Savory Sausage Sandwich | |
   By the Street Smart Fatboy: East Des Moines! | |
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Sunday night was a great Fatboy kinda night. As luck would have it I found myself standing on the receiving end of a potluck dinner. Nothing excites me quit like the sight of a twenty foot long row of tables full of hot dishes, casseroles, salads and the like. Every Sunday during this Lenten season the troops at Windsor have gathered for a evening fellowship and Presbyterian potluck! The only thing better than Sunday’s meal was the look on church member John Newman’s face when I told him that after the dinner (where he had just seen me eat two plates full) that I was heading out with a couple of cronies to tackle a couple of half pound sausage sandwiches! And so we did. Next stop, the former Liz’s Bar &Grill, now called Mike’s Place. (Liz is Mike’s aunt). Mike’s is a typical neighborhood bar and grill on Des Moines’s east side and the home of some great grub and as the menu states, the home of the “World Famous” Hot Sausage Sandwich. A sandwich that starts out like a lot of sausage sandwiches found in the Des Moines area, made with Graziano Brothers killer sausage. That is where the similarities end. Mike's sandwich, a half pound of hand pattied sausage is lathered with mustard, smothered in onion along with your choice of hot or mild peppers. Polish that off with a special sauce (Liz’s creation) and tuck it all between a couple of slabs of Rotella's Italian Bakery’s Vienna bread and you have a five buck sandwich that will set you free! And as much as I have enjoyed this bigol sandwich many times, I always found myself wondering about the Deluxe Sausage Sandwich. On the menu board (that hangs above a little grill tucked in the corner behind the bar, hence the name bar & grill) it just reads Sausage Deluxe. I couldn’t imagine anything more deluxe than the regular sandwich. The Deluxe I found out was the sausage sandwich topped with 1/3 lb . pound of ground chuck, Mozzarella and American cheese on a toasted bun! Don’t tread lightly my friends if you are thinking of tearing into one of these beauties, they are not for the faint of heart. While I fess up to not being able to eat an entire Deluxe, I did eat half of one. (Remember I had been potlucking).
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The three of us did make a pretty good dent in a table full of goodies that included a double bacon cheeseburger that features two 1/3 lb. burgers and plenty of bacon, (it vanished almost instantly), two tenderloin sandwiches, one grilled, (very tasty and tender) and breaded (very tender and totally gristle free, with pickles and onions a plenty). Both tenderloins along with all sandwiches are also served on Rotella’s products. We passed on the basic burger (normally a staple of any Fatboy visit) as well as the Patty Melt. We did however work our way through an order of Mozzarella cheese sticks, (no complaints), some buffalo wings (nice little bite to these) and the fries that come either curly or regular crinkle cut. While the wings, and sticks were normal portion sized, the fries were a different story. You don’t want to go for a cholesterol check after eating a one of these bigol basket of fries, the orders are huge. All in all we were not only stuffed and happy with the food we also left that night convinced that Mike had his sights set on keeping up a great tradition as he takes he gets settled in. (He’s only been in charge since Feb.) The warmth we experienced inside the bar was a stark contrast to the cold wet snowy night we left outside as we walked through the door. The handful of locals that were still on hand from the Sunday afternoon specials, a NASCAR race on TV and the 3:00 p.m. 3-Ball pool tournament were a fine testament to the neighborhood bar concept even tho there was one over zealous guy cheering on the war in front of the TV that proclaimed it if someone would deliver Saddam’s ---s to the bar he would cook and eat them! While at times this as any bar & grill may have a smoky atmosphere I wouldn’t hesitate, taking a family there for lunch or dinner to experience the charm of the type of spots there are far to few of these days.....
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Hours: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. 7 Days--grill open 10:00 a.m. till Midnight 7 Days Location: 509 E. 25TH Phone: 266-9205 (phone ahead orders are fine) I always encourage feedback, complaints and bellyaching.Weather you agree or disagree, I want to hear about it. And most importantly, if you have someplace you think I should visit please get in touch with me. You can reach me 24/7 at (515) 770-1869 (cell phone), e-mail at steve@stevepope.com. Leave feedback or your own rant on my web site-www.stevepope.com | |