Friday, October 2, 2009

Sammy’s Subs and Salads – Eden Prairie, MN

I was hungry for a sandwich at lunch, so I headed over to one of my favorite sandwich places in the area – Pastrami Jack’s. RubyVita, you need to try this place when you move to the burbs – you’ll like it. When I got to PJ’s, I noticed a sandwich place next door that I hadn’t been to, so I changed my mind on the fly.

I walked in and was pretty unsure where to go. There’s a long counter to order at and no instructions as to how to order. I saw on a big sign over the counter and on little table tent things something called a Ragin Cajun sandwich. I went with that. I told the ladies over the counter I wanted the Ragin Cajun and they set to it. The person working the counter chatted me up while I waited – a super nice guy that recognized my work badge and gave me a punch card since he knew I’d be back.

I got some of the Cajun sauce on the side (just in case I didn’t like it) and headed to my table. It was served on a tray without a plate or anything – apparently, I’m finding lots of restaurants like this these days. I sat down and snapped a photo, so you know what it looked like.

Then I proceeded to drop my phone onto the very edge of the Cajun sauce dish which managed to fling a hilarious spray of red liquid all over the table, wall, and painting on the wall (seriously). Oddly, my phone was unscathed – zero sauce on it. I heard the table next to me stop their conversation, but they were polite enough not to point and laugh, even though it had to have been hilarious.

I noticed this little red form put on my tray when I headed toward my food. Apparently, this is how you’re SUPPOSED to order when you come here. It’s a a little form to fill out that had ingredients you’d like for your sammich. Checkboxes for double meat and value meals and condiments and to-gos and such. I missed like 10 pads of papers with flower pens sticking out of them at the counter. I wondered why I blew through the line while everyone else was filling out forms. My bad people. I just didn’t know. Kudos to the workers there for not yelling at me, but subtly letting me know how to do it correctly next time. This is how you politely change your customer’s behaviors without angering them.

I got the impression that what I ordered might not have been the actual sandwich I got. The Ragin Cajun was supposed to have Cajun pepper ham and turkey, banana peppers, green peppers, lettuce, tomato, pepperjack, swiss, salt, pepper, and chipotle sauce. I did get most of this, except I didn’t get the swiss cheese, but they seemed to have replaced that with American cheese, black olives, and cucumbers. And the meat was seriously layered on there something substantial.

All in all, it was a delicious sandwich, but a bit odd with the randomness on there. The downside was the Cajun sauce (now all over the wall and painting) was that franks red hot sauce – which I hate. Other than that, I loved everything. In fact, the chipotle sauce was really good. It’s not going to be my favorite sammich place in the area, but it’s worth checking out. They’ve got chili and soups and salads, so I’ll probably head back with some work people to check out some other menu items. You can order online and via fax as well, so I’ll be investigating that as well.

Top 5 things about Sammy’s Subs and Salads
1. Really a pretty good sammich, despite not being exactly what I ordered
2. Tons of meat on it
3. They politely indicated how to properly order next time without causing a scene (despite the fact that I jumped in front of like 5 people)
4. The guy behind the counter was super nice
5. It’s pretty close to work

Bottom 5 things
1.Gerd got me hooked on a couple of sammich places and was always on the lookout for new conquests. She would have liked this place (and the fact that I exploded red sauce everywhere)
2. Not a lot of signage to tell you how to properly order
3. Not sure I got the correct sammich, but maybe I would have if I had filled out the form
4. Red Hot Sauce is NOT Cajun sauce, sorry
5.When I go to Sammy’s, it’s going to be very difficult not to walk the extra 30 feet to Pastrami Jack’s (I’m just saying)

www.sammyssubsandsalads.com

2 comments:

Ruby said...

Adam has told me about PJ's before, Roly Poly and Ham's are first on my list though. Roly Poly is never open on Sundays though, which will force me to go on a Tuesday sometime I spose.

Why do you hate Frank's? Adam also hates it. I like it, but will admit I am not sauce savvy in any way!

Chao said...

Adam has good taste then! I just don't like the overpowering vinegar taste. If you're going to make a sauce, at least use a base that isn't a cleaning fluid when you start.