Su Casa, slow casa

It's not like the GPaK crew likes to rush through its Friday lunches. We actually enjoy a little leisurely conversation with our meals.

But last Friday was ridiculous.

Since it is now Sunday night, and I am the first to post a review, you can plainly see that we all were a bit busier than usual on Friday. So we were in no mood for the inexcusable wait we faced at Su Casa.

We chose the restaurant because we wanted to eat outdoors on a lovely, early summer day. The weather didn't disappoint, and we were able to get a table fairly quickly. But then it took far too long to get menus. And to have someone take our order. And to get our food. And to get our checks.

By the end of the meal, all of us were a bit perturbed at the slow pace and lackluster service. And that's costing the restaurant a point or two in this review.

As for the food itself, it never disappoints at Su Casa. The chips and salsa were plentiful and free, which is how it ought to be at a Mexican restaurant. The lunch special — a shredded beef burrito with a bean tostada — was tasty, with fresh ingredients and tender, well-seasoned meat. The portions were the right size for someone who has a healthy appetite. Surprisingly, the vegetarian in our group did the best job of "manning up," but I'll let him talk about that.

In keeping with a theme mentioned in my post last week, I must say the Coke at Su Casa was a bit flat (the exact opposite of Haberdasherman's). But I'm willing to forgive that. I guess. At least I didn't have to wait forever for a refill. Unfortunately, that's about the only thing that didn't require a long wait.

Man-up possibilities: 8
Food quality: 7.5
Overall: 7

— GPaK

Hula in downtown SLC!

Wingnut's at home getting excited that three of his homies went out and saw some hula dancing during lunch based on that headline. Sorry pal, it was only my sandwich that was dancing today.
As the destination of choice today, Hagermann's is excellent for its proximity to the DNews building. Though, as was mentioned on our walk today, it can be a bit chilly during the winter months and somewhat blustery, so take a jacket if you decide to dine between the months of say October-April (I guess that kind of goes without saying in Utah)

Onto the chow...
The Hawaiian Hula Ham has become somewhat of staple for me in past visits, so this being my first review of the place, I decided not to venture down a road I'm unfamiliar with. My sandwich came with a generous supply of smoked black forest ham, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and (the real treat) pineapple jalapeno jelly. You can't go wrong with a toasted sandwich and this selection is no different. My only complaint, if it's possible to have one, is that the sandwich was a sticky mess. An oversupply of jelly, though thoroughly enjoyed, led to the need for an abundance of napkins.

To accompany my order of a half sandwich, I went with the tomato florentine soup (flavorful and light) and a cranberry cookie (tasty and a nice finishing touch). My "combo" comes with a drink, so I had the sweetened green tea, which GPaK gave me grief for, but at least it doesn't fizz and you don't have to worry about spillage that way.

I'm a big believer in the sandwich, so Hagermann's comes highly recommended on my list of breaded eateries.

Man-up possibilites... 9 (I'm not a meatball dude, but Brady not finishing his and I've seen GPaK fall short too, says this place has the fulfilling factor covered.
Food Quality... 9
Overall ... 9

—SuperScrunch

A haberdashery by any other name ...

As Greg already posted, today's lunch destination was Hagermann's -- pronounced Haberdasherman's, which is odd since I never see any of the usual accoutrements you'd expect at a Haberdashery. Find yourself suspicious of an eatery trying to pose as seller of men's dry goods? Don't worry, you are in good company.

Anyway, I went for the meatball sandwich (well, duh) since almost everything else on the menu has a foof-factor of 8 or higher. Haberdasherman's does serve soup in a bread bowl, which is pretty tasty. I'm generally all in favor of edible serving-ware.

I knew from past experience that the meatball sandwich never comes on toasted bread, so I made a point to ask the cashier if they would be willing to toast the bread this time.

"They always grill the bread," he replied, "but I'll put a special note on the order anyway."

Serving guy gets a 10 for going the extra mile. Unfortunately, sandwich-making guy gets a big fat zero for ignoring serving guy and giving me my sandwich on un-toasted bread. I'd have asked them to redo the sandwich, but apparently my order contained the last meatballs left on the planet, so I just had to make do.

Though the bread wasn't to my liking, I did benefit from ordering the final meatball sandwich of the day as they obviously had enough ingredients for maybe one and a third sandwiches -- and piled them all on mine. As a result, my sandwich was huge and I wasn't able to finish the whole thing. Also, the owners ought to think about layering in a bunch of mozzarella instead of the paltry sprinkling of cheese (parmesan?) they currently use.

Enough criticisms. The cranberry cookie I ordered was delicious and I deftly sidestepped the ultra-fizzy soda for which Haberdasherman's is renowned; my Powerade was extra blue and chock-full of life-giving electrolytes.

Man-up possibilities: 6
Food quality: 7
Overall: 6.5

— Brady

A donut toast...

Since Wingnut's out today with an illness contracted from hanging around children, or at least that's what the name of the illness would lead one to believe, we gave a toast (with donuts of course — it is Friday) to our soft-food-eating friend. And by the way, that doesn't mean we simply ate a third of a donut. No we ate a complete donut and then a third of a donut, in honor of you Wingnut! And it even had froofy sprinkles. Cheers buddy!

—SuperScrunch

Fizzy soda and yummy cookies

The first thing you need to know about Hagermann's Bakehouse Cafe is that the soda is VERY fizzy. I don't know why, but they have the fizziest soda ever. It tastes fine, but if you're not careful when dispensing it into your cup, you could end up with soda all over your hands. Which happened to me today.

OK, now that that's out of the way, on to the review. I really wanted the meatball sandwich, which I've had at Hagermann's before, and which is quite tasty. However, they only had enough meatballs left for one sandwich when we went today, and Brady got it before I did. (Even though yesterday was my birthday, he just went ahead and took the meatballs. Sigh.) This isn't the first time Hagermann's has been out of something I wanted, which makes me wonder why you would have a restaurant if you weren't actually going to make the food on the menu available for purchase. But whatever.

As an alternative to the meatball sandwich, I had the California Turkey sandwich, which features fresh roast turkey breast, smoked provolone cheese, applewood-smoked bacon, avocado, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, mayo & spicy mustard on Sesame Semolina. I "de-California-d" it a bit, asking for it without avocado, tomato and cucumber. The result was a tasty, grilled sandwich. The turkey was ample, the bacon was done just right and the bread was delicious.

Oh, and you always get a cookie with your lunch. I always go with the chocolate chip, and it's a great way to end the meal.

All in all, I quite like the food at Hagermann's. But if you go, remember to beware the fizzy soda, and just hope they're not out of what you want.

Man-up possibilities: 8 (assuming they have the meatball sandwich available)
Food quality: 7
Overall: 6.5 (dropped a half-point for consistently running out of stuff)

—GPak

Mmmmm, toasty

In the cinematic masterpiece, Nacho Libre, the title character utters words that will warm the hearts of audiences for generations to come.

"Good toast," Nacho says to Encarnacion, the nun who has recently arrived from the Oaxaca Parish Convent of the Immaculate Hearts Sisters Ladies Mountains of Guadalupe.

Clearly, the man was a visionary. Apply a little heat to ordinary bread and it is transformed from the cardboard slabs you'd find at P.J. Blands to the warm, crusty deliciousness we know as toast.

Friday's lunch destination was Toasters, a hip little sandwich, salad and soup shop just south of the Salt Palace Convention Center. The Bosnian immigrants who run the joint have really perfected the art of toast-making. The panini-style bread that adorns their sandwiches is perfectly grilled, slightly chewy but with a pleasing texture. It's probably my favorite bread product in all of sandwich-dom.

The other ingredients are always super fresh and tasty, too. This time, I opted for the salami/cappocola sandwich (something I've ordered in the past) and it was good, though just as Greg found with his prosciutto, my cappocola was just a little on the tough side. It hasn't been that way before. Even so, the meal was flavorful and Toasters never skimps on the cheese or meat, important for racking up man-up points. And for you ladies scoring at home, no, you can't man-up without a generous helping of meat or cheese (preferably both).

A full sandwich will run you about $7 depending on ingredients, which isn't too bad, considering the generous portions. That price includes a side of Lay's potato chips. Drinks are separate and refillable.

Man-up possibilities: 7
Food quality: 7 (usually a bit higher)
Overall: 7.5

— Brady

Nice line Mark...

Let the good times roll...

Toasters - GPaK style

As part of an excellent Friday that included doughnuts in the morning and leaving work early in the afternoon to go on vacation, I visited Toasters with the boys. Despite the long, chilly walk to get there (just kidding, Scrunch), I'd say it was a positive experience.

I had the prosciutto sandwich, and I had no problem with the flavor of the meat or quality of bread and other toppings. All were above-average. My criticisms -- and they're minor -- are that the meat was too chewy (I couldn't easily bite through it), and the toppings didn't stay in the sandwich all that well.

However, the company was good, and I was able to insult SuperScrunch's manhood, so it was, overall, a successful lunch.

Man-up possibilities: 7 (you can order extra meat)

Food quality: 7

Quality of conversation/jokes/insults: 8

Overall: 7

—GPaK

A few more photos from May 15th

Toasters - The reliable standby

It gets shoved to back burner at times because it's either too close to drive to or too far to walk to (at least the whining would indicate as such), but Toasters has been a staple for the GPaK crew since its inception. That said, the cold weather generally keeps us away during the winter months (see whining note above), so with the weather warming it was a welcome return to the sandwich safe house.

I'm a traditionalist, so I stuck with my famous standby, the Turkey Avocado (minus the mayo and onions.) The avocados tasted in season and the "Toasters touch" of balsamic, drizzled on half of the bread was typically spot on.

Thanks to our guest of the week, Mark Reece, I went with something other than water. His gyro special (enjoyable I hear) came with a drink and he went with an Illy coffee so the drink (a peach ginger tea) went my way. Thanks Mark.

Toasters should be avoided during large conventions, especially the bi-annual outdoor retailer
show, but it always packs a punch, is good for laughs ("your dad named you after the worst Cadillac ever") and the walk over from our building can actually be enjoyable (more people watching opportunities).

Man-up possibilities ... 8 (the sandwiches are large)
Quality ... 9 (some of the best ingredients available)
Overall ... 9 (you can never go wrong with Toasters)

—SuperScrunch

My question

Here's my question....how could our "fearless" leader, Gpak, dump us last Friday for a date with a couple of dnews-er has-beens (especially Dave Anderton)? And then go watch a really geeky movie like Star Trek? -cw

Les is A-Ok

Fridays foray to Les Madeleines was a little bit out of character for the GPaK crew. Our meals often hinge around large quantities of meat with the occasional salad (examples sporadic, but could be a topic for a future post). But as someone who enjoys an occasional trip to a "pastry shop" (more on this later), I left extremely satisfied with Fridays lunch.

I ordered the Sesame Chicken Wrap which came with a side of edamame. A solid choice considering the wrap came with a peanut dipping sauce, something that can really pack a nice punch and help with the overall satisfaction. The rice paper was packed heavily with good portions of chicken and butter lettuce along with a drizzle of dressing. The meal was flavorful and the edamame was a healthy side (something that I'm known to do from time to time). A glass of water (another usual step for me, and an effective cost saver) chased the food well and I left happy.

The meal could have only been better if the Crew (minus our namesake who was attending Star Trek) had decided to partake in the items Les Madeleines is known for, their pastries. Brady even suggested it, but instead chose to devour another donut for his afternoon snack. Had he subjected himself to a tasty treat from this hip joint, I'm certain his review would have been different. The group should consider a return trip (possibly on one of Brady's vacation days — which happen, never) in order to try one of the famous delicacies which made it all the way to the Food Network.

Man-up possibilities ... 5 (one could have a feast on the pastries)
Quality ... 8
Overall ... 7

— SuperScrunch

New addition

Boys - I've added a new place to try. Moochies, Meatballs and More. City Weekly gave this place the award for the best Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich in town.

I think the "man-up" possibilities are endless with the word "meatballs" in the name! -cw

Les is more? No, les is less

Friday's lunch destination was Les Madeleines, a bakery/cafe near downtown Salt Lake City. For a hungry guy looking to man-up, the menu was extremely limited. I went with the "Wild Boar BLT," which at least sounded like it would fill me up. Au contraire mon frere! First of all, the boar in question must have been one of those Shetland Boars. Either that, or there was a shortage of bacon due to the Hiney virus. The tomato was mushy, the bread was pedestrian (especially for a bakery), the lettuce too thick and the "Crispy" pommes frites were mostly limp. Oh, and my 12 ounce bottle of Coke was $2.50!!! All told, I paid over $11 for the disappointing fare. You know it's bad when I found myself longing for the dressing-free chef salad I threw away at Crown Burgers.

My ratings (out of 10):
Man-up possibilities ... 1
Quality ... 2
Overall ... turd

- Brady

Epic?

Sometimes our lunches qualify as "epic." What does it take to reach that level? Well, it could be a parking catastrophe for SuperScrunch, a particularly hilarious comment from Brady ("hobo in a refrigerator," anyone?), or a nasty emission from Wingnut. I think we should keep everyone posted on whether or not our lunches achieve that "epic" status."
— GPaK

A new way to enjoy Fridays

This is it, an attempt to take the GPaK Crew global, or at least www global. Inspired by this article on the BOTM club in New York City, the GPaK Crew will be keeping track of everywhere we go and everything we eat. The good, the bad, and of course the ugly. Not completely free of censorship though, because, well, that might be hypocritical of us. With that, can't wait for Friday to unveil the first stop on the Web version of the GPaK Crew.

I'll say this about the Crew, we probably won't be attempting to break down this chart on a weekly basis.

— SuperScrunch