Clayton J.
Yelp
I had seriously high hopes for this place. The pictures show food prepared to perfection and the portions also appeared reasonable for the price. We came on a Saturday afternoon and the neighborhood was a zoo. So many confused people that can't decide what lane to be in, what direction to drive and blocking traffic because it's the wrong mix of ADHD and no GPS.
We got lucky, and on the second pass found a park a block away. Inside, I dug the décor, all the racer style bike and propaganda made me think I was at risk of being transported into Aha's Take On Me video.
Service was fairly fast and nothing short of friendly, but I had some objections to the menu. 1) No fries. Sorry, I think it should be a crime to serve sandwiches or burgers without fries, specially when you sharge extra for a salad or soup. 2) The temp. It was too cold inside to take of our jackets. I know heating and cooling can both be an issue in this neighborhood, but if people aren't comfortable, they aren't coming back. 3) Noise. I'd assume this is hard to help in their layout, but it was noisier than it needed to be.
I had the French Dip with a cup of chili. The beef was super tender and the Au Jus was flavorful, if I had fries on the side, I wouldhave been happy. The chili was probably the worst cup of chili I've ever tasted. It was watery, flavorless and despite being called Meat Chili, it's was 75% Kidney Beans. I added both salt and pepper, but there was no saving it. My buddy had the Chicago Beef, I'm not sure if he knew what to expect, because he appeared surprised when he got his sandwich. He had Potato salad on the side and pushed that back after a single bite.
Ironically, I warned him about the potato salad before he ordered it. When you are from the south, you don't trust potato salad from a place like this. Sorry, if nobody here is black or speaks with a southern accent, chances are this is straight up Martha Stewart and that also explains why my chili was so terrible.
Again, the service was flawless, but after compromising in not getting fries, I felt cheated paying for an upgraded side that was clearly a downgrade.
I come from a time and place where people took pride in their cooking. That almost doesn't exist anymore. When people think the deli counter at Whole Foods is 5-star dining, we got a problem. I should be able to see and smell spices when I walk in a place like this and the overall bland, encounter is reflected of the flavor of the place that boasts "Made from scratch". You need to scratch harder, cause my taste buds are seriously depressed after that meal.
I really want to give this place a single star, but the service was good and my sandwich was about 3/5, but everthing else brought this place down, I'm giving them 2 stars in lieu of this experience most likely not being so negative if they had french fries.