Syracuse Sandwich: Subway's Turkey Jalapeño Melt

Who: Subway What: Turkey Jalapeño Melt
Where: Route 31, Cicero Phone: 699-6700 Website: Subway
Parking: Shared Lot Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Take-Out: Yes Delivery: No
     August must have been a complete blur for me because I just remembered another sandwich that I had. Thinking back on it, there were some reasons for me to forget this one in particular. I get out of work late on Fridays so Christine and I often pick up something quick on the way home; this was the case a couple of Fridays ago. For whatever reason I thought going to Subway would be a good idea when Spera’s is right across the street. Christine isn’t a huge sandwich fan but likes the meatball subs on Italian herb and cheese bread. So we walk into a virtually empty dining area and order almost immediately. I scanned the menu looking for something new to try when I come across the Turkey Jalapeño Melt. 

     The blueprint for this sandwich is sliced turkey breast, Monterey cheddar cheese, jalapenos, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, red onions and Chipotle Southwest sauce. Now if you have ever been to Subway, you know that they don’t make them like the picture shows, they want to know what you want on it. Since I wanted it the way they intended, I was forced to look at the picture and attempt to reconstruct the sandwich as it showed on the menu board. For the type of bread I went with Italian herb and cheese because even though it is terrible for me, it is one of the only fresh ingredients Subway uses.

     I didn’t take a picture of this sandwich but if you want, just type subway sandwich into Google and you’ll know what it looks like since they all look the same. We only live down the road from Subway so our subs were still warm once we sat down to eat them; this was probably the only redeeming quality of my meal. I like my food to have some kick to it but I think the girl making my sub was trying to kill me by putting twelve jalapeno slices per half of my sub. Twelve! I picked about half of them off and continued eating. The vegetables were less than fresh and I could tell they had been sitting in a walk in fridge for a while. What makes me mad is that you can see the ingredients in the containers that clearly have frost on them and they don’t see anything wrong with that. It may just be me but I think their bread isn’t what it used to be but it could be this particular location. The Monterey cheese, turkey, and southwest sauce were only mildly better tasting than the vegetables. As I said the last time I reviewed Subway, it’s my own fault for not going across the street to Spera’s.

Rating: Edible – Why people think this place tastes good it beyond me.

Syracuse Sandwich: Spera's Chicken Salad

Who: Spera's What: Chicken Salad

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

     The second sandwich I forgot about was eaten on the last day of the month when I decided I didn’t want the soup I brought to work for lunch. I decided to hit up Spera’s for a sandwich since it is close and good. This is my third review of Spera’s and if you’ve read the other two you will remember that there was one good review and one not so good. Spera’s redeemed themselves after the first review and I was hoping this trip would continue the upward trend. In the first review I got seafood salad which was very bland but because I love “salads” I went with another one only this time I chose chicken. I ran the risk of having a bland sandwich again but I figured the first time had to be a fluke or nobody would buy their food. Learning from past orders, I only got a half of a sandwich because it equals more than a sandwich using regular sandwich bread from the store. I ordered it on rye, added shredded lettuce and American cheese to the chicken salad, and crossed my fingers as I headed back to work.

     As you can see, I almost forgot to take a picture but realized it after a few bites. Thick chunks of chicken mixed with celery, dressing, and some light seasoning were sandwiched between two slices of American cheese. I liked the way they put a slice on either side of the salad so the dressing didn’t soak into the bread. Shredded lettuce on top added some crunch but I honestly didn’t taste much of it because the salad was packed with flavor. Unlike the seafood salad, the chicken was seasoned when it was cooked and then seasoned again after being mixed into the dressing. Cubing the chicken is essential when making this sandwich because if you shred it, you lose a lot of the flavor especially once the mayo is added. Rye bread is by far the best deli sandwich bread and most salads, like this one, taste great on it. I was very happy with the taste of the sandwich and even happier with the $3 price tag.

Rating: Tasty – I love Spera’s and their sandwiches

Syracuse Sandwich: NYS Fair's German Stand Fried Bologna

Who: German Stand What: Fried Bologna on Rye

Where: NYS Fairgrounds Phone: Unknown Website: None

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

     If you read my last review I said I hadn’t done a lot of sandwich eating. I think I may have fibbed a little. Thinking about what I ate in August I realized there were two more sandwiches. I guess the heat was making me too lazy to write and too forgetful to remember (yeah that seems like a good excuse). This first sandwich was from the German stand in the international food pavilion at the NYS Fair. Most people will tell you that a sausage sandwich is a staple of any fairgoers list of must eats while the fair is going on. I am here to dispute that and suggest a sandwich that you shouldn’t be eating every weekend like you could a sausage sandwich. Here in Syracuse you can get Gianelli sausage at any meat market or grocery store, so why waste your money on something you’ve probably already had a few of this summer? 

     Last year while saving seat for Christine’s sister and brother-in-law, I happened to be sitting next to a man eating what looked to be a fried bologna sandwich. I don’t make a habit of talking to strangers in public but I had to know if I was right and if so, where could I get one? It was in fact a fried bologna sandwich and he got it at the German stand which was directly behind where I was sitting. The stand has a name but it isn’t coming to mind, it is the only one there so you won’t be hard pressed to find it. Christine is partially German and loves German food so she joined me in line figuring she could find something she would like. Oddly enough they had perogies (I have a funny story about that but I’ll tell it some other time) which Christine loves so she got those while I got fried bologna on rye.

     I forgot to take a picture for some reason; I blame being pumped to see Styx for free. Now I’ve eaten quite a few fried bologna sandwiches using Oscar Meyer bologna on white sandwich bread, which are good but aren’t nearly as flavorful as this one was. Lightly toasted light rye bread is the perfect vessel for bologna that was cut an inch to and inch and a half thick. Toasting the bread not only strengthens the bread to hold the heavy cut of meat but it also brings out the earthy flavor of the caraway seeds that are baked throughout the bread. Pan frying bologna draws out some of the fat and juices that get packed together during the preparation process. This makes the bologna kind of greasy but smoky at the same time. There is no need for condiments because the juices dampen the bread enough to keep it from tasting too dry. A single slice of regular bologna at the deli is absolutely horrible for you and the cut you get is probably equal to four or maybe five of those slices at least. So needless to say you don’t want to be eating these regularly, which is why this sandwich trumps the sausage sandwich when looking for something to eat at the fair.

Rating: Tasty – So simple, so fattening, so looking forward to next year’s fair so I can have it again.

Syracuse Sandwich: Barbagallo's Breakfast Sandwich

Who: Barbagallo's What: Breakfast  Sandwich
Where: Molloy Road, East Syracuse Phone:  437-7715 Website: Barbagallo's

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

     August was national sandwich month and oddly enough I didn’t do much sandwich eating. That explains why there hasn’t been a review in over a month. I did have a beef on weck sandwich at Hafner’s but I already reviewed that, it was awesome by the way. I think I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich but there wasn’t anything special about that. There was a breakfast sandwich that a coworker picked up for me but for whatever reason I didn’t review it. That is, until now. The coworker in question gets a breakfast sandwich at the gas station they drive by every so often. Sounds gross right? A breakfast sandwich from a gas station, how could that possibly be any good? Well, let me explain. The sandwiches are actually made in Barbagallo’s restaurant and brought over to the gas station. The gas station is owned by the family who runs Barbagallo’s. I really wanted to try one and finally got the chance a few weeks ago. The sandwiches are made on large bagels with American cheese, fried egg, and varying meats. I wanted ham on mine but they didn’t have any so they got me bacon. It wasn’t a huge deal because bacon is always a good choice.

     The picture I took doesn’t really do justice the size or show the fillings off well so I’ll try and be descriptive as possible to make up for it. The bagel had the width of a softball and was, as you can see, somewhat charred in a few spots. It was toasted evenly on the inside unlike most places where it is still white but kind of hard. White American cheese was melted over what had to be two extra large fried eggs. The yolk was cooked entirely through which isn’t how I make them at home but it did keep from making a mess. Some salt and pepper could have brought the familiar flavor of homemade fried eggs that I’m used to eating. The bacon was definitely the star of the show. Two thick slices of thick juicy bacon were split in half and layered evenly along one of the bagel halves. The greasy saltiness of the bacon reminded me that I shouldn’t eat too many of these, but one every once in a while won’t hurt.

Rating: Tasty - It was very filling and I will order one again

Syracuse Sandwich: Zebb's Rib Eye Sandwich

Who: Zebb's What: Rib Eye
Where: Kmart Plaza, Mattydale Phone: 455-5131 Website: Zebbs
Parking: Shared lots Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Take-Out: Yes Delivery: No

     Christine and I hadn’t seen my dad in a few weeks so we were happy to hear from him late Friday night. We both had to work Saturday so we decided to meet up for dinner at Zebb’s. Zebb’s has a little bit if everything and we hadn’t been in a while so we thought this would be a good choice. If you remember, about 6 months back I had an awesome pastrami sandwich from Zebb’s so I was excited to back and see what else they had to offer. Last week was the final week of their summer menu which was dubbed “Backyard BBQ”. The waitress said if there was anything that caught your eye to order it because they may never have it again. Well something did catch my eye, the rib eye steak sandwich. There were a few regular menu items I wanted to try but didn’t want to let this one get away if it turned out to be any good. Christine went with her regular order of the 3D BLT while my dad went with the philly cheesesteak. We had all opted for sandwiches thinking they would be great but we were sadly disappointed.

     Our food arrived just after we finished our appetizer, which looking back, I’m glad we ordered because I didn’t finish my sandwich. Christine’s BLT was so big I couldn’t even have gotten my mouth around it so she had to settle for dismantling it and eating it in sections. I would later find out that most of the bacon was fatty, the lettuce and tomatoes not fresh, and the bread hard but not toasted. My dad’s cheesesteak looked pretty good and he didn’t complain about it but he didn’t finish it either which leads me to believe that it didn’t taste very good.

     My sandwich was tiny to begin with but since it came with fries and macaroni salad I wasn’t going to complain as long as it tasted good. Unfortunately it did not taste very good to the point I stopped eating it after the first half. The steak came with green peppers and onions on top along with some provolone cheese, it reminded me of the cheesesteak sitting across from me. The steak was a better grade of meat so I guess I was to expect less. I ordered it medium and because the meat wasn’t pounded evenly, some of it came medium rare. This was just the first of many problems. The steak wasn’t seasoned at all so I found myself dashing it with salt and pepper to give it something. The peppers and onions were sautéed but barely as they still had quite a bit of crunch to them. The provolone was melted but added little to this already sad sandwich. Thank God their fries are amazing and that the macaroni salad is pretty good.

Rating: Edible – The closest thing to garbage I’ve eaten since starting this blog.

Candwich?! Um, gross....

Seriously? This is disgusting.

Turkey Pastrami from home

     I haven’t had any sandwiches from home for lunch lately because I’ve been on a soup kick as of late. This week however I have been enjoying turkey pastrami sandwiches with provolone cheese and mayo on white bread. Now this sandwich isn’t amazing by any means but it tastes pretty good for the basic ingredients that it’s made up of. The bread is regular white bread from Wegmans that I buy every week just to keep in the pantry. I have used my bread maker that I got for the wedding for some dishes I’ve made and I think I may start making sandwich bread because that would make this sandwich way better. The provolone is Wegmans brand as well and is okay as far as provolone cheese goes. The mayo is Hellman’s brand and should be the only brand anybody uses. The surprise to me at least comes from the pre-package turkey pastrami. If I recall it is Oscar Meyer brand but I’ll double check on that. Normally I don’t buy packaged meat because of the way it tastes but this wasn’t half bad. There was a lot of pepper that went into the curing process but I love pepper so this wasn’t an issue.