One of the best parts about being on a life-long quest to find the best sandwiches anywhere is that every time you go on a trip and pay a visit to different town, no matter how big or small that town may be, chances are there will be a place there where you can get a sandwich to try. Such was the case last summer when we took our regular trip up to Cannon Beach, OR. With a four-year old in tow, it's a bit much to make the entire thirteen hour trip in one day, so we decided to make a pit-stop in Boise, ID and spend a night there. Before leaving, I did some research which included watching episodes of both Man v. Food and Diners, Drive Ins and Dives where they had stopped in Boise. After doing that and figuring out where we were staying, the place that was the best combination of good-looking food and convenient location from our stay for the night was the Westside Drive In. Here's the video of Guy from Triple D visiting the place:
Fortunately, this place was as advertised. First of all, you need to look past the nauseating pink and blue decor (I know you're probably going for a cool vintage vibe there, but seriously, it looks like a Miami flamingo yanked all up in that place). Anyway, what this is, is a drive in that offered things like prime rib and pasta that you wouldn't ordinarily expect to find next to drive in staples like burgers, fries and milkshakes. As I perused the menu, one item quickly jumped out at me - the Westside Signature Sub. It was still tough to decide as there were several things on the menu that looked awesome. But in the end, I remembered that, as a general rule, if something on the menu is given its own special section and is labeled as "signature", that will probably be a pretty good choice. Thankfully, that was the case here. Unfortunately, that good choice was countered by the poor choice we made of ordering spaghetti for our little boy. In a crucial lapse in judgment, I forgot how inconceivably messy a four-year old can get when tackling some spaghetti. Being on the road as we were with no laundry real handy, that was a bad move. But anyway, here's what the Westside Signature Sub looks like (figuratively):
- Type of Bread: Hoagie Roll
- Condiments/Dressing(s): Sour Cream, Dijon Mustard
- Toppings: Ribeye Steak Strips, Peppers,
Onions,Mushrooms, Bacon Strips, Provolone, Lettuce, Tomato
Unfortunately, my trusty Han Solo action figure didn't make this trip with us, but I think you can still get a pretty good idea of how big this sandwich was (and keep in mind, this was only half of one). Normally, I would get a full sized version, but I knew chances were good I wouldn't be able to finish it, and with no real refrigeration available, I didn't want to waste what was left over, so I just went with a half. Let's get to the scoring:
- Quantity/Value: 4/5 - The half sized version of this sandwich cost me $6.49, but you can upgrade to a full for $9.29. Getting a massive steak sandwich for under ten bucks is a pretty good deal, if you ask me. Especially with all the other goodies that come on this thing. As it was, I barely finished the half of it. This is a really good sized sandwich.
- Originality: 5/5 - A steak sandwich is not in and of itself original, but this version of a steak sandwich definitely is. The first thing I couldn't help but notice was the addition of bacon strips. It makes so much sense - I mean you wrap steaks in bacon all the time when you cook it, so why not put it on the sandwich? The peppers, onions and 'shrooms are typical additions to a steak sandwich, but the addition of sour cream and dijon mustard was another interesting twist that makes this sandwich completely original. Well done.
- Appearance: 9/10 - If there is anything more beautiful than some melted cheese draped over bacon and beef, I don't know what it is. I mean seriously, months later and just looking at that picture gets my salivary glands going. The colors of the vegetables, the perfectly toasted roll, and even some parsley on the side as a garnish (garnishes at a drive in??! I know, right?). This sandwich looked great.
- Quality/Freshness: 9/10 - When you've got a legitimate, trained chef with 30+ years of experience running the place, it's really no surprise that the quality and freshness of the ingredients is top notch. I don't know that there's much else that needs to be said about it.
- Taste: 18/20 - I've already talked about how original I think this sandwich is, how good it looks, how fresh the ingredients are, so the only question left is how did it taste? Perhaps not surprisingly, it tasted really great. I mean, I don't know how badly you can mess up a marriage of steak, bacon and cheese, but the trick is balancing flavors with all the other ingredients and not letting one completely overwhelm the others. The Westside Signature Sub does a great job of this. I think a mild cheese like provolone is a good choice with this in mind. The creaminess provided by the sour cream and cheese, the bite from the peppers and dijon mustard and the tender steak were all delicious. My only minor complaint would be that I couldn't really taste the bacon as much as I was hoping. But whatever, you could probably wrap this whole thing in bacon and I still would want more. That's just me. Well, me and Jim Gaffigan.
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