X-Chow 8: Potbelly (Sandwich Works) Pizza Sandwich
The new management at the mall closest to me razed a fairly successful Burger King in order to put up two other quick-service restaurants, Chipotle and Potbelly, which, in the world of casual dining, is like wrecking an Escort and then getting a Cadillac and a Lexus. While both restaurants pride themselves on friendly service, great food, a manageable menu and great dining atmospheres, but only one was my destination today.
Potbelly Sandwich Works, or as its friends call it, Potbelly, began nearly thirty years ago as an antique shop, when its owners decided to serve sandwiches alongside rocking chairs and Cracker Jack tins. Now hungry people from Minneapolis to Houston and from Chicago to DC can turn to Potbelly for food in a comfortable, friendly atmosphere. But now matter how great the atmosphere is, if the food isn't worth it, it's not worth going. Fortunately, at Potbelly, that's not a problem.
This time at Potbelly, I had the pizza sandwich. I went for the basic sandwich, which comes with mushrooms, provolone cheese, marinara and Italian seasoning. (I say basic, because you can add pepperoni for $0.50 more.) The sandwich is then toasted (which takes about a minute) and then, if you choose, you may add other ingredients, but considering it's a pizza sandwich, there aren't many traditional sandwich toppings that seem to fit. I did, however, add onions.
The sandwich was very well made and quite tasty. Sure, the marinara got all over my hands, but unlike most sandwiches, the overflow of sauce is not necessarily an excess, at least not by itself. The mushrooms, provolone, onions and white bread (you can choose wheat, but I don't think that works quite as well on pizza sandwiches) were clearly high quality. I grinned as I finished mine, especially as, at about the same time, another customer was raving about his sandwich to an employee on her break and how he'd be back later for another... and understandably so.
But, like Modest Mouse, there is good news for people who like bad news. While the sandwich was very good, the amount of, well, pizza, save for the marinara sauce, was somewhat less than satisfying. The sandwich length -- about six inches -- would have been okay if it wasn't for the sparsity of filling in the sandwich. On top of all this, the sandwich was $3.89, which is fine... if it wasn't for the lack of ingredients. Sense a pattern?
Well, you should, because almost everything in Potbelly is, for one reason or another, between twenty and sixty cents too expensive for what they give you. The malts are slightly too small for $2.69, the Dream Bar brownie (or rather blondie) is wonderful but isn't quite worth $1.29, even the fountain drink wouldn't be worth the $1.39 you put down for it if you weren't allowed refills.
Though I wanted to give you a fair warning about everything else, I only grade the sandwiches. And while you will enjoy every bite of your Potbelly sandwich, you just might feel, somehow, some way, it could have been just a little bit better, which is a shame, because it quite easily could be.
4 out of 5.
Potbelly Sandwich Works, or as its friends call it, Potbelly, began nearly thirty years ago as an antique shop, when its owners decided to serve sandwiches alongside rocking chairs and Cracker Jack tins. Now hungry people from Minneapolis to Houston and from Chicago to DC can turn to Potbelly for food in a comfortable, friendly atmosphere. But now matter how great the atmosphere is, if the food isn't worth it, it's not worth going. Fortunately, at Potbelly, that's not a problem.
This time at Potbelly, I had the pizza sandwich. I went for the basic sandwich, which comes with mushrooms, provolone cheese, marinara and Italian seasoning. (I say basic, because you can add pepperoni for $0.50 more.) The sandwich is then toasted (which takes about a minute) and then, if you choose, you may add other ingredients, but considering it's a pizza sandwich, there aren't many traditional sandwich toppings that seem to fit. I did, however, add onions.
The sandwich was very well made and quite tasty. Sure, the marinara got all over my hands, but unlike most sandwiches, the overflow of sauce is not necessarily an excess, at least not by itself. The mushrooms, provolone, onions and white bread (you can choose wheat, but I don't think that works quite as well on pizza sandwiches) were clearly high quality. I grinned as I finished mine, especially as, at about the same time, another customer was raving about his sandwich to an employee on her break and how he'd be back later for another... and understandably so.
But, like Modest Mouse, there is good news for people who like bad news. While the sandwich was very good, the amount of, well, pizza, save for the marinara sauce, was somewhat less than satisfying. The sandwich length -- about six inches -- would have been okay if it wasn't for the sparsity of filling in the sandwich. On top of all this, the sandwich was $3.89, which is fine... if it wasn't for the lack of ingredients. Sense a pattern?
Well, you should, because almost everything in Potbelly is, for one reason or another, between twenty and sixty cents too expensive for what they give you. The malts are slightly too small for $2.69, the Dream Bar brownie (or rather blondie) is wonderful but isn't quite worth $1.29, even the fountain drink wouldn't be worth the $1.39 you put down for it if you weren't allowed refills.
Though I wanted to give you a fair warning about everything else, I only grade the sandwiches. And while you will enjoy every bite of your Potbelly sandwich, you just might feel, somehow, some way, it could have been just a little bit better, which is a shame, because it quite easily could be.
4 out of 5.