20120927

Scout Camp!

This weekend I am one of the scribes for Woodbadge course N4-497-12. Today was a staff prep day and lunch was Reubens and tater tots.

During breakfast the cook and I had an intricate discussion. Drain and grill the kraut. Grill the meat. Seeded rye. Grill the bread.

At lunch we discussed the results and he was quick to point out that there wasn't quite enough meat. I would have liked to have the bread crisper.

I used to be an Eagle...

20120907

Olde New York - State College, PA

The Olde New York restaurant had been recommended to me as a great place to get a reuben.  Perusing the menu I saw several variants as well as a large selection of German and Italian foods.  This caused some confusion and flashback to episode of Kitchen Nightmares where Gordon Ramsey berates owners for overly large and complicated menus.  Although I was tempted by the promise of würsten I went ahead with plan A and ordered the rueben.

It was on pumpernickel.  It was lightly grilled and the bottom was tiniest bit soggy.  The bread was also a little chewy.  I guess I am a total bread snob.  I want it perfect.  The dressing was okay but there was a lot of it.  The sauerkraut was interesting.  Usually the sauerkraut that I see is white, sharp and acrid.  It is crisp and raw.  This sauerkraut had been cooked, almost stewed and was soft, dark and sweet.  The only time I have seen sauerkraut like this was at Herwig's, a local Austrian restaurant.

All in all it was a good sandwich and the french fries were awesome.

4 out of 5.

20120901

Philadelphia Tavern - Manassas, VA

We were down in Manassas for a Jimmy Buffet concert and were looking for a place to eat. The Philadelphia Tavern is a hole in the wall with an old feel to it. The walls are stone with a textured metal ceiling and copper covered tables.

The house specialties are marked on the menu with a liberty bell and the reuben was one of them. I ordered it with high hopes and was not disappointed.

The corned beef was hot and flavorful. It had been chopped on the grill into fine pieces and tossed with the sauerkraut. The cheese was hot and melted. The bread was a marble rye and was nice and crispy.

My only complaint is that the sandwich was the tiniest bit soggy in the middle.

4.5 out of 5