Johnnie N.
Yelp
Although I'm not into sandwiches, I had to try Oink and Oscar since they seem like nice local people that home makes their own meats and pickled toppings & have daily fresh bread. I was also skeptical of paying $23 for a sandwich. I ordered 2 sandwiches because 1 usually isn't enough, (I eat a lot). Their sandwiches are HUGE!. When they handed me the bag, the bag dipped because I didn't think it would be that heavy. The staff behind the counter gave me incredulous looks like, "You're not eating BOTH of those right?" Yes I am and I'm not ashamed. Thinking back, it's probably not a good idea to eat 2 of these sandwiches the same day.
Their Windy City sandwich was one of the best sandwiches I've ever had in my life. And it was Huge! And it was like 50% meat! I ordered the "dry" version so I could make it back to the office without a soaking paper bag, (I'm sure they make sure that doesn't happen-but just in case), knowing that they dip the meat in jus anyway in the "dry" version. The bread had a crunch but wasn't so hard that it would rip the roof of my mouth when biting into the sandwich, (like most places). The meat was tender and the mix of spicy Giardiniera and pickled sweet pepper topping I chose put the sandwich over the top. My tolerance for spicy is medium and although the Giardiniera made me sweat a little, it was perfectly spicy. I only regret not paying $2 for their special melted cheese.
So I was disappointed when I ate the Salvatore for dinner. This sandwich was just as huge and I was intrigued when I thought I smelled fresh garlic taking it out of the bag. This sandwich was just too bitter and salty, so much so that I couldn't enjoy anything else. Since I really like Oink and Oscar and I think this sandwich is a good concept, I'm offering some advice to the Owners:
-Use 25% less salt on the porkstrami. I know pastrami is kind of salty, but we can still get the pastrami likeness with the reduced salt. Also, have the porkstrami be prepared with a spice, (I know this isn't supposed to be corned beef, but preparing the porkstrami where a spice taste is noticeable would make it unique).
-Replace the coleslaw/pickled cabbage with pickled sweet pepper or give the customer an option of a Giardiniera or sweet pepper or mix, like with the Windy City, (and the option would make the sandwich seem more Italian). The red cabbage in the coleslaw adds to the bitterness.
-If there is fresh garlic somewhere in the sandwich, please reduce or remove, I'm not sure there is but something is making the sandwich really bitter. Maybe it's the olive spread?
-I couldn't detect any mortadella, provolone or sesame, so maybe some more of these.
I am definitely coming back and for many times over, the place is perfect, the staff is super friendly and I'd really like this place to thrive.
