Okay, so after focusing on sandwiches made by local and national chains my last few entries, I figured it was definitely time to return to a nice one-of-a-kind local joint for a sandwich. And if you're going to do that, I can think of few better options in the Salt Lake area than Moochie's. I honestly can't remember where I first heard about Moochie's, but I remember that my buddy Jeff and I were driving around one day looking for somewhere to eat when one of us suggested this place. We'd both heard good things about it, so we headed down 9th South in Salt Lake keeping our eyes peeled since we didn't know the exact address. We almost drove right past the nondescript location near 2nd East, but thankfully spotted it and headed inside. Now, I used the term "one-of-a-kind" earlier and that's a term you hear kicked around a lot to describe things, but in this case it is very much true. Unless of course you're aware of another killer sandwich purveyor located inside of a pottery gift shop? Yeah, didn't think so.Now, usually at this point in a post, I like to give some background info about the sandwich establishment in question before talking about the actual sandwich itself. Of course, you can go to Moochie's website to read about them, or instead, you can watch the video clip below. It comes from one of my favorite shows: Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Basically, the show is about a guy traveling around the country stopping at all these cool little local restaurants, finding out what their specialties are, and then eating them like crazy. How on earth do I get that job?? The host, Guy Fieri, is kind of a toolbox (those sunglasses you're wearing? yeah, those go on the front of your face, chief) albeit a knowledgeable and ultimately likable one who obviously loves what he does. Here is the segment of his show where he paid Moochie's a visit:
So as you may have gleaned from watching that, among their considerable menu, Moochie's has two sandwiches that you could consider specialties: the Meatball, and the Philly Cheesesteak. I have had them both and without giving too much away, sufficeth to say they are both phenomenal. Today we'll be reviewing the Philly Cheesesteak...well, truth be told I don't think what I got is considered a "true" Philly Cheese. From things I've read, a Philly Cheesesteak includes (besides the obvious cheese and steak) onions, peppers and mushrooms. I'm not quite sure if those ingredients are merely optional or if they are requisite to a true Philly Cheesesteak so maybe someone can enlighten me. Anyway, since I'm not a huge fan of onions or 'shrooms, I got mine with only peppers on top of the meat and cheese which was termed a Pepper Steak. So in review, my sandwich was composed of the following:
- Type of Bread: 12" Hoagie Roll
- Condiments/Dressing(s): n/a
- Toppings: Thinly Sliced Ribeye Steak, Melted American Cheese, Roasted Bell Peppers
- Quantity/Value: 4/5 - The thing that keeps this sandwich from getting a perfect 5 out of 5 is definitely NOT the quantity. If you get the foot-long like I did, you are probably not going to finish it in one sitting. And if you do, you are probably not going to need a meal the rest of the day. The thing that drops this down to a 4 is it's substantial $10.49 price tag. To be fair, the base price is $9.49, but once you add an extra ingredient like I did with the peppers, that's an extra dollar. This is a great sandwich, and it's price definitely reflects it, and maybe then some.
- Originality: 4/5 - Obviously Moochie's did not invent the Cheesesteak, but when it comes to getting an authentic version of this Philly staple, you can't do much better than Moochie's. And besides the sandwich, as I mentioned earlier, the shop itself is definitely an original and needs to be visited.
- Appearance: 9/10 - I probably should have opened the sandwich up a little bit more in the picture I took that is seen at the top of this post. As it is now, it doesn't really do it justice. When you unwrap that foil and expose the sandwich inside, it is a thing of beauty. The perfectly grilled steak smothered in melted cheese spilling out of the roll are tantalizing enough, but when you add in the beautiful reds and greens of the roasted peppers, the appearance is positively amazing and make you want to dive right in.
- Quality/Freshness: 10/10 - If you're going to charge over $10 for a sandwich, it better be huge (check) and it better use only the best ingredients - check and mate in this case. Not only are the ingredients top-shelf quality, but the key is that they are prepared to order - they don't just have a pile of steak keeping warm somewhere that they use; they throw that meat down on the grill only when you order your sandwich -that is key. Another example of freshness is that the peppers used in my sandwich were roasted on site. You could get around that if you wanted to, but the fact that they're willing to do it is why Moochie's earns a 10 here.
- Taste: 19/20 - If I haven't alluded to it enough already, this is a great tasting sandwich. I mean really great. It has everything that you want - there is a contrast in texture with the crunchy bread and the chewy ingredients within, there is a wonderful contrast in taste between the savory meat and cheese and the sweetness of the peppers. And, on top of that, there is some degree of intangible tastiness in knowing that this thing was prepared on the spot for you. I think the best way I can sum up how good this thing is is that the last time I had one, I couldn't finish it (not unusual). But by the time I got home and had a chance to digest and was ready for more, I couldn't even wait to heat it up - I yanked it out of the fridge and pounded it and that was that.
No comments:
Post a Comment