Episode XXXVIII: Candler Park Market (ATL)

And I’m back in the game! 

Budget season is behind us, finally. Right…  Jeff, Charith, could you please confirm that?

That means I can get back to the Reuben Ranger.  First though I have to give a shout out to a fan of the blog we lost this week. Don Giovanni, the family Golden Retriever, died this week back in El Paso.  That dog never met a stranger.  His father, Don Juan, also lived with us before he died 4 years ago. So the bloodline had been with the family for 15 years! We loved them so much and we know they loved us too, and anyone else that happened to be holding a tennis ball.

Back to the blog! A slow Friday at the office meant I was home at 4:00! The early arrival threw off Danny’s routine. He is usually so excited when I come home but he knows he gets to watch Sesame Street at 4:30 and sensed that my early arrival would somehow jeopardize that. He politely suggested I go back to work. So we let Danny watch the show, then we headed out to the Candler Park Market. I was looking online for a Reuben close to work and came across great reviews of this place instead. 

Here we go.

Reuben (Hot ‘n melty!)
“pastrami, swiss, kraut, 1000 island, spicy mustard”

Appearance – (4.4/5.0)

Clean cut, simple appearance here.

The small deli basket does not lend itself well to the middle cut shot.

 Here it is:

Wow!
Look at the kraut (I’m using their term from the menu). You may have noticed this Reuben had spicy mustard and it gives the kraut a jaundice tint.  It kind of looks like a Moons Over My Hammy, and I’m OK with that.

Quality Of Ingredients – (4.8/5.0)

I was very impressed with the quality all around, and not just in my Reuben. My wife had the Firehouse Italian and everything in there was top flight as well. What struck me first was the kraut. I asked the server behind the counter and she said it was sourced locally. She said, “If we don’t make it here, then we source it locally”.  

The kraut tasted like it came from an episode of My Grandmother’s Ravioli, old world. You need those slightly bitter and vinegary elements in a good Reuben. Some people don’t like this and that is why you usually see this part of the Reuben most commonly substituted for Cole Slaw or some other less offensive green. 

The 1000 Island was not quite as noticeable given the spicy mustard laced kraut but it was still a plus. They did a good job of constructing the Reuben by keeping the 1000 Island below the pastrami and the kraut above it. As a result of the 1000 island being on the bottom of the sandwich, you get some drops of it in the basket which made it easy for me to try it by itself. It was smooth and tangy, and our friend behind the counter confirmed that they make it in-house.  

Price – (4.7/5.0)

$7.25! That rounds down to 7! No complaints here. I think the portion size was just right for the price. The Firehouse Italian was $7.75 and also a great deal. The biggest value proposition might be that this place is in the back of a mini-mart. So you get your ticket from the deli and pay up front at the register. On the way to the front I picked up some BBQ chips for Danny (“Orange Chips”) and the three of us shared a huge fountain drink. Take that Bloomberg! So instead of restaurant margin pricing on the drinks you get 7-11 big gulp value pricing.

Je Ne Sais Quoi – (4.6/5.0)

This place is a Deli counter in the back of a neighborhood mini-mart, and by counter I mean counter. There are no tables. There are some stools at the counter and that is it. Like most of the ITP neighborhoods in Atlanta, Candler Park has some nice parts and some not so nice parts. This mini-mart was a microcosm of the neighborhood. The aisle with the chips and cereal is a nice up-and-coming part of the store but if you go over two blocks to the cheap wine aisle, yikes… You may not want to walk home down that way. You have to take the good with the bad and that is part of charm of living ITP.

Taste – (9.6/10.0)

Classic Reuben taste and it really was Hot ‘n melty! The cheese was flowing over the side and I got to have a few bites that were just melty cheese. The pastrami was thick cut and I think it worked well here. You got some substance in the meaty bites. It was warm but not falling apart tender. Sometime you get meat that is so thin and so tender you don’t even have to chew. I think this goes back to my Texas brisket roots, you need some thick warm cuts of meat to really enjoy the flavor. 

Overall – (28.1/30.0)

Would I order it again? Yes! It was a great way to get back into the blog. This is really the essence of what this blog is all about. It is an adventure to find gems in the back of a neighborhood mini-mart.  The Mean Green sounds awesome too for my next meat-less Monday.

Well done Candler Park Market! 

Episode XXXVII: The Pig & Pint (ATL)

Sometimes a Reuben can sneak up on you. That was the case when I went out for lunch with my co-workers at The Pig & Pint. 

One of the folks on the team was moving to another position within the company for those I like to call the “Creative Types.” Anything in the Marketing, Loyalty, Sales, wannabe Mad Men, I refer to as “Creative Types.” These are the people that come up with brilliant ideas then act shocked when you tell them how much it will cost. They also justify everything with “brand” and “experience”.  This was a work sanctioned lunch outing so there was no way I was going to miss out. I have not been the best about going out to lunch.

At the end of last year I had to take a training course at work called “Take Back Your Life,” and it was dedicated entirely to Outlook management.  Anyone constantly battling a full inbox knows that it can take over your life, but still, it seems a bit ambitious for the name of a day-long training course. As part of the class, the instructor suggested that you block off time for yourself on your calendar, because everyone knows that there is no way the boss will book a meeting over a time blocked off on your calendar. I blocked off an hour-and-a-half every other Friday to go out to lunch. It has not gone as planned because I have pretty much been stuck at my desk all day every day. I even stopped wearing my FitBit because it just got to be depressing how little I was moving during the day.

Things are getting better and I was happy to be out with the crew. I didn’t even know this place had a Reuben!

Reubenesque
“Shaved corned beef, pickled red cabbage, 1000 island, Swiss cheese, grilled sourdough”

Appearance – (3.9/5.0)

The plain, somewhat-grilled sourdough really takes over here. That is not something I am used to seeing with the Reubens.  There is so much color inside, with the red cabbage and corned beef, trying to get out but it just doesn’t seem to be making it all the way through. Rye has more color to it, especially when it has the marbling going on. This was probably done in an attempt to lure non-Reuben eaters to order this dish. This whole sandwich is a RINO (Reuben In Name Only) and the white sourdough is advertising it.

Once you get past the sourdough the presentation is nice.  I would have liked the stacked approach to show off the inside of both halves but at least they took the time to slice it and separate the halves.

Quality Of Ingredients – (4.3/5.0)

Well done here. The pickled cabbage and 1000 island dressing tasted homemade. The shredded cabbage was not cut uniformly, which usually lets me know that it was done by someone in the back and not by a machine. The color on it really popped too. The other dishes around the table looked like they were homemade as well. I did not get the sense that anyone in the kitchen was cutting corners. The place just smelled good when you walked in so you knew something good was going on back there.

Price – (3.7/5.0)

$10 may have been a bit much given the small portion size. The server did not charge me for my Club Soda, so I will give them credit for that, but I think this one could have been in the $9 range.  $10 is really a psychological break point and you need something special to charge that.

Je Ne Sais Quoi – (4.4/5.0)

It was nice to rediscover this place. I had been here years back, before it was the Pint & Pig. There were not too many good Happy Hour places around the office before this came along. There is a smoky Irish Pub, a smoky beach bar, and a smoky seafood dive bar. You see the trend. I don’t mind a smoky bar when I’m in Vegas, but sometimes you want a chill place to have a margarita after work where you won’t have to change your shirt when you get home. They have some good drink specials and I hope to come back for lunch or Happy Hour soon.

Taste – (8.8/10.0)

This was a good RINO and I am glad they did not try to hide it by giving it an appropriate name. They took away the rye and sauerkraut. I don’t think Swiss cheese is as polarizing as these two.

The pickled cabbage had enough vinegar to give it a kick similar to that found in sauerkraut. The sourdough was a mild variety and very well could have been white bread.

What really brought this whole sandwich together was the homemade 1000 Island. It was creamy and it was used in just the right amount.

Overall – (25.1/30.0)

Would I order it again, yes, but maybe not on my next visit. There are a few things on the menu I would want to try first, like the pulled pork. This place smelled just enough like bbq smoke to get your mouth watering. Then you see the pulled pork come out and it looks as good as it smells. Once I’ve tried the pulled pork then I’ll be able to make an informed decision on where to go from there.