Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Warehouse Sandwich Goodness

Chris:
Today I tried the brand new Be'Wiched deli and sandwich bar in the Minneapolis warehouse district:

http://www.bewicheddeli.com/

I love it when new restaurants open in the cities. Every new independent place means one more possibility of eating something unique and amazing. But what I love even more than a new independent restaurant is a new restaurant that fills a niche that simply was lacking in the area. Sure, it's nice to have yet another good authentic Neapolitan pizza place (there are already three), but it's freakin' fantastic when something which previously didn't exist suddenly springs into existence. Such was the case when Little Szechuan elevated Twin Cities Chinese food to a new level last year. And such is the case with Be'Wiched.

We now have a sandwich shop in the Twin Cities that would make a New Yorker proud. The kind of deli that roasts (let alone slices!) its own meats, makes its own sides, bakes its own desserts, uses the appropriate bread pairings (roast beef on striato -- yes! pastrami on rye -- yes!) and even has a respectable selection of deli-street-cred beverages. (Even the ginger ales come in two different strengths -- strong and mild!)

What does this all tell you? Not anything specific about regionality -- there are tons of bad sandwiches to be had in the depths of Manhattan -- but rather, like many old delis that grace the city of pretzels and Papayas, BeWiched is the kind of place that appreciates the details. It shows on the menu, it shows in the (beautifully aesthetic) space, and in the end, you taste it in the sandwich.

Oh, the sandwiches. I think I could have ordered any of the dozen sandwiches on the menu and left a happy camper. I went with the pastrami after hearing a few people rave about it. The house-made pastrami was sliced to fall apart perfectly with each bite, yet hold together in the sandwich. The meat's flavor was without a doubt the best I have had in the Midwest. Such depth of flavor, not overly salty, perfectly crusted around the edges. The dark rye added just the right amount of sourness, and along with the pickled cabbage and coarse-grained mustard, the sandwich was a model of flavor harmony.

Along with the sandwich came a deli-worthy pickle spear and a small fresh scoop of cous cous salad.

The one downside at Be'Wiched is the price tag. Their sandwiches are somewhat expensive ($9-13) and it is hard to ignore that, especially when you are subconsciously comparing it to the $3.99 ham and cheese sub that you can get from Cub. I think the solution here is to realize that it is like comparing apples to oranges -- or in this case, processed lunchmeat to freshly roasted, local, organic (when possible) ingredients.

One more bonus: they serve wine and beer, and have $2 taps during happy hour until 6:30. If only I lived in the warehouse district!

Rating: 3.5 tines.

2 comments:

sarah said...

hey chris! love fourks! i have also been to bewiched deli and very much appreciate it. it's about time we got a quality sandwich shop in town. but i disagree with your price complaint... i think the sandwich i had was only 6 bucks. the only $13 one on the menu that i can remember is the double pastrami. but only because its double! i don't know, but everything seemed fairly priced to me, especially considering the quality! but seriously, love you guys...

Chris said...

Hi Sarah,

Thanks for reading! I agree with you that the prices are fair for the quality that you get. I was just mentioning it so people weren't surprised that sandwiches were a little more than at many other sandwich shops around here. You must have gotten the egg salad, which is $6.50 -- and you're right, the only $13 sandwich is the double pastrami. Others seem to center around $9.00. Here's the menu:

http://www.bewicheddeli.com/menus.html

Happy eating!