Syracuse Sandwich: Stella's Antipasto Sandwich

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

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

     After a long day of cleaning and doing some running around, Christine and I were hungry but couldn’t decide upon where to eat. All the usual spots were thrown out there but nothing sounded like we needed it. Spaghetti Warehouse and Quaker Steak & Lube were strong contenders but ultimately we ended up at Stella’s where we could get pretty much anything we wanted. Christine opted for breakfast while I perused the sandwich menu. I like to order original sandwiches when I’m out because everyone has the same five or six on their menu and those get tiring after a while. Stella’s had one I’d never heard of before: the antipasto sandwich. For those of you who don’t know what an antipasto is, it is an Italian chef salad served with ham, salami, and provolone cheese. This sandwich had those ingredients plus pepperoni, banana peppers, and ranch dressing on grilled Italian bread.

     The sandwiches don’t come with anything so instead of fries I ordered a cup of chicken pastoli soup on the side. The soup was alright and could have been better if the chicken wasn’t overcooked. When my sandwich arrived I knew I wouldn’t be able to finish it because it was loaded with the three meats. Thick slices of buttery toasted Italian bread held up well against the greasiness of the meat and the creaminess of the ranch dressing. The meats were warmed up on the grill and the ham in particular had some char on it to add some smoky flavor. The banana peppers brought some kick to a sandwich that was being dominated by greasy meat. The ranch contrasted the peppers and the spiciness in the meats to cool each bite down. By the halfway point of the second half of the sandwich, I felt full but really couldn’t eat any more of the meat. I picked the peppers out and ate those along with the bread.

Rating: Satisfying – I liked this sandwich until the grease took over

Syracuse Sandwich: Tim Horton's Breakfast Sandwich

Who: Tim Horton's What: Breakfast Sandwich
Where: Route 11, N. Syracuse Phone: 458-0357 Website: Tim Horton's

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

     On the way to Delaware we stopped for a breakfast that we could eat on the road. We hadn’t had anything from Tim Horton’s in a while so we stopped there for a couple of breakfast sandwiches. Christine loves biscuits so naturally she ordered the breakfast sandwich on a biscuit, I followed suit. Like most fast food places, it came with egg, cheese, and bacon. On the side we both ordered hash browns, which come in patty form like McDonald’s, but forgot that I don’t like the seasoning they mix into it. I ate it nonetheless and started on my breakfast sandwich.

     As you probably know from my past breakfast sandwich posts, I am not a fan of the scrambled egg patty that most places use, including Tim Horton’s. The egg wasn’t seasoned but even if it was, I’m not sure I would have liked it anyway. The bacon and cheese were the only saving grace of this sandwich because the biscuit wasn’t very good either. Not only was the biscuit thin but it also was quite dry. It reminded me of the biscuit breakfast sandwich I had at Dunkin Donuts. I guess fast food coffee shops aren’t to be trusted beyond doughnuts.

Rating: Edible – I won’t make that mistake again.

Syracuse Sandwich: The Greene Turtle's Chesapeake Chicken

Who: The Greene Turtle What: The Chesapeake Chicken
Where: Rehoboth Beach Phone: (302)644-6840 Website: Greene Turtle
Parking: Street Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Take-Out: Yes Delivery: No

     This is the second installment of a two part series of sandwiches from Delaware. I would have ordered more sandwiches but there were so many things I wanted to try down there that I never really got around to it. This second sandwich was an interesting one and nothings like what I’ve seen around Syracuse. The Chesapeake Chicken is a grilled chicken breast served on a roll with lettuce, tomato, bacon, and the kicker: crab dip. I thought to myself: “Crab on chicken?...Why not?”. While I waited for this intriguing sandwich to come out we ordered pretzel sticks with a cheese sauce. The pretzels sticks were thick pieces of pretzel bread that came salted. You can check them out on Dan in the Kitchen.

     The sandwich comes standard with homemade kettle chips on the side or you can substitute fries like Christine did for $0.99 more. A thick and very juicy chicken breast dominated this sandwich from start to finish which was good and bad at the same time. With each bite I tasted mostly grilled chicken while the other ingredients fell by the wayside. I love grilled chicken which is why I ordered the sandwich in the first place but I ordered it for the toppings mostly. Two thick strips of bacon were warm and crispy but didn’t add much flavor due to the overpowering chicken flavor. The crab dip was so fresh which was to be expected being right on the ocean and all. Cheese and crab with some seasonings combined to make a tasty spread on top of the chicken. I regret not ordering the dip as an appetizer. The lettuce and tomato showed up to the show but offered little help. Overall, not a bad sandwich but the chicken was a little much.

Rating: Satisfying – Not the best from Delaware but it wasn't bad.

Syracuse Sandwich: Robin Hood's Grilled Ham Cheese and Tomato (Delaware Edition)

Who: Robin Hood What: Grilled Ham Cheese and Tomato
Where: Rehoboth Ave, Rehoboth Phone: (302)227-0770 Website: None
Parking: Street Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Take-Out: Yes Delivery: No

     This is the first installment of a special Delaware edition of Syracuse Sandwich. I should call it Delaware Sandwich but until I move down there permanently we’ll stick with Syracuse Sandwich. We were looking for lunch one day and right on Rehoboth Avenue you can check out the menus for each restaurant on their windows. A diner type place called Robin Hood restaurant was offering a lunch special that featured a variety of sandwiches with a cup of soup and fries for less that $5. Christine and I found that this would be the cheapest meal we would eat the entire time down in Delaware and probably the best deal for the money. As an appetizer we ordered a basket of fried clams which were huge and fresh, unlike what you will get here. We both ordered the grilled ham, cheese, and tomato sandwich with the vegetable soup. The soup came out first hot and tasted amazing. It was loaded with vegetables that included lima beans and cabbage. The seasoning and vegetables combined to make a broth that I could have had as a meal all by itself. We had very high expectations for the sandwiches after such an amazing soup and we were not disappointed.

     Grilled shaved ham steak came piled on sourdough bread with American cheese and fresh tomato slices. The bread was grilled to absolute perfection and so buttery. Fresh tomato slices were juicy and sweet which contrasted nicely against the saltiness of the ham. When I saw shaved ham in my sandwich I was ecstatic because most diners will serve you lunch meat heated on the grill. This ham was what they used for their ham dinner entrée and if you’ve ever had grilled ham, you know how great it tastes. My only problem with the sandwich was that the cheese wasn’t entirely melted. The corners that stuck out from the bread were barely warm. I couldn’t get enough but by the end of the second half of my sandwich, I was full.

Rating: Delicious – If you want a cheap lunch in Rehoboth, check out Robin Hood.

Syracuse Sandwich: Edgewater Grill's French Dip

Who: Edgewater Grill What: French Dip
Where: Oswego Street, Baldwinsville Phone: 638-3342 Website: Edgewater Grill
Parking: Shared lots Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Take-Out: Yes Delivery: No

     Christine and the girls from her bachelorette party were ending their day at the Edgewater Grill in Baldwinsville on Saturday and called to ask me if I wanted to join them. Naturally I said yes because it was a free meal so who cares if it is good or not. The girls were still a little loopy from their trip to wine country so it took us a while to get our order in. I haven’t been very enthused with the menu since they changed the name from Bluewater Grill but I was bound to find something. I looked at the sandwich menu and saw the French dip among other generic sandwiches. Some one else almost ordered it so I figured why not. I don’t know if I read the menu wrong or what but the sandwich came open faced which I didn’t expect. It wasn’t a huge problem but I love bread so roast beef piled on a single slice of bread was disheartening.

     The sandwich came with au jus and a horseradish sauce on the side to dip the beef into. There was only a half of a serving cup of au jus to use but it ended up being just enough because I dipped half of the beef in the horseradish sauce. The sauce had little kick to it because it had been thinned out with some sort of dairy based dressing. The beef tasted like warmed up lunch meat and it had sat out or in a bin because some parts started to get the oxidized discoloration that roast beef gets. By the time I got to the bottom of the pile of beef, the bread had become soggy and inedible. I couldn’t tell if the bread was the bottom to a ciabatta roll or not but I couldn’t eat it. There was a pickle spear and a side of fries that came to the restaurant frozen. As expected the menu didn’t impress but it was free so I guess I can’t complain too much.

Rating: Edible – I miss the days of the Bluewater Grill.

Syracuse Sandwich: Johnny Rocket's BBQ Chicken Bacon Melt

Who: Johnny Rockets What: Grilled Cheese 
Where: Carousel Mall, Syracuse Phone: 474-7406 Website: Johnny Rockets
Parking: Shared lots Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Take-Out: Yes Delivery: No

     We had to go to the mall Friday night to pick up Christine’s ring from JBR that had been out for cleaning. We walked into the food court and weren’t feeling anything there. Christine always wants Johnny Rockets and I always give in so we went there. We were seated promptly as it was around 7 and most of the diners had cleared out. Christine ordered her usual grilled cheese and fries while I milled over the menu. I went with their new BBQ Chicken Bacon Melt with a side of fries for $8. Like I said, most of the diners had left so I figured we would eat quickly. The grill wasn’t too busy but we ended up waiting for 20 minutes before our food arrived. On top of that, the fries came with the meal instead of before like they normally due. I was so hungry by this point that I started eating the second the plate hit the table and forgot to take a picture until halfway into the second half.

     As you can see, there wasn’t much left but at least you can see what was in the sandwich. Grilled chicken, bacon, cheddar cheese, and bbq sauce came in between two pieces of golden brown grilled bread. There isn’t much better than bread that has been spread with butter and grilled. The chicken patty was about an inch thick and was grilled perfectly; juices were squirting out with each bite. I’m a salt fan but I also love the sweet taste of bbq sauce and this sandwich had the perfect combinations of both. The saltiness of the bacon and cheddar paired with the sweetness of the bbq sauce that was slathered on the chicken was wonderful. Even though Johnny Rockets is primarily a burger place, they make other grilled items like cheese steaks, grilled cheeses, and melts very well.

Rating: Tasty – Grilled food just tastes so good.

Syracuse Sandwich: Spera's Turkey Sub

Who: Spera's What: Turkey Sub

Where: Route 31, Cicero Phone: 699-4422‎ Website: Spera's
Parking: Yes Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Take-Out: Yes Delivery: No

     I decided to give Spera’s another shot last week and I knew I could do so because my coworkers go there a few times a week. I could have just as easily went myself but when I overheard one of them saying they wanted their usual, turkey with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo, I just ordered the same. When you order a full sub at Spera’s, you get two 8 inch subs so I only had to pay $3. Even if it wasn’t a good sub, $3 is an absolute steal for an 8 inch sub. When my coworker got back, I couldn’t believe the size of the sub bread nor the amount of meat they stuffed in there. There was Boar’s Head turkey and provolone with shredded lettuce, mayo, and tomato slices.

     The rolls they use for their subs are baked in house and they are very airy and light. The produce was fresh and most of it in the store, in not all of it, comes from local farms. The tomatoes were ripe and juicy and didn’t have the grainy taste you might get from tomatoes at commercial places. The lettuce was freshly shredded and washed. The girl who made the sandwich went a little bit crazy with the mayo. She spread it on the inside of the roll and not to the outer edges so I got a few bites of mostly mayo, not optimal but who doesn’t like mayo? The provolone was sharp and milky with a saltiness that went well with the turkey. The turkey was moist and thinly sliced. It looked like I had between a quarter and a half a pound stuffed inside the bread. Overall, this was a very tasty sub that I will be ordering again.

Rating: Tasty – Spera’s totally redeemed itself and I can’t wait to go back.

Syracuse Sandwich: Panera Bread's Ham and Swiss

Who: Panera Bread What: Ham And Swiss
Where: Route 11, Cicero Phone: 458-9436 Website: Panera BreadParking: Shared Lots Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Take-Out: Yes Delivery: No

     I haven’t reviewed as many Panera Bread’s sandwiches as I thought I would have by now but this is the fourth review I am doing of them. A hot Saturday with lots of running around to do, left me in no mood to cook or even put a sandwich together myself so we stopped at Panera. When we walked in, it looked like a ghost town with only two or three tables being occupied. We expected this because of the holiday weekend and figured we could order quickly, oh how wrong we were. The threesome ahead of us clearly had never been here before and didn’t understand the “You pick two” option. The very patient cashier explained the best he could until they somewhat understood and finally formed an order. It was way too hot for soup so I opted for a half of a salad and half of a sandwich. The bbq chopped chicken salad is by far the best salad I’ve ever ordered out, so for those of you who like salads check it out. I went with a basic ham and Swiss on stone mill rye bread.

     The sandwich comes with ham, Swiss, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and a Dijon mustard and mayo mix. The girl making the sandwich just dropped the two slices on ham on the bread without fluffing it up so for pictures sake, I did this myself. But the ham tasted the same as the ham I get at Wegmans, which I love. The bread has rye caraway seeds crusted along the outside which give the sandwich a light salty flavor with each bite. The Swiss had little flavor which was a little disappointing but the rest of the ingredients were fresh and very flavorful. The lettuce and tomatoes were they best I’ve had from Panera and the addition of the red onion gave the sandwich a little sweetness. I liked the taste if the mayo and Dijon, but what I liked more about it was that there wasn’t a ton of it. The sandwich wasn’t as good as my salad but that doesn’t mean I won’t order the sandwich again.

Rating: Satisfying – This time it was good hopefully it will be next time too.