20120228

Perkins-State College, PA

Perkins is a chain of diners much like Denny's. They serve classic American food and have an attached bakery with all manner of pies and cakes. They also take their coffee seriously; instead of the bottomless cup of coffee, it is a bottomless pot. The quality is okay, but the quantity is excellent. I am here for an early dinner before a meeting about an upcoming Boy Scout Camporee that I am helping to organize.  The rueben was even listed on the chalkboard at the entrance as the special sandwich.  Yes!

I ordered the Reuben with a side of sweet potato fries (Hooray Vitamin A!)  The waitress said that she had just had that yesterday and that it was a good choice.

The first thing I noticed about the sandwich was the bread, a nice rye, reasonable thickness, evenly toasted.  It tasted slightly of margarine.  The corned beef was layered thick.  Although it was sliced thin the way it was stacked it was like a monolithic slab.  It was slightly off center making the sandwich slide.  The sauerkraut was crisp and flavorful and the dressing was passable but barely there.  The cheese was nicely melted.

All in all an excellent sandwich but the meat dominated,  It could have stood to have a another slice or two of cheese and a shade more dressing.  The biggest area for improvement would be the layering of the ingredients.  If the meat had been "fluffed" a bit more it would have been a bit easier to eat.

Final score 4.5/5

As a side note, the sweet potato fries were tasty.
Daily Special W00T!
If you order coffee they bring you a thermal carafe, and when it runs empty they bring another, and another, and another.

20120226

The inspiration...

A reuben sandwich consists of pastrami, swiss cheese, russian dressing, and sauerkraut, served on grilled rye bread. It is a sandwich of intense flavors that should be well balanced. Each of the ingredients have potentials to dominate lesser food stuffs, the joy of the rueben is that it is balance of greatness; game seven of the world series; overtime in the superbowl.

Fifteen years ago I had a Rueben that was the best I had ever had. The kraut was crispy and sharp, the swiss was aged and melted just right, the pastrami was hot and rich, and the rye bread had been grilled just right, It was crisp with a strong aroma. As I bit in the flavor of the layers exploded in my mouth.

The problem was that I couldn't remember where I had it. For nearly 10 years I searched restaurants in the area trying to remember where I would have had it. When I finally found the restaurant I was overjoyed. The reason it took so long was that it was at a breakfast restaurant.

Recently my wife showed me the blog Nachos NY dedicated to reviewing nachos. She suggested that I start one documenting reubens.

The Tavern-State College, PA



The Tavern is an fine dining restaurant in State College, Pennsylvania. It has been there for 60 years and the walls are lined with photos of the town and university. I was there for lunch and so decided that it would be a good restaurant to start the blog with.

Instead of the standard rye bread the Tavern has it served on a pumpernickel rye swirled bread. The bread was sliced a bit too thin but it was still strong enough to hold together. The first few bites were disappointing. With the way that it was lying on the plate the bottom slice had gone soggy. Additionally the grilling wasn't even. Part of the bread was burned and part of it was merely dried out. The second half of the sandwich was fine though.

The sauerkraut was bland, as was the corned beef. The cheese was well melted but once again mild. The russian dressing was overall the most dominant element but it tasted old.

On a whole the sandwich was good but not great. The flavors were well balanced but lacked in intensity.

Rating 3/5