoned batch or something. The lettuce and onion were fresh and crispy but were hidden amongst the mayo that was haphazardly spread onto the bread. With each bite the sandwich wasn't getting any better but neither was it getting any worse. I really wished the turkey was spicier because regular deli style turkey just doesn't do it for me anymore. For a deli sandwich it was good and it could have been better if it was put together with some care, but that didn't happen. Like I said before the times are a changing, while Brooklyn Pickle still packs a powerful punch in the deli sandwich world, they are starting to lose grip in the overall sandwich world. I hope that in time, I still think of Brooklyn Pickle when I hear somebody talk about sandwiches.

Rating: Tasty – Only because I’ve had it before and I blame the girl who made it for ruining it.

Turkey on Sandwich Thins from home

    In an attempt to start eating healthier, I decided to forgo regular white bread for my turkey sandwiches that I had last week and try something new. Arnold’s brand makes something called Sandwich Thins which are essentially thin sandwich rolls. When I mean thin, I’m talking a third of the thickness of one slice of white bread per piece of bun. So one bun is just under a slice of bread in thickness which really cuts down on the fat, carbs, and calories compared to regular bread. They make a variety of flavors including honey wheat which is what I opted for. I piled Wegman’s brand 98% fat free turkey on to the bottom bun and topped it with a light spread of mayo and a slice on Wegman’s brand muenster cheese. All in all the flavors were good as they reminded me of the sub I will get if I have to go to Subway (something I try not to do because I hate them but that’s another story). I did find that I couldn’t use nearly as much meat as I do on a normal sandwich from home because the bun can barely contain more than just a few slices. I guess that’s another perk of buying these healthier pieces of bread. By the end of the week I decided that while I liked the Sandwich Thins, they just weren’t for me. I like my bread and since we only get so many years on this earth, I’m not wasting it eating “diet” bread.

Syracuse Sandwich: Wendy's Asiago Chicken Club

Who: Wendy's What: Spicy Chicken Sandwich
Where: Circle Drive, Cicero Phone: 458-1722 Website: Wendy's
Parking: Yes Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Take-Out: Yes Delivery: No

     If you read this blog often, you’ll know that we will usually go to McDonald’s if we’re getting fast food. However, I like to switch it up and go to Wendy’s every once in a while because I love their Spicy Chicken Sandwich, which I’ve reviewed. So when Wendy’s came out with the Asiago Chicken Club, I knew I had to try it. Upon arriving at the drive thru, I noticed you can get the sandwich with the grilled, home-style, or spicy chicken. Naturally I went with the Spicy Chicken because as I have argued in the past, it is the only thing to buy from Wendy’s other than the Frosty. Along with a Mr. Pibb Xtra, a rare find in Syracuse, and some of their new sea salt fresh cut fries, I raced home with my sandwich eager to try what could be brilliance on Wendy’s part.

     Served on Wendy’s signature potato bread buns, a spicy chicken fillet is topped with strips of applewood-smoked bacon, a slice of Asiago cheese, ranch dressing, lettuce, and sliced tomatoes. I knew before biting into this possibly great sandwich that it was going to be at least a tasty one. My first bite was a big one just to make sure I got a little of everything. As expected, it tasted good but it wasn't wowing me even with all the extras compared to the regular spicy chicken sandwich. Sure, the chicken fillet was juicy and had plenty of heat and all of the ingredients worked together but I felt disappointed. I think it’s because I built it up too much in my head beforehand. The bacon was salty, the ranch was tangy, and the fresh taste of the veggies took the edge off of the saltiness from the chicken and bacon. The cheese was the most puzzling piece of this sandwich puzzle. I love Asiago cheese and it usually packs a full flavored nutty taste but because of the small, thin piece that was on my sandwich, I barely got any of that great flavor. I finished the sandwich in little time so obviously I enjoyed it to some extent but I wished it had been better.

Rating: Tasty – Even with extras, the Spicy Chicken Sandwich tastes great.

One year anniversary!!!!

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of this blog but I wanted to wait until today so I could post some stats about the blog that I felt were important. It has been a long and tasty year and there are so many places I have yet to get to but hopefully this year I will get to them. So without further ado, here are the year end stats:


Number of reviewed sandwiches: 64
Most viewed blog post: Panera Bread's Cuban Chicken Panini
Most viewed sandwich from home: Turkey Pastrami
Month with most page views: January 2011 - 248
Overall Page views since creation: 1,075


Finally, this is the most interesting stat of all:


Page views by country:

United States 716

Israel 201

France 20

Germany 16

Argentina 12

Latvia 12

Canada 11

Russia 10

Poland 8

Sweden 8

I expected the most page views to be from the U.S. but I did not see over 200 coming from any other country. I'm not sure how other countries are finding this blog but I hope they enjoy it. With the total page views being 1,075, that averages to just under 90 per month. I'm hoping to increase that number to over 100 views per month for this year. I guess I have a lot more sandwiches to eat. Thank you all for reading and I hope you continue to read each and every post. God bless and happy eating.

Syracuse Sandwich: Ale 'N' Angus's BBQ Pork Tenderloin Sandwich

Who: Ale 'N' Angus What: BBQ Pork Tenderloin Sandwich
Where: Harrison Street, Syracuse Phone: 426-9672 Website: Ale 'N' Angus

Parking: Street Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Take-Out: Yes Delivery: No   

     In my Christmas stocking, I received two tickets to this past Saturday’s Crunch game. Since I was getting out of work an hour early, Christine and I had time to grab dinner out instead of eating over priced food at the War Memorial. The first place that came to mind was the Ale N’ Angus Pub because it’s kitty corner to the war memorial and we had great food the last time we were there. Learning from our last trip, I made a reservation just to make sure we could get a table. I’m glad I did because they were packed as they usually are before all Crunch games. Christine went with the chicken fingers and I was tempted to get the fish and chips for my meal but when the waitress mentioned the special was a bbq pork tenderloin sandwich, I just had to partake. The sandwich comes with the choice of one side so I opted for their homemade potato chips, a choice I would later regret because they we’re bland as all get out.

     I had taken a picture but it came out so dark because of the lighting that I figured it was a waste to post it. I didn’t want to use my flash since we were sitting in the middle of the cramped dining room. When the waitress dropped off our food I was kind of bothered to see nothing but barbequed meat and bread sitting in front of me. Now I’ve had plenty of pulled pork sandwiches that consisted of nothing but meat and sauce but I was kind of hoping that it would be dressed up in some way with some onions or slaw. Plus this wasn’t a cheap cut of meat I was eating, its pork tenderloin! I guess it was my fault for not asking if anything came on it but I expected they’d kick it up a notch since they were using an expensive cut of meat. The French bread tasted just as good as it did with the prime rib cheese steak that I had just a month or so before. The bbq pork tenderloin on the other hand was lacking in more ways than one. First off, the barbeque sauce while there was the perfect amount of it, had little flavor. It offered the moisture needed to go with the bread but didn’t have any zip to it at all. Secondly, the pork wasn’t sliced nor pulled but almost chopped or crumbled. Pork tenderloin crumbles into small pieces when it’s over cooked. So when I saw the small pieces I thought it might be kind of dry and it was. What disappointed me the most was the execution or lack there of, if the pork was cooked correctly I could have gotten over the bbq sauce or even if the bbq sauce was amazing it could have masked the over cooked pork. But two wrongs don’t make a right and since there were no other ingredients to fall back on, this sandwich fell flat on its face. The rating I’m about to give is only because I think this was a matter of execution, on a slower night it may have tasted better.

Rating: Satisfying – I finished it so there’s something to be said for that.

Syracuse Sandwich: Earthtones Coffee House's Turkey Bacon Ranch Panini

Who: Earthtones Coffee House What: Turkey Bacon Ranch Panini

Where: Route 31, Cicero Phone: 699-8919‎ Website: Earthtones Coffee House
Parking: Shared Lots Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Take-Out: Yes Delivery: No

     I wasn’t feeling the soup that I brought for lunch last Thursday so I decided I would go pick something up for lunch. Other than fast food there aren’t a lot of places to grab lunch near my work. I didn’t want pizza or Chinese, a sandwich sounded good but Spera’s was just too busy for me to wait with the rest of the lunch crowd. I was in luck though because just a few months ago a new coffee house opened up in what used to be Cicero Dollar in the same plaza as Subway, China Chen, and a National Guard recruiting office. A coworker of mine stopped in and grabbed a menu a week or so back and I knew they had paninis so to Earthtones Coffee House I went. The parking lot has been full since they opened so I knew they must be doing something right. When I walked in I was able to order right away but this didn’t surprise me since it was moving in on 2 o’clock. The place is very spacious and has about twenty or so tables to sit at with a few leather chairs as well to sit in. I ordered a full turkey bacon ranch panini with mayo and onions on white bread. It was made right in front of me and the ingredients looked very fresh. While I waited, I looked at their display case filled with delicious looking pastries as well as their wall of whole coffee beans you can buy by the bag. The total rang up at $7.51, for just the sandwich, had I not had chips and a drink back at the office it would have cost me about $10 total to add those in. On my way back to work I thought to myself, “seems a little pricy for just the sandwich but I don’t mind supporting a small business if they’re good”.

     Because of the angle the sandwich looks kind of small in the picture but it was huge. The three dill pickle slices came on the side for no extra charge which I thought was a nice touch. Now before I go any further I must say that I’m not a huge panini fan because when I have gotten them they taste almost micro waved. This wasn’t the case this time and I’m not sure if it’s how they cooked it but I noticed the criss-cross pattern was different than the traditional straight grill lines. I like lettuce on my sandwiches but not on paninis because warm lettuce is gross. The gentlemen taking my order suggested spinach as a substitute but I decided to omit any greens entirely. Once I started eating, I was glad I left off anything that could get slimy once heated up. Across the whole panini, about eight piece of turkey were used along with about three full slices of crispy bacon. Ranch dressing was spread along the top slice of bread while mayo was spread along the bottom slice. Chopped white onion pieces were sprinkled on top of the turkey and bacon. Upon the first bite, everything just worked. The saltiness of the bacon, the snappy bite of the onion, the moist clean taste of the turkey and the creaminess of the ranch and mayo all combined into a hearty flavored sandwich that was complimented perfectly by the toasted texture and taste from the white bread. I was able to finish it all but not without feeling like I ate too much. While I wouldn’t go their daily, it seems like a great place to stop by every once in a while.

Rating: Delicious – This place has it going on, I just hope they can keep it up.

Peanut butter, banana, & honey from home

     About a week after my peanut butter double-decker experiment, I decided to try something else along the lines of peanut butter sandwiches. I made a peanut butter, banana, and honey sandwich. Some would argue that this is the official Elvis sandwich sans being pan fried in butter. Others, including my self would argue that bacon also needs to be added, but that it neither here nor there. I love peanut butter and honey and I had purchased some bananas so I figured why not try this concoction. I spread thick layers of peanut butter on both slices of regular white bread and drizzled them with a total of two tablespoons of honey. I put the slices together and placed the sandwich into a plastic container for transport. I didn’t add the banana right away because I wasn’t sure how it would fair after being cut up having to sit for a few hours. When I was ready to eat, I cut up about nine thick slices and added them to the peanut butter and honey. Surprisingly, it wasn’t overly banana tasting considering almost a whole banana was used. The honey gave the sandwich a sticky sweet taste that contrasted well with the tender sweetness of the banana. The peanut butter also brought a sweet taste but it was nothing compared to the banana or the honey. The nutty flavor and creamy texture go well with banana, so I understand why this is a popular sandwich. After reading more about the official Elvis sandwich I learned that he like the bananas to be mashed, this would make for easier spreading, a trick I will try in next time.

Syracuse Sandwich: Panera Bread's Chicken Caesar Sandwich

Who: Panera Bread What: Chicken Caesar
Where: Route 11, Cicero Phone: 458-9436 Website: Panera Bread
Parking: Shared lots Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Take-Out: Yes Delivery: No

     Before you say anything about this being the 7^th, yes 7^th, review of Panera Bread please go read reviews number 5 and 6 for my defense. I’ll give you a second to go do that. …………..you done? Okay, so we stopped into Panera Bread yet again because of the convenience and our odd obsession with the place to grab some dinner. Christine ordered her usual Asiago roast beef sandwich and I think it was chili but it could have been soup. I scanned the menu for something I haven’t reviewed yet and thought the Chicken Caesar sounded pretty good so I went with that and the trusty bbq chopped chicken salad just incase the sandwich didn’t pan out. We also got a free cookie because of the new Panera rewards card that you can sign up for. I won’t go into too much detail about the card but you get free coffee and pastries from time to time which is nice.

     From the looks of the picture it looked like it was going to be a good sandwich. But I've judged a lot of books by their colors lately, something I really shouldn't do, because looks can be deceiving and they certainly were this time. The sandwich is comprised of three cheese bread, Caesar dressing, asiago cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and chicken. It seemed the ingredients would work together; the cheese bread was soft and airy, the chicken, which is the same as the chicken in my salad, held up it’s end of the bargain despite there not really being enough stuffed in there, and the red onion gave the sandwich a snap. There came an issue with the other ingredients though; the taste of asiago cheese was muted by the small piece they put on, the tomato wasn't fresh but it wouldn’t be since it is winter, the lettuce should have been mixed with the dressing before being put on or at least place up against it instead of being on the bottom of the sandwich. The killer of this whole thing was the overly herb-y taste from the Caesar dressing. Caesar dressing is without a doubt my favorite dressing and I don’t know of Panera’s always taste like this but I was not impressed. With each bite all I could really taste was herb-y dressing and it took half an iced tea and a bbq salad to get that taste out of my mouth. I feel that this sandwich could be better but it fell apart in the matter of execution.

Rating: Satisfying – It wasn’t all bad but defiantly not all good.

Peanut Butter double-decker from home

     After running out of soup, my normal lunch, I had to resort to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. One sandwich won’t hold me over so I will either make a double-decker or two separate sandwiches. I decided to do a double-decker but instead of doing peanut butter and jelly in both parts, I changed it up a bit. The top part of the sandwich was just peanut butter and jelly but for the bottom I made my second favorite variation of a peanut butter sandwich, peanut butter and honey. To make a peanut butter and honey sandwich, you only need about two tablespoons of honey to how much ever peanut butter you need to make a thin layer on both pieces of bread. If you don’t “seal” each slice of bread with peanut butter, the honey will seep into the bread and start to harden. I actually prefer this to happen because I like a crunchy texture in my sandwiches. So the sandwich I made was layered as following: bread, pb, jelly, pb, bread, pb, honey, pb, bread. It seems like a lot of peanut butter but I only but a thin layer on each piece just to stop the jelly and honey from seeping into the bread. As usual some of the honey got into the crust of the bread but like I said before, I don’t mind. It was very filling and I was glad I didn’t make two separate sandwiches because there was no way I could have eaten another slice of bread. However, the honey flavor got lost because of the amount of jelly in the sandwich. Overall it was good but I don’t know if I’ll make it again. I guess I’ll have to make separate sandwiches in the future.

Sandwich Clubbers

I came across this sandwich picture while reading, Sandwich 365, a blog that I just started following and thought I had to share it.

Syracuse Sandwich: Ale 'N' Angus's Bixby's Prime Rib Cheese Steak

Who: Ale 'N' Angus What: Bixby's Prime Rib Cheese Steak
Where: Harrison Street, Syracuse Phone: 426-9672 Website: Ale 'N' Angus

Parking: Street Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Take-Out: Yes Delivery: No      

     We had tickets to the SU basketball game given to us by Christine’s mom that came with a parking pass so we decided to go out to dinner before the game. My original plan was to go to Ale N’ Angus near the War Memorial but because there was a Crunch game the same night I switched my plan to Varsity Pizza in Marshall Square. However, there were no parking spots anywhere close to Marshall Square that weren’t in pay to park lots. I got annoyed at the idea of having to pay $5+ to park and eat so I changed focus back to Ale N’ Angus and took a chance at getting a table. We walked in and the bar was busy but the dining room was empty, but they had no free tables because of reservations. We just wanted to eat so we sat right at the bar and ordered. Christine went with the featured three cheeseburger; their burgers are what they’re famous for. I mulled over the sandwich menu and ultimately went with Bixby’s prime rib cheese steak. I was hesitant on doing this because I haven’t had many good cheese steaks in Syracuse. Luckily for me this one really turned out great.

     It doesn't look like I got much but the richness of the prime rib meat used was quite filling. The meat was very tender and not dried out which happens often when using cheap cuts of meat. Unlike most cheese steaks, this one only had onions opposed to both onions and green peppers. The onions were sautéed making them soft but still had some bite left to them. The American cheese was so melted; I originally thought it was a cheese whiz type spread that I’ve had in Pennsylvania. I really liked the extra step they took in grilling the inside of the bread where the meat and everything was going to be placed. This keeps the juices from soaking in the bread making it soggy. The French bread that it was served on had a slightly crunchy crust and a warm and chewy crumb. After we finished our meals, we were able to enjoy a quick ride up to the dome and watch the Orange crush Colgate.

Rating: Delicious – Best cheese steak in Syracuse, and their burgers aren’t bad either.

Sandwiches at home

     A couple of weeks ago during Sunday football, we decided to buy a bunch of stuff to make sandwiches. By doing this, people can choose what they want and how they want it. We bought ham, turkey, and roast beef along with provolone, cheddar, and American cheeses. Poppy seed rolls and regular bulk rolls served as the vessel to which the sandwiches be built upon. I made two different sandwiches; the first was ham with provolone and mayo on a poppy seed roll. That one turned our pretty good, the roll was bit dry so I took it a step further when I made the second one. 

     For the second one, I mixed turkey, ham, and roast beef in the middle, put a slice of cheddar on one side and a slice of provolone on the other. On the side with the cheddar I smeared on some mustard and did the same on the other side with the provolone only this time with mayo. All of this was in a poppy seed roll as well. I think this one turned out much better because of the extra moisture being on both pieces of the roll. I think next time I’ll add lettuce and maybe a thin tomato slice or two.

Syracuse Sandwich: The Clam Bar's Haddock Sandwich

Who: The Clam Bar What: Haddock Sandwich
Where: Route 11,North Syracuse Phone: 458-1662 Website: The Clam Bar

Parking: Yes Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Take-Out: Yes Delivery: No      

     If you love seafood or even like a good steak, you need to check out The Clam Bar. The Clam Bar is located on Route 11 in North Syracuse right next to Fresno’s. They tout themselves as “The biggest little place in Syracuse” and they aren’t lying. When you walk in, you are in the bar area with a few booths and tables, there is a small dining room of about ten more tables to one side and two bar style tables in towards the back of the restaurant. We were seated immediately at one of the bar style tables in the back near the back door. We always order the potato wedges with horseradish dipping sauce as an appetizer because it’s inexpensive and very tasty. Christine orders one of two things when we go tuna steak or clam strips, she chose the latter on this night. I was torn between a haddock sandwich and a haddock dinner. The only differences are you get two pieces or haddock with the dinner and there’s no roll. Since we ordered the potato wedges, I opted for the sandwich because I know the portions are quite large.

    As you can see the piece of haddock covers the whole roll so it makes it quite difficult to eat as a sandwich. Tater sauce and a lemon wedge come on the side to be added as needed. The fries that come with the entrees aren’t made in house but they’re not the reason we go there. The great thing about The Clam Bar is that everything is delivered fresh so they don’t freeze and reheat their fish. The haddock was perfectly cooked and flaked apart just like it should when cut into. The breading is a standard bread come mixture opposed to a batter. Bread crumb allows you to taste the fish more than the fried and also makes it lighter on the stomach. I barely finished the sandwich and even left some fries on the plate. With a price tag under $10, you really get a great value for your money.

Rating: Tasty – We continue to return again and again.

Syracuse Sandwich: Stella's Ham Steak Breakfast Sandwich

Who: Stella's What: Ham Steak Breakfast Sandwich
Where: Wolf Street, Syracuse Phone: 425-0353 Website: Stella's

Parking: Yes Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Take-Out: Yes Delivery: No     

     Christine and I both had Veterans’ Day off so we decided to do some shopping, but before that we had to eat so we head to Stella’s. As we pulled up we could see other people had the same idea as the parking lot was overflowing into the street. You don’t wait long for a table even if there are a ton of people ahead of you because Stella’s has a lot of seating and they get the food out quick. Despite the crowed parking lot, there were only four parties ahead of us so we were seated quickly. I wasn’t in the mood for anything heavy like pancakes or French toast so I was thinking eggs until I saw the specials menu. For $5.89 they had a ham steak, cheese, and egg sandwich with a side of home fries. I love ham steak so I took the chance and ordered it. Christine ordered an omelet which when served took up half the plate and was made with at least three eggs if not four.

     It doesn’t look like there was a lot to the sandwich but with inch thick slices of ham steak in turned out to be very filling. The ham steak was perfectly cooked, there were some crispy char spots, it was hot all the way through, and it wasn’t overly salty. The eggs came fried which is the way I like them in breakfast sandwiches. While they were cooked properly and tasted fine, I would have liked them to have been runnier because I love creamy taste of hot yolk. American cheese slices melted to the consistency of a cheese sauce which actually gave the sandwich the moisture it needed. My favorite part of the whole sandwich was the bread. It was just basic white bread but instead of just toasting it, they buttered it and grilled it on the flat top. There is no better tasting breakfast item then fried toast. It was the same taste that I get when I make eggs in a basket, my all time favorite breakfast.

Rating: Tasty – I’ll order this again and again.