Unbreaded

Cherry St. Tavern – Roast Beef

I’ve heard about a mythical hot roast beef sandwich at Cherry St. from a number of people over a 10 year time period.  It was a destination sandwich, so I was told.

Truth be told, I have avoided the sandwich for years.  I assumed that the meat would be overly fatty, offering a bite of gooey, chewy grossness that would ruin my entire meal.  But to my pleasant surprise, it was precisely the opposite.  Lean and tender, the roast beef is cooked on the premises, sliced deli thin and dipped in the simmering crockpot before being served on a kaiser roll with a slice of provolone, horseradish and a pickle.

But the sandwich fell somewhat short of my expectations, which I must admit were high.  The slices of beef were submerged in the jus so they would be moist and juicy; as a result, the bread quickly turned to overly-saturated mush.

My biggest gripe, however, was the bland flavor of the meat itself.  The sandwich needed a generous squirt of ketchup, which is not necessarily an indictment, but something that could have been overcome with more flavorful meat.

Overall, the sandwich was better than average but not quite top-tier.  And with some Heinz 57, this roast beef sandwich was a pretty enjoyable, albeit sloppy experience.