The Town Square
If you visit a small town, most of the time you'll find one common denominator. A courthouse and square right at its heart that is not only historic and beautiful but is (or was) often the center of the towns universe. Butchers, bakeries, mercantile, and other various and sundry businesses lined the square and was where locals would do their shopping. Often the movie theatre is there as well. So common is this setting that Universal Studios has a permanent set dedicated to the “Archetypical American” town. The set has been seen in such movies as To Kill a Mockingbird and Back to the Future and TV shows like Leave it to Beaver and Night Rider.
Sadly, the advent of mega malls and grocery stores saw a lot of these businesses surrounding the courthouse fail. Due to the proximity of the courts they are quite often, sadly taken over by law firms. Some towns that haven't suffered from recessions still have a variety of merchants offering antiques, books and souvenirs. And rest assured, there will be restaurants.
Such is the case with Fayetteville, Tn. A wonderful courthouse square is surrounded by some of the afore mentioned establishments. That's where you'll find Okra Restaurant. The latest offering from artist Toby Penney and her husband Chef Michael Bradley. Local restaurant veterans, one time operators of the famous Mrs. Mary Bobo's in nearby Lynchburg and owners of Amazing Gracie’s BBQ.
Combining a love of art and food Okra serves as restaurant and art gallery. Not to mention the upstairs apartment serves as living quarters and studio.
You have your choice of ordering off the menu or the white board. Toby advised me that the only thing that comes in a can is the ketchup refill. Other than that, everything is made from scratch. So lets get a look.
Both Mrs. Sippi and Madame Butterfly opted for Fried Catfish Blue Plate Specials with a variety of sides. I ordered off the menu.
Breaded Catfish: Nothing earth shattering here. It was straight up, cornmeal breaded on the outside and flaky yet creamy inside. It was just solid. Fried catfish 101
Fried Okra: As good as it gets. Not the crusty balls of slime you get in some places but lightly battered, fresh tasting and just cooked. Mrs. Sippi hailed it as some of the best.
Mac n Cheese: Your typical old school creamy mac n cheese executed very well. As I said to Toby, mac n cheese doesn't have to have 4 cheeses I've never heard of to be good. It just has to be good.
Pinto Beans: These are great. Nice rich gravy with earthy beans. Sadly, there was no pepper sauce on the table to kick them up a notch. Not that the NEEDED it.
Turnip Greens: A nice example that had a touch of sweetness followed with a peppery finish. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Squash: Mrs. Sippi had mixed emotions about this. She was disappointed in that it wasn't what she thought she was getting when she ordered it. That said, it was still fantastic.
'Mento Cristo: This play on the famous Monte Cristo (which is a fancy way of saying grilled ham and cheese sandwich) is made with Pimento Cheese rather than cheddar. The sour dough was basically made French toast style, complete with cinnamon sugar which I didn't care for (nor did the lady sitting at the table next to us) and easily dusted off. This sandwich however after the fine tuning was an absolute home run. The lady beside me agreed.
Fresh Cut Fries: Another item that needed some fine tuning in my mind. They needed to be more well done. As I said, that's just a personal preference. Outside of that, these are fantastic. Great potato taste and seasoned with Fleur de Sel which was a very nice touch. Fries like this would easily fetch north of $10 at a fancy steak house if you simply named them "Pomme Frites."
Apple Bread Pudding: There was a significant difference of opinion here. While the other two thought it was only okay, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Much like Mrs. Sippi and the squash, this wasn't exactly as I expected but decided I liked it for what it was not for what it wasn't. Most notably, I was hoping for a nice apple cinnamon flavour. The caramel sauce on top was really nice but not (in a good way) over the top rich. It came with a nice fluffy whipped cream.
So there you have it folks, some terrific southern fare in a lovely little town.
You can find Okra at 113 Main Ave. S. in Fayetteville, Tn.
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You can also find them on the web and facebook.
Well that's all for now folks, see ya next time in the food court.
Join the Club
Life for people in the south end of the U of T area just keeps getting better. Never mind that real estate prices are going through the proverbial roof or the on going improvements to the transit system making the city run smoother (so they say). It's becoming a foodie mecca of sorts. Stalwart noshing destinations such as Kensington Market and Chinatown have always been great options. The last decade however has seen several great additions. Some of which, for instance, Caplansky's and Fancy Franks, you've read about here.
Welcome The Clubhouse Sandwich Shop to the nieghbourhood. The little eatery opened by neophyte restaurateur Doan Nguyen has quickly become the talk of the town. As first time restaurants go, this one avoids some of the pitfalls that plaque the newbie. First and foremost, location, location, location. It's in a good spot. Secondly, the food is first rate. It should go without saying but if you don't have a good product, you don't have anything. Lastly, they're not over thinking here. The menu is very simple. Soup and sandwiches and not too many choices either. You're far better off doing a few things very, very well than a number of things that leave people feeling; Meh. Simply put, Doan isn't (ahem) biting off more than he can chew.
The small store sits nestled on the edges of Chinatown and the University of Toronto. Inside it's minimalistic and "natural" looking. There's an abundant use of wood an a faux forest wall paper behind the counter. Suggesting the name is not an homage to the classic sandwich but the tree fort of ones childhood.
Seating is communal and can accommodate about a dozen seated and probably a handful more standing.
The kitchen, whence the goodies emerge is in the back.
So let's get a look at said goodies.
The triple cooked Hand Cut Fries are simply amazing. The best JEB claims to have had. Supported by the sight of him hoovering up every last crumb like a Dyson. So what exactly does "triple cooked" mean?? Well, the day before, large, skin on, wedge style potato chunks are boiled in salt water and left to dry for the next day. From there they get the standard double frying method (poached then crisped) that produces the best fries. To say these are crispy just doesn't do them justice. They're potato chip crisp on the outside and almost melt in your mouth fluffy/tender on the inside. Certainly some of the best I've ever had as well. I'm really hoping they offer a Cajun or some other type of seasoning down the road because I feel the possibilities are endless on this type of platform.
The Grilled Flank Steak sandwich is terrific. Very tasty marinated and grilled flank steak is accompanied by cashew pesto, braised red cabbage and Carlo's Trail Mix. I thought the whole thing had a very nice balance with, for the most part, no one thing taking a lead role. Once in a while however you'll get a bite and notice a bit more pesto or steak in the bite. JEB felt the steak was a little sparse and would be better with more. As I said I liked the balance however I could certainly agree that more steak would be a good thing. Seems to be just a fine tuning/personal preference issue.
The Beer Battered Fried Halibut is an amazing sandwich. There's plenty of fish on this and it's good in it's own right. The addition of tartar sauce, smoky mayo, lettuce and tomato are nice complements. It's light yet filling and keeps a nice crunch. Even with the flavours of the mayo and tartar it retains a bit of a simple feel taste wise.
So there you have it folks, some great sandwiches in an area that's becoming a bit of a go to neighbourhood food wise.
You can find The Clubhouse Sandwich Shop at 455 Spadina Ave in Toronto, On.
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You can also find them on the web, facebook and Twitter.
Well that's all for now folks, see ya next time in the food court.
Home of the Kitchen Sink
In May of 1971, Glenn Watson opened what would be Huntsville, Alabama's first sub shop. Taking over a tiny ice cream shop on Jordan Lane before out growing and moving next door. Glenn wanted to bring a little taste of Boston to the city in the heart of Dixie and put his own spin on things. He decided that cubing the vegetation that tops the subs was a good idea. It turned out to be a bit of a signature for his sandwiches.
Over 40 years later, Stanlieo's Sub Villa in Huntsville is still going strong. They now have 2 locations and have caught the eye of Al.com, as well as the local TV stations, magazines and newspapers.
The whole operation is now run by his daughter, Connie Ward who literally grew up in the store. Recounting, "Cobblers' kids have no shoes, so we didn't have food in the house. If they'd make a mistake (on a sandwich), that would be my lunch."
They now offer catering as well for all your party and gathering needs.
The restaurant shown is the Governors Dr location. Originally located on Whitesburg it's settled here and is a little nicer than the Jordan Ln location but both have a homey feel to them.
I've not noticed any quality disparity between the two places. Always good to be consistent.
It’s pretty much a fast food ordering system. You walk in, place your order and wait in the dining room. The shop is quite friendly and efficient. The family atmosphere of the restaurant is a product of the family atmosphere of the company. Many employees have been with Stanlieo's for years.
They're also using technology well to their advantage. You can text stanlieos to 55469 and receive updates and specials right to your phone.
So all that is fine but how are the subs you're probably wondering. Well, they're terrific. I will point out somethings first though. All their subs come with cubed onions, pickles, and tomatoes. While this is a great combination I've found that for the most part, the pickles don't belong on some of the subs I've tried. Your mileage may differ but I'll ask for them to be excluded if I don't think they'll work. If possible. BTW, the pickles are really quite good themselves. They just, at times, seem foreign to me.
As well, they bake their own bread daily. Uncooked loaves are purchased and cooked as needed making for a nicer bread than normal.
The Kitchen Sink sub, (shown) number 12 on this list is really, really good. I love Genoa salami and it had a very prominent taste here. Since this is pretty much an "Everything" sub I didn't mind the pickles here. 7 meats, 3 cheeses and over a pound of deliciousness. You can't go wrong.
The Steak and Cheese is quite nice. A good beef flavour but maybe needing a bit more cheese. The topping would be good without the pickles but was fine with them. People put pickles on cheeseburgers after all.
The Pizza sub is terrific but here is where the pickles are just way out of place. I made it through half just to see if I liked it. I didn't. Didn't hate it though. I picked as many off the second half and was good to go. Again, a good presence from the Genoa was very welcomed.
There are some options for dessert and one of them is a really nice selection of Otis Spunkmeyer cookies. Resist the temptation these present and grab a bag of the Zapp's Voodoo potato chips. These are awesome. For the life of me though, I couldn't figure out what the flavour of them actually is. There's a good reason for that. According to their website the flavour was created when an employee knocked over some spice boxes. The resulting amalgum was tasted and thought to be "Great." Not the first time a shop accident has been the genesis of discovery.
So there you have it folks. Fine submarine sandwiches that are a definite cut above the chains in a nice friendly place.
You can find Stanlieo's Sub Villa at 605 Jordan Ln and 602 Governors Dr in Huntsville, Al.
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You can also find them on the web, facebook and Twitter.
Well that's all for now folks. I'll see you next time in the food court.
Our Food Treated with Love
It would be impossible to live in a city and find they have no hidden gems. Places that are flat out awesome however somehow stay below the radar. Even with people such as myself blogging about them or customers posting their experiences on some of the internet food boards or review sites out there they go unnoticed. They somehow never seem to be at the top of anyone's list of great places to eat. Yet just about everyone who pays a visit, raves.
Take The Fish Store and YuNes Sandwiches in Toronto. The tiny spot owned by a friendly immigrant Korean family in Toronto's Little Italy sells fresh fish you can take home. However what will really get your attention are the fresh fish dishes they offer. Give or take there are 18 different sea critters available daily and your fish can be presented in 4 different ways. Sandwich, on rice, a burrito or tacos. All cooked to order. If that weren't enough, they have 3 different soups on the daily menu as well. All are very good.
The sky blue store has a nice distressed look. As if it's been weathered beaten over the years as if it overlooks the sea. Not College St. Your seating options are very limited. Both in room and choice. They have a patio with about 12 seats and that's it.
Inside it's little more than a closet. Almost every inch is dedicated to stock. It's actually a pretty efficient use of space. There's very room to maneuver but enough that they can cook up some of the city's best sandwiches from their tiny little kitchen.
Quite literally, the smallest place I’ve reviewed.
All fish is, more or less, cooked exactly the same. In a terrific sauce that I think can best be described as a fish sauce vinaigrette. It's tasty, earthy and tangy. So let's get a look.
YuNes makes their own BBQ Sauce and it's really quite good. I suppose it has to be since it appears to be either completely a home made Sriracha (rooster) sauce or is the base and back bone of the sauce. I occasionally felt like I tasted cucumber but I wasn't sure. Either way, as I said, it's really good. I would describe it more of a hot sauce than a BBQ sauce FWIW.
The New England Clam Chowder (they also make Manhattan style) is not the best I've had but there is a good reason for that. It's dairy free. Now, I normally would pass but I've heard great things so I gave it a go. I just can't say that you don't miss the richness the cream provides however I can say that this is fantastic. It still has a buttery-ness even without dairy. It has the signature clam chowder taste. It's just not as rich. Using a potato broth means it's not really lighter, just not as rich. Even better with a bit of pepper.The Butternut Squash soup is fantastic. With a nice squash flavour, slightly rich, a bit buttery and silky smooth. About half way through I added some of the BBQ sauce and it was probably equally as good. Neither way was better, just slightly different.
The fish sandwich really is all that. Here we have grouper on a nice bun with lettuce, tomato and a hint of cilantro. The whole thing works great with the cilantro adding a bit of personality. Not so much as to put off the bazillion people who hate the stuff but enough to give some flavour. The bun is spectacular. Tender yet crisp. A thin, crispy crust that is tender enough that the guts don't squish out the back yet sturdy enough to stay a bit crunchy throughout consumption. The mild, buttery grouper is at it's delicate best. One of the best fish sandwiches I've ever had. Phenomenal.
The Fish Tacos here are both fantastic and disappointing at once. 4 soft flour tortillas stuffed nicely with fresh vegetation and then topped with your fish of choice. The freshness of the veggies really shone here. The fresh catfish was really nice however I felt rather skimpy. They'd probably do better offering the same amount of fish but spread out across 3 tacos instead. I mixed and matched the BBQ sauce and vinaigrette and any combination was really good.
They don't do dessert so a trip across the street to Pancho's Bakery will let you score what they claim is the "Best churro in the city." Pancho's does Mexican sweets that are, from my experience, hit and miss. A group of us paid a visit during a food tour and the over all consensus was that we must be missing something. I got the impression that a lot of what we had was designed to be eaten with a cup of coffee. That said, I've had a few things that I really liked. Not the least of which was a strawberry empanada.
It's hard to say whether or not the churro is the best but I can say I'm not sure I've had better. Perhaps the crunchiest I've had with good flavour in the dough. I'd like a bit more cinnamon hit but it was fine. There's ample dolce de leche squeezed into the middle that it last the whole length of this terrifically tasty tubular treat. The more of these I eat the more I seem to like them. With a growing Latin community, that's only gonna get better.
So there you have it. Some of the best fish and churro's this city has to offer.
You can find The Fish Store at 657 College St in Toronto, On. Pancho's is right across the street.
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You can also find them on the web and "like" them on facebook.
Well that's all for now folks. See ya next time in the food court.
You'll Love the Size of our Balls
In the Spring of 2011 Rodney Bowers, the self proclaimed 300 pound Nona opened an interestingly titled if not concept-ed restaurant named Hey Meatball.
Having spent time in Eastern Europe and in particular Turkey, he discovered that for every burger place in North America, there was a Kofta (meatball) Shop in that north eastern Mediterranean region.
Bowers, who'd previously owned Rosebud, modeled his new venture on a business that failed to hire him. Chipotle Mexican Grill. Yep, the quasi Mexican mega franchise. Oft heralded as a top notch chain they certainly impressed Rod with it's branding and simplicity.
Rod didn't want to open just another burger place and really loved the meatball idea. He just couldn't envision it. Then came parenthood and the epiphany. Kids (and people) love spaghetti and meatballs. It's been a hit. Local television stations and media love this place and word has spread. So much so that the gang at Triple D followed Guy here During the winter of 2013. Hey Meatball was featured in the episode, European Inspired. He’s just recently opened a second location in TO’s east end and a kid centric place named Hey on Roncy.
Situated in Toronto's Little Italy the store is a contrast of basic and bold. A large window surrounded by white subway tile isn't the most eye popping store front. However if you add some assertive red graphics you have a visually catchy place.
Inside it's really all about function. A smattering of tables and chairs up front, a small bar on one side, a menu on one wall where the cutlery is and a order station in front of the open kitchen in back where the balls are handled.
So what about Bower's balls??
Well, they really are quite good. Made from pork and beef they hold together nicely and aren't weighed down with a bunch of competing herbs or other flavourizers. Just letting the meat carry them. They, like basically everything else are made from locally sourced ingredients and hormone and anti biotic free. You can order them in sandwich or plate form.
Let’s have a look.
They offer 2 house made hot sauces. The green one appears to be pesto with some chilies involved. It looks innocuous enough but has a pretty good back bite. The orange was somewhat scary. What with habaneros being orange and all. It's not nearly deathly hot and has a pretty fruity flavour. Really quite nice and probably less spicy than the green.
Incidentally, the two combined is a nice mixture as well.
You can get your balls with various forms of pasta and even polenta. Fresh Spaghetti, Mac n Cheese and even white board specials are some options and are quite tasty. The noodle itself in this case (Rigatoni) is quite good (although I could stand a bit more salt) and is cooked to al dente. The meatballs, as I said, are really very good. What I especially love is the basic red sauce. A simple tomato gravy with not a whole lot, in a good way, going on in it. Just let that great tomato flavour shine through. (It's essentially a mother sauce that can be altered to create something else). Some fresh parmasean adds a bit of background.
The Rodfather caught the eye of a local blogger and Guy sampled it during the episode. It’s a terrific sandwich. Three meatballs on a grilled chiabata bun with pesto, tomato sauce and Parmesan. While I wasn't as enamoured as they were I still think it's an excellent offering. I was especially impressed with the perfect balance. No one component stood out but all added exactly the same amount of flavour to the whole dish. My only complaints are structural. The meatballs rolled out of my sandwich a couple times. So when I got to the last one I cut it in half and it gave me much better handling. Also, the bun was just slightly too tough for the innards. I had some issues with things squishing out the back when I bit in. It seemed like the bifurcated meatballs helped with that problem as well.
The sandwich comes with a salad on which I decided to pass. I was assured that it was a great salad and as such decided to go ahead and take it. Sure enough, it was. Lightly pickled kale, chard, dandelion and arugula tossed with chopped cucumbers and topped with fully pickled red cabbage and onion. Terrific as is I thought it was better with the addition of some Parmesan. I think it would be even better with something like pine nuts as well but that's just gilding the lily.
Your main option in the drink department is house made pop (or soda or drinks or soft drinks depending on you locale). All ingredients are extracted (squeezed, etc) from scratch, by hand and blended with soda water on site. I thoroughly enjoyed my Cream Soda. It has a more mild and clean flavour than the pink stuff in the can. The awful aftertaste from HFCS is missing and with it the heaviness of the drink. A lot of the same applies to the Peach (seasonal) as well. Blended with some apricot it has a very mild taste and I found to be a terrific palate cleanser and quite refreshing.
They have some small dessert items that are made at their sister restaurant. I normally don't bother saying something if I don't like it but am open to make exceptions. Exception made. This brownie is down right awful. Now, there's absolutely no chance I'd like this. It's basically no sugar added so it tastes like baking chocolate and what's worse, it's gluten free. I gotta tell ya, I loves me some gluten. So if you're into the gluten free thing you could very well like it as I'm sure it's executed well. Just totally not for me.
So there you have it. Some great food in a cool little place.
You can find Hey Meatball at 719 College St. in Toronto, On.
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You can also find them on the web, facebook and Twitter.
Well that's all for now folks, we'll see ya next time in the food court.
Hogtown Heaven
In the mid 19th century William Davies immigrated to Canada and before long, set up a stall at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market. William sold hams and bacon and quickly learned, he was onto something. By the 1860’s he was shipping high quality salt cured pig products back to his native England. In time, the William Davies Company would operate the largest pork processing plant in the British Empire, the second largest in North America and would be credited (in part) for creating the Canadian pork industry we know today.
This success wasn’t lost on others as competitors soon cropped up and would be the genesis of Toronto’s nickname, Hogtown.
Toronto has never gotten over it’s love affair with the pig. Toronto’s signature sandwich is the Peameal Bacon on a Bun. This simple dish, an almost “Must do” for any trip to the St. Lawrence Market, traces it’s DNA back to the inventor of Peameal Bacon; William Davies.
Another piggy treat that’s really gained a lot of steam over the last half decade or so is the Porchetta Sandwich. In “Hogtown”, there’s no better offering of this rich, slow roasted porcine deliciousness than at Porchetta and Co.
This small (mostly) take away only place nestled in the heart of Toronto’s Little Italy neighbourhood churns out plates, sandwiches and sides. The menu is really that small but is shored up by weekly “white board” specials like Fried Chicken.
P & Co. take the basic porchetta and soup it up. A pork shoulder is marinaded 24 hours with a variety of aromatics like rosemary and lemon zest. It’s then wrapped in proscuitto. Just because that simply isn’t good enough, the whole thing is then wrapped in cured pork belly. From there, the whole monster is blasted in an oven to create a great crust before slow roasting for hours to achieve that melt in your mouth, decadent flavour that has people lining out the door.
Chef/Owner Nick auf der Mauer open shop in December of 2010 and it has been on my “To do” list pretty much ever since. It wasn’t until a season 2 episode of Anthony Bourdain’s show The Layover came to town and, what with Tony being big on the pig, paid them a visit that I realized I could no longer put it off. Couple that with a tweet pronouncing they were serving Soft Shell Crab Po’ Boys, it was a done deal.
The tiny shop is a little hard to spot from the street but sniffing it out is well worth your trouble.
Inside there’s a handful of stools across the front window where you can eat your goodies but those seats can be hard to get. Especially when it gets busy. A good bet is to get out to one of the many local parks. Weather permitting of course.
The vast majority of the small space is dedicated to food prep and sales. The counter is backed by an open prep kitchen with the main one in the back.
Just a word to the wise. There’s no public bathrooms so you may want to wash up before hand and bring cash ‘cause they don’t take plastic.
So let’s get a look at these goodies.
Let’s start with the flagship. The porchetta sandwich. You can DIY your own with modifiers like Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella and Rapini. The latter being fantastic on porchetta.
This day, on the specials board was a sandwich constructed with Truffle Sauce, (real) parmesan and grainy mustard. This was simply an awesome sandwich. The bread was perfect in that it added some flavour but not a lot. It had enough body to hold together yet not so much as to cause the innards to squish out the back when you bite in. It had great pork taste as well. Bolstered by some cracklin’s which also added some crunch. The parmesan and truffle sauce were more back ground players. What tied the whole thing together is that mustard. It was tasty, tangy and had a little kick.
They offer up a trio of sides from which we selected the Baked Beans. These don’t resemble canned beans too much with hunks of pork and plump beans in a rich sauce. The whole mess is then garnished with cracklin’s. Very tasty although I’d leave the cracklin’s off next time. I didn’t feel they added much and were excellent of their own accord. So much so that Mrs. Sippi tried unsuccessfully to purchase some as a side.
The reason for the visit was the Friday - Saturday special that weekend. The Softshell Crab Po’ Boy. Crabs, as you probably know, have an exoskeleton. The bones don’t grow so need to be shed regularly as the animal grows. A process known as molting in case you didn’t know.
For a brief period the crab has no shell. Such beasts have become a delicacy world wide.
Typically (in NA) they’re deep fried and often served up sandwich style. P&C serves theirs on a Wonderbread style hot dog bun with sriracha mayo, slaw (which she omitted) and prosciutto bits. The crunchy crab shone on this and was nicely complemented by the garnishes. The bun served its purpose perfectly. It was merely a vessel to get from plate to mouth. A superb sandwich.
Well there you have it folks. Some rather decadent foods at a reasonable price.
You can find Porchetta and Company at 825 Dundas Street West in Toronto.
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You can also find them on the web, facebook and Twitter.
So that’s all for now folks. See ya again in the food court.
If you visit a small town, most of the time you'll find one common denominator. A courthouse and square right at its heart that is not only historic and beautiful but is (or was) often the center of the towns universe. Butchers, bakeries, mercantile, and other various and sundry businesses lined the square and was where locals would do their shopping. Often the movie theatre is there as well. So common is this setting that Universal Studios has a permanent set dedicated to the “Archetypical American” town. The set has been seen in such movies as To Kill a Mockingbird and Back to the Future and TV shows like Leave it to Beaver and Night Rider.
Such is the case with Fayetteville, Tn. A wonderful courthouse square is surrounded by some of the afore mentioned establishments. That's where you'll find Okra Restaurant. The latest offering from artist Toby Penney and her husband Chef Michael Bradley. Local restaurant veterans, one time operators of the famous Mrs. Mary Bobo's in nearby Lynchburg and owners of Amazing Gracie’s BBQ.
Breaded Catfish: Nothing earth shattering here. It was straight up, cornmeal breaded on the outside and flaky yet creamy inside. It was just solid. Fried catfish 101
'Mento Cristo: This play on the famous Monte Cristo (which is a fancy way of saying grilled ham and cheese sandwich) is made with Pimento Cheese rather than cheddar. The sour dough was basically made French toast style, complete with cinnamon sugar which I didn't care for (nor did the lady sitting at the table next to us) and easily dusted off. This sandwich however after the fine tuning was an absolute home run. The lady beside me agreed.
Apple Bread Pudding: There was a significant difference of opinion here. While the other two thought it was only okay, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Much like Mrs. Sippi and the squash, this wasn't exactly as I expected but decided I liked it for what it was not for what it wasn't. Most notably, I was hoping for a nice apple cinnamon flavour. The caramel sauce on top was really nice but not (in a good way) over the top rich. It came with a nice fluffy whipped cream.
