Justin M.
Yelp
For all those born around the time newspaper was phased out, there was a character in the comic section named Dagwood Bumstead. He would eat the largest, most obnoxious sandwiches ever and was somewhat of an influence on me, nurturing a desire to find the perfect sandwich. Naturally when you marry a butcher with a delicatessen a special experience is bound to manifest as a smile upon your face. Enter Turcotte Butcher and Delicatessen. I've seen several reviews, had it pop up on various places I frequent on the web and after I read their menu I knew it was a destination spot.
"Rolling up in my 5.0, with my rag-top down so my hair can blow".... Ok I drive a Dodge Durango as my mustang days are long behind me. Anyways after 7 months of putting off the 45 minute drive I arrive at the small strip mall with elevated expectations. The parking and traffic on a Sunday at 11:30 is easy and without congestion. The outside is pretty bland with three tables and a couple large boulders. But open the door to the sites and smells only a great experience could offer. The bar area is simple, metal wall with a solid wood bar and a couple taps and swag behind it. A few people are on their phones (seriously, enjoy the ambiance!) while a TV accents the blue walls. Your eyes can see another bar dining area in front of the open air kitchen which had two patrons, but I saved the best for last which is actually first (stay with me here...).
The meat case has a ton of different meats and homemade items. While I asked for Lamb, specifically a rack or lollipops, they sadly were out of both. However they did have 28 day aged ribeye which were marbled wonderfully. This review will focus on the deli side rather than meats as I they didn't have what I wanted to purchase.
I talked to the wonderful butcher and began my order. I got the Italian sub, asked for his advice between the Rueben and in-house roast beef, settling on the Rueben and also took his advice and got the bowtie pasta. I really liked the joint and after 7 minutes or so my order was filled so I journeyed back to home to indulge!
The Italian sub was up first as I peeled back the paper. At first site I was disappointed as I saw huge chunks of red onion, so I took a bunch off and proceeded to gnaw down on boars head meats. They were wonderful and cut perfectly however I bit into tons of banana peppers. For the record, I've had subs, grinders, torpedoes, heros, etc from all over the country including NYC, Connecticut, KC, etc and cold subs are my specialty. I was disappointed with the execution of the sandwich as the ratios of ingredients were off. Too many banana peppers created an imbalance of sourness along with way too much mustard, huge chunks of onions dominated my tongue and those two factors masked the beauty of the meats. There really is an art to creating the perfect sub and this rendition needs a bit of tweaking.
The Rueben was my next on my sandwich hitlist and another slight letdown. The bread tasted dry along with the corned beef. The rest of the ingredients complimented each other very well so the experience wasn't completely bad. I just think that being there 30 mins after opening the food would have more life. The pasta salad was spot on as most places you get pasta salad 9 times out of 10 the pasta is overcooked, not here! The pasta was al dente, hints of feta, and a nice Italian dressing taste.
Overall, I think their sandwich execution could use a slight bit of love b/c all other elements are present and have the potential to shine. I'm not into hot subs so I won't add that to my list but the burgers and roast beef will sampled in the future. I will be back as I think there's a lot to experience here especially in terms of the butcher. Hopefully they'll have some lamb in and I don't recall seeing semi-boneless quail but aged ribeye, tomahawk pork, veal shanks, etc are enticing me as I write this review. In summary, I believe Turcotte is an outstanding butcher with outstanding ingredients in a lowkey friendly establishment.