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.